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The word “sport” does not begin to do it justice. Adventure Team Racing is the most extreme, demanding, endurance activity in the world. It makes the Iron Man combination of running, swimming, and biking look like a game of hopscotch. An adventure race can involve running, biking, climbing, kayaking, and any other imaginable strenuous movement forward, over every possible kind of treacherous terrain. Races can last for many days, with only brief permissible stops and time penalties for aids like IV fluids. “Arthur the King” is based on  the true story  of one of these races, with an American team racing through the jungles, mountains, and rivers of the Dominican Republic (the real story involved a Swedish team in Ecuador). Mark Wahlberg plays team leader Michael Light, who bonds with a stray dog he names Arthur. 

It is really three movies in one, all watchable, but the pieces do not always mesh.  The first and least compelling piece is Michael’s story. He is a restless character, possibly an adrenalin junkie, or just someone with something to prove after being called “the best adventure team racer never to win a championship” by “Man vs. Wild” host Bear Grylls (playing himself off camera). Michael loves his wife and daughter but he does not love working for his former military-turned realtor father. He will not let his legacy be a viral image of his losing team literally stuck in the mud. 

No one wants to sponsor him after his last failure. But with just half of the money he needs, Michael assembles a team: Chick ( Ali Suliman ), the navigator, who was let go from the championship team for his bad knee, Olivia ( Nathalie Emmanuel ), the expert free climber and daughter of an ailing former champion, and Leo ( Simu Liu ), the one who posted that viral mud photo, a social media star who is still angry with Michael over the bad decisions that cost them the prize in the previous race. Michael promises that this time Leo will have a voice in the team’s direction and Lou warns him, “It will be a loud one.”

The second piece of the film is the story of the race, “5-10 days racing the toughest terrain on earth.” With a limited budget, the team cuts back on the crucial on-site preparation time. They arrive just before the race begins, with not enough time to acclimate to the climate. “The first rule is anything can happen,” Michael tells the team, and everyone responds with sports-y pep talk aphorisms like “Whatever it takes” and “We accept it. We embrace it.” 

The first event is a 24-mile trek through the jungle. There’s no set path, so one of the challenges of the sport is to find shortcuts through terrain that is treacherous and uncharted. This part of the film has gorgeous settings (though the racers hardly ever take time to look at them) and very exciting sequences, including a real nail-biter on a fraying zip line. 

The third piece, of course, is the story of Arthur, an abused street dog who improbably, after “not a dog person” Michael gives him a meatball, follows the team for hundreds of miles and at one point saves them from running off a cliff. Arthur and Michael both begin the film as loners, but over the course of the race we see them become a team and then a family. The entire team’s “whatever it takes” spirit continues but there is a shift in the idea the human members have about “it,” the goal they are willing to risk everything for, should be. 

At times, as Michael spoke to Arthur, it did feel like Wahlberg was imitating Andy Samberg imitating him and I half expected him to tell the dog to say hi to his mother. But the connection between Michael and Arthur, and the way Michael transfers the determination he brings to the race to the fight to bring Arthur home is undeniably moving. We look forward to the inevitable shots of the real Mikael and Arthur over the closing credits.

Michael’s wife calls his dream “a magical finish line,” and the movie reminds us that we should pay close attention to the goals we set for ourselves, to decide whether achieving them will really give us what we are hoping for and what it means to win.

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

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Arthur the King (2024)

Rated PG-13

107 minutes

Mark Wahlberg as Michael Light

Nathalie Emmanuel as Olivia

Simu Liu as Leo

Ali Suliman as Chik

Bear Grylls as Self

Michael Landes

Paul Guilfoyle as Charlie Light

Rob Collins as Decker Swanson

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Film Review: ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’

'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' director Guy Ritchie treats the Arthurian legend as opportunity for another rowdy chase after an elusive weapon.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

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Early on in his career, Guy Ritchie took rough-and-tumble streetwise hoodlums and elevated them to hero status. Now, he does the opposite, taking high-class literary heroes — first Sherlock Holmes and now King Arthur — and plunging them down to gutter level. The idea, one supposes, is to make these lofty cultural icons into relatable underdogs, but the effect is akin to slander. If there ever had been a real Sherlock or Arthur, they would surely be horrified to see themselves depicted as such commonplace thugs.

