Directed By Simon Cellan Jones
Starring – Mark Wahlberg, Nathalie Emmanuel, Simu Liu
The Plot – Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, the film follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Liu, Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) 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.
Rated PG-13 for some strong adult language.
POSITIVES
High stakes endurance sports like Adventure Racing or iron man competitions were born for the dramatic undertow of cinema, yet rarely capitalized upon, but that could very well change with Jones immersive direction, which transfers conditions of the sport in ways other sports biopics could only dream of. I choose to focus on this aspect firstly because it is the single strongest element of the film, with down and dirty handheld camera work alongside his characters, but also a gritty emphasis in everything from the imagery to one enthralling action set piece, hundreds of feet atop a zipline, which intensifies the everyday aspects of the sport, proving the dedication and sacrifice that Michael and his teammates have for frequently choosing to partake in them, year after year. As to where handheld on-site captivity was everywhere in the 90’s, before fading away for C.G backdrops to reduce risk, Jones chooses instead to ride the adrenaline rush in ways that prove he’s not asking his ensemble to do anything that he hasn’t done, and the dramatic conflicts are all the more integral because of such artistic impulses. In addition to this, the performances are endearing from a charismatically delightful cast, beginning obviously with Wahlberg. At the age of 52, Mark doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, bringing an obvious love and sincerity for animals, but also a consciencious persistence as Michael that continuously keep his team and the plot moving forward at all times, rounded out by the kind of caustic with that we’ve come to expect from the everyman actor. Wahlberg is joined by Simu Liu, who between Marvel’s “Shang-Chi” and 2023 box office blockbuster, “Barbie” has made quite a career for himself with uniquely diversive roles, saving his most complex perhaps for this film, in which he enacts antagonistic undertones to the chemistry shared with Wahlberg, to supplant a vulnerable factor towards this team that feels like it could easily snap at any minute, and when rounded out by Emmanuel’s undeterred amounts of heart and fearlessness, serves as the proverbial cap that manages much of those burning coals of history between the characters at bay, allowing them to keep their eyes on the coveted prize. Aside from these key contributors, I found the growing dynamic between Wahlberg and Arthur to enrich the film with elements of heart and tenderness that nearly saved this movie, even despite the manipulative emphasis that it seems no movie featuring animals can capably deviate from. In such, Jones directs the dog as this mystique figure of sorts who continuously defies the odds with immense feats that impress his human companions, and in his bonding with Michael, teaches him about selflessness and character in ways that inscribe to him what’s truly important, leading to an enlightening message that, despite its obviousness, is something that every athlete and human being should take from life, especially at a time when we feel as distantly divided as ever.
NEGATIVES
It sounds silly and a bit hyperbolic to state, but Arthur feels like the least important character in a movie that titularly surrounds him. I say this because the focus and framing of the script deduces him to a few spare scenes of him wandering before he ever comes across Michael and his crew, and when he finally does, we’re more than halfway through the movie, which not only creates a false narrative among its marketing, but also dramatically underscores the relationship at the forefront of the story, which reaches so forcefully for emotional gravity during its overtly dramatic climax. The drama itself feels manipulative as a result of close-ups to Arthur’s eyes, repetitive moaning in the movie’s sound design, and of course a meanderingly swelling music score that obliterates subtleties like an atom bomb hitting an apple. If the script introduced these two together earlier in the film, then their bond would’ve had more time to naturally grow, but the continued distance between them grows all the more concerning the longer the film persists, creating a distraction in focus that actually did have me checking my watch, so to see how long we could possibly go without them interacting. Aside from the issues with Arthur, this script is leveled with inconsistencies of underdevelopment that introduce so many subplots within its various characters, but then do little to nothing meaningful with them in ways that make them feel integral to the storytelling. This not only undervalues Michael’s teammates, who ironically we spend more time with than the aforementioned distancing of Arthur, but also proves how little of importance they serve than to just be ushers for Michael’s own moral evolution, bouncing off of him in ways that frequently feel one-dimensional. The film is also poorly managed for time, both in the urgency of the race itself, with them gliding by fifty other teams with little to no conflict along the way, as well as the assembly of this team, which feels as rushed as a heist movie with too many characters. In fact, the entire first act of the movie almost just feels like a prologue to the second and third acts themselves, with so little building blocks in the respective dynamics of each group member, and repetive desparations to remind audiences that Arthur exists in this world without downright showing him with the group, being the alluring factors that are supposed to lure you into this story, I guess. It leaves the pacing feeling downright frantic, especially with the film clocking in at a meager 95 minutes, which offers little in the essence of leeway, as our storytelling vividly reflects that of the race itself, with very few moments of reflection or patience to sequencing that eventually becomes overwhelming with trying to remain focused. Also, in “Arthur the King” being a classified sports story, it brings along all of the tropes that you might expect from an installment within the subgenre, but the worst easily being this periodically overhead narration from an unforeseen broadcast journalist who quite literally echoes everything audibly that we’ve seen visually. It wouldn’t be so bad if it happened once or twice, but by the fifth time hearing “Michael needs to remain focused if he’s going to win the race”, or “Michael’s greed often gets the better of him”, I found myself annoyed with having to swallow a bitter pill of generically on-the-nose writing, leaving me wishing that the film omitted this aspect of the framing, especially since this character is never seen on-screen throughout the duration of the film.
OVERALL
“Arthur the King” will inevitably find its audience as a sappy and at times over-the-top dramatic crowd pleaser, but the sincerity of its story is weighed down by a rushed execution and mishandled focus that requires more patience than expected. Simon Cellan Jones combines grit and grandeur in the depths of his documentation of the sport, and Wahlberg enriches matters with an everyman charm that helps to overlook some of the thinly written characterization, but it’s ultimately one of those all bark and no bite kind of situations that feels lost in translation, sewn together by the four most terrifying words in cinema: Based on a true story.
My Grade: 5/10 or D