Arthur the King
review by Bobby Blakey
Throughout his career Mark Wahlberg has taken on almost every kind of role you can think of including numerous stories of real-life people. Hist latest film Arthur the King reteams him with The Family Plan director Simon Cellan Jones and co-stars Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance, Ali Suliman, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Paul Guilfoyle. Could this inspirational film have the effect they were hoping for, or will it fail to finish the race?
Arthur the King follows an unbreakable bond that is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur over the course of ten days and 435 miles. Light, desperate for one last chance to win, convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.
I thought the story here seemed interesting enough, but the trailers just never fully pulled me in. Sadly, the film didn’t get the push it deserved as it is a great film. From the push and obviously idea of the focus on the dog I think I thought it was going to be a film really pushing the canine narrative, but surprisingly it doesn’t really. Make no mistake he is an important element and the focal point of the story eventually, but this is just as much a story about Michael Light as Arthur.
This helps the film stay grounded in the crazy true story. It allows the characters in the race who are all on their own journeys to bring depth to what they are
going through before Arthur fully adds into the mix. There are some emotional moments that are well executed to showcase Arthurs own journey that keep it short and effective without forcing too many useless moments leading to him joining the race. The race and team go through some interesting situations pushing them to the limits and keep you engaged before we even get to the Arthur story.
Once Arthur joins the race it does a great job of keeping the film on track and not making it seem like the typical dog film and more like he is literally just another member of the team. Wahlberg does a great job at not only the character but the chemistry with the dog as well. They work great together and bring way more emotion than I would have thought. The story is uplifting and pulls at the heartstrings with an element of unbelievability that makes it all the better knowing it is a true story.
The landscape and terrains that they fight through on this race becomes a character all its own and really gives a bigger scope to the film. You fully feel the stress and dangers of finishing this insane competition right up until the very end. As with any true story it had the proper ending showing casing some footage of the real duo making it all the better in the end.
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including commentaries, trailers, featurettes and more. Join the race and grab your copy of Arthur the King hitting premium digital on April 23rd and then on Blu-ray and DVD on May 28th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.