‘Arthur the King’ Movie Review: Incredible Journey Is Shameless But Effective
Photo from Lionsgate
From Jeremy Kibler
It’s part of the human experience to cry when a dog dies, in a movie or not. That’s not to say that the dog, the titular Arthur, in Arthur the King doesn’t make it, but “does the dog live?” becomes the ultimate question. Since this is based on a true story, a simple Google search (and the film’s very own marketing) can help in that department to relieve audiences. A masochistic entertainment, maybe, but Arthur the King is a worthwhile reminder that dogs are better and more loyal than humans.
Based upon Mikael Lindnord’s 2017 book Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as a non-Swedish version of Mikael: extreme athlete Michael Light. Three years after a 2015 adventure race in Costa Rica, Michael resides in Colorado with his wife and daughter. He joins his father’s real estate team, but Michael knows his real calling, and it’s convincing sponsors to back him and a team of athletes to compete in the ten-day Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. His team includes two former teammates, social-media model Leo (Simu Liu) and Chik (Ali Suliman), and climber Olivia (the always-appealing Nathalie Emmanuel). While in Santo Domingo, Michael feeds meatballs to a stray dog. Well, in three days across 200 miles, that same dog ends up following Michael and his team in the jungle without any of them noticing. Michael dubs the dog “Arthur,” and along their journey of terrain cycling, hiking, and kayaking, that loyal furry companion becomes more than a mascot but one of their own. Do you want to cry now or later?
Arthur the King is a case of emotional manipulation, but it is a crowd-pleaser through and through. Writer Michael Brandt and director Simon Cellan Jones (The Family Plan) do make us wait a bit too long until Arthur intersects with Michael and his team. In these scenes without the dog, the film compels just enough with sufficient character work (Michael and Leo learn to set aside their egos and bury the hatchet, Olivia has personal reasons why she decided to join, and Chik has a bad knee from last time). There’s some standard in-fighting in the rain during a significant moment, of course, and plenty of awesome pep talks, but we’re mainly here for the pooch.
The adventurous trek itself is dynamically shot for the most part, but one sequence rises above the rest. It’s not enough for our four characters to each zip line with their bikes attached; one of them has to get stuck, and it’s the film’s most stressful sequence that viewers may need to dry their hands off.
Wahlberg is well-cast as Michael Light, a family man who’s sensitive enough to have his daughter paint his nails. While it’s conveyed in very broad strokes why this thrill-seeker leaves his family to compete (Michael can’t do anything else and needs to win), the meeting of Arthur does soften him, as a dog tends to do. As Michael’s wife Helena, Juliet Rylance mostly has to look worried and/or proud at home, staring at her husband’s location on a computer screen, and hang around in athletic gear. Above all, the four-legged Ukai is the real star, and all of the trainers deserve treats for making us care so deeply for this canine. It’s also a relief that the filmmakers don’t dare make this a stealth follow-up to A Dog’s Purpose or A Dog’s Journey with an actor narrating everything to a cloying degree; the scrappy cuteness of Arthur just speaks for himself.
A few eye-rolling moments aside, Arthur the King still effectively knows how to turn on your waterworks in ways that at least feel earned. It’s shameless but heartfelt, and it just works.
Rating: 3/5
Arthur the King hits theaters on March 15, 2024.