In Ritchie’s over-the-top, rock-and-roll “ King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ,” the less you know about the legend in question, the better. The brash British director has thrown out nearly all preexisting Athurian notions and come up with a smoking new riff on the famous sword-in-the-stone tale that makes “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” look like a work of rigorous historical scholarship by comparison.

It’s epic, in the sense that it features elaborate CG backdrops swarming with thousands of virtual extras, and it’s extravagant, to the extent that Warner Bros. flushed away millions of dollars to produce this gaudy eyesore. But ultimately, “King Arthur” is just a loud, obnoxious parade of flashy set pieces, as one visually busy, belligerent action scene after another marches by, each making less sense than the last, but all intended to overwhelm. That technique has served Richie well before — a sort of slick back-alley magic by which he distracts our attention in one direction, only to pull off something wondrous and surprising in the other, much to the audience’s collective amazement. But in this case, the approach largely backfires, as attempts to dazzle with giant elephants, a scenery-chewing Jude Law, and an occasionally shirtless stud king (played by well-cast, but otherwise squandered “The Lost City of Z” star Charlie Hunnam ) leaves us more confused than awestruck.

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Lumped together with a small militia of rebel soldiers, some random Vikings and a mighty French sorceress (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, sexier than Merlin, yet still powerful enough to summon birds and snakes to do her bidding), these elements constitute an entirely new take on the man who wielded Excalibur — one that isn’t remotely coherent, mind you, but intends to serve as a revisionist origin story all the same. Ritchie wants to set up a new King Arthur legend that, were it to catch on, might actually generate a sequel or two down the road (and who’s to say it won’t, when last year’s comparably ill-conceived “The Legend of Tarzan” managed to avert disaster with its still-disappointing $357 million worldwide haul?). And yet, there seems to be no small amount of confusion about the word “legend” at Warner Bros. these days, as their approach to such icons seems to be, “You think you know [insert King Arthur-scale hero here]? Well, think again!”

Ritchie and co-writers Lionel Wigram and Joby Harold (who initially sold the studio on an expansive, multi-film series) seem to have confused King Arthur with Robin Hood, re-imagining England’s chivalrous first knight as some sort of rabble-rousing proto-gangster, backed by a crew of cutthroat forest dwellers (archers, mostly) eager to stand up to the despot king Vortigern (Law), who killed Arthur’s father (Eric Bana) and seized the throne. The script also boasts a bizarre fantasy dimension, as well as peculiar aspects of the Christ story, as the challenge to pull the sword from the stone is treated less like a contest than some sort of deadly trial, forced upon every Brit of a certain age, where the winner — he who can pry Excalibur from its rocky scabbard — will be swiftly executed (much as insecure King Herod massacred countless innocents to thwart the prophecy that a newborn Jew would rise to take his throne).

After playing the straight man to Robert Downey Jr.’s borderline-unhinged Sherlock Holmes in two Ritchie-directed blockbusters, Law seems to relish getting to let loose here, and his villainous Vortigern has all the gristle of a high-camp performance. But Ritchie’s overwrought sense of flamboyance isn’t nearly queer enough to achieve “so bad it’s good” self-parody. Rather, he comes across as an aging rebel worried about being judged un-hip, clearly over-compensating in order to remain one step ahead of fellow stylists Zack Snyder (“300”), Tarsem Singh (“Mirror Mirror”), and Alex Proyas (“Gods of Egypt”) — all of whose genuinely outrageous, inadvertently awful work appears to be a source of inspiration here.

Collectively, these directors have reached a point where their films run the risk of collapsing under the weight of their own production design, especially since Hollywood no longer makes stars big enough to compete with the environments that surround them. (Have you noticed: Even Trump looks tiny when photographed at Mar Lago?)

At least Hunnam has the potential to be the next Brad Pitt, having begun his career in a series of demanding acting roles — including a long run on FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” — before making the transition to blockbuster screen idol. He’s got presence, along with a sense of vulnerability that’s essential to the Arthur role, in which he plays a true-blood prince, orphaned by his uncle, raised in a brothel, educated on the streets, and thrust into the unlikely position of saving the kingdom.

