‘Arthur the King’ Review

Rated PG-13
Opens: March 15, 2024
Kevin says ARTHUR THE KING Kinda rocks!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an easy mark for a movie about dogs, and the new film ARTHUR THE KING takes advantage of this.

This inspirational sports film is a true story of a group of athletes, led by Mark Wahlberg, who encounter a stray dog during a 10-day, 435-mile race the Dominican Republic. The dog soon becomes their unofficial mascot and gives them newfound focus.

Wahlberg often balances uplifting stories with his Hollywood blockbusters, and that serves him well. Sure, the first chunk of the movie is all about him, but he eventually defers to his canine costar for the emotional thrust.

The first half is the most flawed. The script struggles through tired tropes and clichés as the racing team comes together, overdoing it a bit on their personal motivations.

But if you’re gonna err in a movie, do it early and then end with a bang. And sure enough, once the racers bond with Arthur the dog, I was suddenly interested.

Ukai, who plays Arthur, is the MVP here. And while the movie hits plenty of familiar beats you’ve seen in a dozen other dog movies, it hits them quite well.

ARTHUR THE KING gets three and a half meatballs out of five. I’m Kevin Carr, and that’s the way I see it.

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