In junior high and high school, I actually was part of the cross-country team, which is one of the most physically demanding sports I have ever participated in. I enjoyed it mainly because without any judges or referees, winning and not winning is pretty cut and dry. Having done that, I cannot imagine what it is like for those that do endurance racing like the one represented in Arthur the King.
Simon Cellan Jones (The Family Plan), this cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Nathalie Emmanuel, Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance, Ali Suliman, and Paul Guilfoyle. Based on true events, Mikael Lindnord (Wahlberg) is a professional athlete in Adventure Racing, a multi-day team sport involving everything from running to paddling to biking in some of the most extreme elements and locations across the globe. Mikael is in the twilight of his career after taking time off, and knowing he really only has one shot left assembles a team and literally “goes for broke”. During the race, the team is befriended by a stray dog, and with the little bit of compassion starts to follow them. The dog eventually becomes basically the team mascot which in the end helps the team emotionally as they try to win the race.
Since the races take place in extreme locations, it really seemed like no expense was spared in showing off some beautiful locations but also the sides of those parts of the world that were either dangerous, run-down, or even both. When it comes to the acting, I through the performances were good for what they were, but really the shining star here is the dog who played Arthur himself. He was absolutely incredible and held his own with his human co-stars and then some.
At almost an hour and forty-five minutes long, this felt about right from a pacing standpoint, keeping me interested and well-paced. It does take some liberties from the actual story, but I do not think that ruined the film. I did appreciate the level of emotions that are packed into Arthur the King, especially if you are an animal lover. This film is good for the entire family, so I will recommend seeing it in the theaters as a twilight showing.
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