But Hunnam’s competing with so much ridiculous window-dressing here. It’s as if Ritchie, who began his career with the rowdy follow-that-shotgun caper “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” has once again tried to build an entire movie around the whereabouts of a rare weapon, when the legend of the sword isn’t nearly as interesting as that of the man who wields it.

Reviewed at Warner Bros. Studios, Los Angeles, May 8, 2017. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 126 MIN.

• Production: A Warner Bros. Pictures release and presentation, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, Ratpac-Dune Entertainment, of a Weed Road/Safehouse Pictures, Ritchie/Wigram production. Producers: Akiva Goldsman, Joby Harold, Tory Tunnell, Steve Clark-Hall, Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram. Executive producers: David Dobkin, Bruce Berman, Steve Mnuchin.
• Crew: Director: Guy Ritchie. Screenplay: Joby Harold, Ritchie & Lionel Wigram; story: David Dobkin, Harold. Camera (color, widescreen): John Mathieson. Editor: James Herbert. Music: Daniel Pemberton.
• With: Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Aidan Gillen, Freddie Fox, Craig McGinlay, Tom Wu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Neil Maskell, Annabelle Wallis.

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Movie Review: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

• Greg Eichelberger
• Movie Reviews
• 7 responses
• --> May 15, 2017

As Arthurian films have gone in recent years, the most epic in my opinion is probably “Excalibur” from 1981; the most interesting one is the 1995 Richard Gere vehicle, “First Knight”; the most fun was the 1963 animated “The Sword in the Stone”; while the best is easily 1975’s classic, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

The worst, however, is no doubt this latest version, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword , directed by Guy Ritchie (“ The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ,” and the rebooted “Sherlock Holmes” film series) who also penned it along with Joby Harold (“Awake”) and Lionel Wigram (“ Sherlock Holmes ”).

This medieval mish-mosh attempts to incorporate Ritchie’s wearing-thin shtick of quick-edits, jagged cuts and seizure-inducing visuals with the legend of the Round Table, complete with massive battle elephants (think “ 300 ,” but on boatloads of HGH), African warriors (who no doubt dotted the ancient British landscape), Asian kung-fu masters (the film even uses the term, “kung-fu,” believe it or not), exploding arrows and, of course, the famed sword Excalibur which, after being removed from its stone prison, begins to take on a life its own (certainly much more than those acting in this film).

With so much going on, there is precious little room for such luxuries as story, plot, character development and clear, coherent direction. This results in overwhelming confusion and obfuscation, as well as Ritchie’s constant anachronisms, including score, dialogue and period technology.

It’s as if he binged watched every film on the subject (including 1954’s “Prince Valiant” and the 1967 musical, “Camelot”) added “Game of Thrones” to that list and then decided to make King Arthur: Legend of the Sword with a modern soundtrack and populating it with supposed artists who supposedly know their craft.

For instance, the titular role is played by Charlie Hunnam (“ The Lost City of Z ,” but who cut his teeth on the “Sons of Anarchy” TV series), a handsome, appropriately hunky Brit, who cannot carry the part of a man robbed of his birthright across the finish line. Instead, the writers pile on modern terms and plenty of ridiculous action sequences to take the acting burden off his shoulders.

Then there’s Guinevere (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, “ I Origins ”), who, as a Mage (or magician), goes into unintentionally hilarious trances, but can control crows or something like that.

Former Academy Award-nominated actors Jude Law (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain”) and Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond,” “In America”) make appearances as the evil King Vortigern and the kindly Sir Bedivere, respectively, but add nothing to the production, unfortunately. Even Eric Bana, who starred in another sword and sorcery production (“Troy”) cannot salvage anything in his short time onscreen here, either.

Beware, however, as there are plans for a whole slew of sequels to be released behind King Arthur: Legend of the Sword . Hopefully, overwhelmingly negative critical and audience reaction might just founder those designs. Like the recent cinematic IEDs, “ The Lone Ranger ,” “ Ben-Hur ” and “ The Legend of Tarzan ,” among others, expect this to go nowhere. Even Skull Island would not take in this “King.” It’s best to just see “ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ” a few more times. You know you want to anyway.

