Arthur the King: An Epic Endurance Race

Release Date：Mar/15/2024

Genre：Adventure

Director：Simon Cellan Jones

Cast：Mark Wahlberg、Simu Liu、Juliet Rylance、Nathalie Emmanuel、Ali Suliman、Bear Grylls

Viola's Rating：7.1

There have been a bunch of dog stars in recent feature films, including the Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and the Cannes-nominated The Old Oak. Director Simon Cellan Jones and actor Mark Wahlberg have worked with each other for the latest two films, both truly for the whole family. Arthur the King was released on Mar 15, 2024, in the US, and is ready to welcome all audiences on the Easter holiday.

Based on the 2016 non-fiction memoir written by the Swedish former elite athlete Mikael Lindnord, Arthur - The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home, this adventurous flick talks about how an adventure racer, Michael (Mark Wahlberg), adopts a stray dog named Arthur to join him in an epic endurance race.

Moviegoers may think the protagonist of Arthur the King is Arthur the dog, but only find out that it’s actually Michael after they watch it. Although there’s no way for Michael in the real world to know what happened to Arthur before they met, when it comes to making it into a motion picture, the background story could be elaborated a little bit more, especially after demonstrating how good Arthur’s orienting abilities are. Besides trailing along Michael’s team, there really isn’t much interaction between Arthur and Michael until the very end of the movie, which is a little bit disappointing.

However, the story of Arthur the King is not only about how Michael rescues Arthur the dog, but also about how Arthur rescues or saves the whole team, both mentally and physically. This picture is heartwarming proof of what kind of intimate relationship humans can form with dogs.

Also, all the main characters, including Arthur, have flaws, and Arthur the King tells the audience that everyone deserves a second chance. Even though this concept is never brought up in the feature film directly, we not only feel the value of a second chance, but also want to grant a second chance to the characters when they encounter obstacles over and over again.

Besides, teamwork is a critical theme of Arthur the King. Although it’s not a sports film, adventure racing still plays a big part in it, and adventure racing is a team sport that requires navigation and strength. It’s competition after all, but sometimes, it’s more important to put the safety and welfare of team members before the trophy, and that’s exactly why the flick could be so touching.

Even though it’s based on a true story, the proportion of the adaptation was huge. The original place the challenging journey took place was in Ecuador, and Arthur’s former owner actually told a local newspaper that Arthur was his dog, but maybe the crew was afraid that the controversy of whether there’s animal abuse involved or not might distract the core value; therefore, Arthur the King only focuses on how to bring a pleasing one and half hour with a man and his dog.

Picture Credit: Cai Chang International Inc.