Arthur the King

I love Mark Wahlberg, I love feel-good dramas, and I love races, so purely out of curiosity, I went to the cinema to treat myself to some unpretentious relaxing entertainment and that's exactly what I got. Wahlberg is great as always, the race, although based on real events, is slightly neglected; or rather, we don't get any groundbreaking sequences, action or any life and death scenes, but anyway the film takes us for fools (e.g. climbers without belays with the bike on their backs, the carabiner overhooking the rope, etc), and detracts a bit from the believability, but that's forgivable, as this is not the main thrust of the film. It is in fact the bond between Mark and the unknown dog, who follows them all the way (almost miraculously) and always somehow finds his way to them (even more so when he is such a cute little pup), and I must say that they have also cleverly managed to create a bond between them and sell it to the viewer in spades. I was satisfied and felt completely relaxed the whole time and was sure of a three star rating, but the pictures of the real Michael and Arthur the dog at the end and also the overall poignancy of it, where I'm sure 90% of the audience will be in tears at the end make me go a 4* rating. Such an (un)believable real life story definitely deserved to be made into a film, and Simon Cellan Jones did it absolutely brilliantly (after his previous excellent The Family Plan). The result is a big, funny, touching and tearful thing that I don't think I would force anyone to go to the cinema to see, but later on VOD I simply have to recommend it with wholeheartedly. (13.04.2024)

A pretty nice movie with Mark Wahlberg going on an adventure race in the jungle where he meets a dog and becomes a full-fledged member of the team. I'm a bit disappointed that the race itself lacks any sort of typical survival parameters, there was no significant thrilling obstacle apart from the cable car, and the whole thing is mostly about the doggie's relationship with Marky, which can stir up some minor emotions at the end, but I won't scratch for a higher rating. Nice but ordinary. 6/10. (30.04.2024)