Tagged: England , king , mythology , revenge , sword , wizard

I have been a movie fan for most of my life and a film critic since 1986 (my first published review was for "Platoon"). Since that time I have written for several news and entertainment publications in California, Utah and Idaho. Big fan of the Academy Awards - but wish it would go back to the five-minute dinner it was in May, 1929. A former member of the San Diego Film Critics Society and current co-host of "The Movie Guys," each Sunday afternoon on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego with Kevin Finnerty.

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'Movie Review: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)' have 7 comments

May 15, 2017 @ 1:24 pm Kevin F. Quinn

Guy Ritchie is a preferred taste. The man has an offbeat style that isn’t for everyone and I guess isn’t good for King Arthur as it was for Sherlock Holmes.

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May 15, 2017 @ 1:40 pm 3tonfun

I’ll stick with “Excalibur.”

May 15, 2017 @ 1:51 pm golden poodle

Critics are vicious sonsabitches. I admit it has a few flaws like difficulty understanding some of the conversations and too many quick edits, but it is a solid fantasy picture.

May 15, 2017 @ 2:34 pm Cheney

Disappointing it probably won’t get a sequel due to the lackluster critical response. I liked it.

May 15, 2017 @ 4:12 pm NomadBaker

British legend with British actors – American audiences were never going to go for it.

May 15, 2017 @ 5:47 pm Penny Nickle

It’s not the best work of Guy Ritchie’s (that would be Snatch) but it is at the very least a fresh take on an old boring tale.

May 15, 2017 @ 8:55 pm the_steed

King Arthur deserved better.

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Arthur the King

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It's hard to deny Arthur the King 's ability to tug at the heartstrings, although it may have been more effective if it had taken a subtler approach.

Arthur the King is a feel-good movie with enough excitement and heartwarming drama to entertain the whole family.

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King Arthur: Legend of the Sword review – Guy Ritchie's cheerful den of medieval dodginess

The Sherlock Holmes director has conjured up an entertaining rollercoaster that crashes through Arthurian legend, with only the occasional stall

G uy Ritchie’s cheerfully ridiculous Arthur is a gonzo monarch, a death-metal warrior-king. Ritchie’s film is at all times over the top, crashing around its digital landscapes in all manner of beserkness, sometimes whooshing along, sometimes stuck in the odd narrative doldrum. But it is often surprisingly entertaining, and whatever clunkers he has delivered in the past, Ritchie again shows that a film-maker of his craft and energy commands attention, and part of his confidence in reviving King Arthur resides here in being so unselfconscious and unconcerned about the student canon that has gone before: Malory, Tennyson, Bresson, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle etc. Instead, Ritchie launches into an all-purpose tale of medieval brigands and scofflaws. It’s more of a laugh than Antoine Fuqua’s solemn take in 2004.

Arthur and the Round Table knights are more like Robin Hood and the merry geezers, a tale of right lairy thieves, and Ritchie’s story of their supernatural-assisted insurrection against the forces of tyranny cheerfully pinches bits of The Lion King and Gladiator and The Hobbit and Testaments Old and New; and he even has a talking-into-a-severed-ear joke nicked from Reservoir Dogs. It’s unsubtle to say the very least, in the same way that Iron Maiden is unsubtle. But maybe subtlety is the wrong approach. At any rate, Ritchie has his head firmly in the speaker bin, and at one stage an evil character even winces and cringes with a ringing in his ears, as if he has been doing the same thing.

Arthur’s dad is of course Uther Pendragon, played by Eric Bana, who is betrayed by his panto evil brother Vortigern, a pop-eyed, pursed-lip Jude Law . The tiny infant Arthur makes a fortuitous escape with everything but a basket of rushes and finds himself growing up with a right bunch of apple-cheeked cutpurses and associates of ladies of the night by the river in a quaint place called Londinium. It is there that Ritchie unveils one of his hypercaffeinated, hyperdrive speeded-up sequences, taking us through Arthur’s journey from childhood to young manhood in a matter of minutes: the sheer effrontery, and its undoubted breezy skill raises a laugh. Having ensconced Arthur as the emerging young leader of a crew, Ritchie brings in such repertory stalwarts as Geoff Bell (bad guy) and Neil Maskell (good guy) for this den of dodginess, and they are entirely at home.

