Unfortunately, there's no gambling in this hybrid sports movie and dog drama, which dutifully and lazily courses its way from start to finish. It tugs at the heartstrings, it's about loving dogs, and it's all about inspiration without being unpleasant. Plus, any animal lover can't help but shed a tear or two when they see an endangered pup being lovingly cuddled. But amid perfunctory characters and goofy dialogue, director Simon Celan-Jones and screenwriter Michael Blunt lost this race by taking the safest route.
Adapted from the book “Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home'' by Swedish racer Mikael Lindnord, “Arthur the King'' changes the nationality of its protagonist and transforms Mark Wahlberg's All-American Underdog He met Michael Wright and fictionalized much of the story. How Lind Nord met his furry friend during his 2014 Adventure Racing World Championships in Ecuador. (The film is set during his 2018 race in the Dominican Republic.)
However, the general flow of the story remains unchanged. When Michael and his team are taking a break between stages in the Dominican jungle, he tosses meatballs to a stray dog (played by Ukai) who he comes to call Arthur. Before he knew it, he had inadvertently recruited his fifth team member for the hundreds of miles of perilous trek ahead.
But that union doesn't happen until halfway through “King Arthur,” when you have to trudge through a muddy exposition swamp before picking up speed. Wahlberg's Michael is recognized as the greatest adventure racer to never win an event, as established by a short prologue set during the failed 2015 race. Leave it to Grylls to provide a surprising summary of Michael's reputation. He oddly provides live coverage during races that don't seem to be televised. “Some might say he is his own worst enemy.”
Three years later, we talk to Michael in Colorado, where he and his wife and former teammate Helen (Juliette Rylance) are raising a cute daughter (CeCe Valentina) and living a blissful life at home. It seemed like that. But Michael says that despite his lovely family and nice home in the mountains, he is resisting putting down his roots because he is still plagued by an unbeatable resume. It is. (Of course.) So he assembles his World Championship team for Adventure Racing, and to chase that elusive title, he soon makes his way to the big Sir West He flies to Hollywood, Hawaii. I headed over.
We begin with Tic (Ali Slimane), a former prime minister navigator nursing Chekhov's butt-knees. and Olivia (Nathalie Emmanuel), an ace climber trying to live up to the legacy of her dying father. (This half-baked subplot leads to poor Emmanuel making the most shocking revelation about his cancer diagnosis this side of “The Room.”) And Leo, played by Simu Liu, is a caricature of an influencer, but of course the emphasis is on self-promotion. More than teamwork. On the way, Arthur and Santo check out his eventful life on the streets of Domingo before meeting up with Michael's team.
If you look past the forced jokes and tired sports clichés, Arthur the King is a curiosity about the high-octane world of adventure racing, with its quirky complexities and grueling feats of fortitude. provide tantalizing insights. The film also grapples with the competing interests of sports and sponsorship, dipping just a little into that heavier discussion without taking any drastic action. And Jones has plenty to offer as our heroes travel 435 miles over his five days, culminating in a zipline misadventure packed with cheeky antics and tension-relieving banter. It delivers thrills.
The scare factor is heightened when Arthur is introduced to Michael's team, but with the intensity of a thrill-seeking marathon and the whines and cries seemingly added in post-production, the essential nature of a dog staring into the camera. It's hard to reconcile stupidity. And no amount of puppy love can save a wow-worthy dialogue. Even if a touching finale brings a little relief, it's not enough to save a movie that stumbles off the blocks and can't get back up.
PG-13. at area theaters. Contains strong expressions and dangerous scenes. 107 minutes.