Wicked Vortigern is ever paranoid about the rumoured youngling who might one day defeat him, and who is the only one capable of extracting a certain sword from a rock that forms the bizarre centrepiece to his Angkor Wat-style medieval palace complex. All the men of a certain age are rounded up and forced to attempt this feat, not knowing what it portends, and when Arthur can actually do it and then gets away, it looks as if he will be able to command a kind of prototypical resistance government composed of disaffected nobles and stout-hearted ruffians, including Bill (Aidan Gillen) and Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou).

But there is no Merlin: a big flaw in this movie. Presumably the famous wizard is being saved up for one of the many followups in the franchise series in the pipeline, which may or may not arrive. (We are still waiting for the rest of those Narnia films, by the way.) What we do have is the Mage, in the form of Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, a person of magic skills and the one female character in the knightly sausage party; she is possessed of a gaunt beauty, and eyeballs that tend to turn completely black in the ecstasy of magic. It is the Mage, who – and it’s a bit of a narrative cheat, this but allowable in a fabular context – can get Arthur and his guys out of a jam. Most impressively, she conjures a gigantic snake, after forcing Arthur to let a normal-sized one bite him. It’s a very creepy, and rather exciting scene. When Merlin turns up, probably in the next film, that is going to be a big showoff role and my money is on Robert Downey Jr.

It’s reasonably good fun and there’s a great “assassination” scene in which the director himself puts in a cameo as a frowning householder. The film rattles along exhilaratingly, if sometimes intermittently, like a fairground rollercoaster that occasionally stops and makes you get out and walk for a few minutes before letting you back on.

• Guy Ritchie
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• King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

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King arthur, common sense media reviewers.

Entertaining but violent spin on classic story.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

One of the major themes is the idea of embracing l

Arthur doesn't blindly follow the dictates of

Frequent bloody battle scenes; allusions to rape a

Allusions to sexual prowess from one of the knight

Occasional mild profanity: "piss," &quot

Some of the knights are shown drunk at a feast, sh

Parents need to know that King Arthur has many bloody battle scenes and deaths, with lots of swords flashing and arrows flying. Young Arthur sees his town burnt and knows that his parents have been killed, which will disturb some kids. Several victims of torture are shown in weakened states and refer to…

Positive Messages

One of the major themes is the idea of embracing love, spirituality, and faith.

Positive Role Models

Arthur doesn't blindly follow the dictates of Roman Catholic leaders who validate torture and enslavement and trusts his own understanding of his faith as well as his own moral compass. Lead female character displays as much valor and bravery as any of the men.

Violence & Scariness

Frequent bloody battle scenes; allusions to rape and torture; lead characters die. Battles with swords, arrows, flaming arrows, catapults. Constant medieval violence. In a flashback scene, a boy watches in horror as his mother is attacked and killed by warriors before his home is burned to the ground. A woman is shown on the verge of being raped by a Saxon; it's stopped by their leader, who then has her killed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Allusions to sexual prowess from one of the knights. Implied sex in one scene, no nudity.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional mild profanity: "piss," "bastards," "ass," "arse." Joke made about the size of a man's penis. During a feast scene in which the knights are drunk, one of the knights is overheard saying, "She gave me fleas," to which another knight says, "Be glad that's all she gave you." A female soldier tells one of the knights, just before a battle with the Saxons, "Don't worry. I won't let them rape you." Mockery of prayer and of Christianity by nonbelievers in some scenes that could be offensive to religious viewers.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Some of the knights are shown drunk at a feast, shouting and behaving boisterously.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that King Arthur has many bloody battle scenes and deaths, with lots of swords flashing and arrows flying. Young Arthur sees his town burnt and knows that his parents have been killed, which will disturb some kids. Several victims of torture are shown in weakened states and refer to machines of torture. Two characters have a sensual scene with nonexplicit sex. Characters talk about women, sex, and their physical attributes. Arthur's men drink to celebrate and to mourn loss. A peasant woman is shown on the verge of being raped by a Saxon. Iffy joke made by female lead referencing rape. Occasional mild profanity: "piss," "bastards," "ass," "arse." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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The butt review

What's the story.

KING ARTHUR ( Clive Owen ) and his six knights have completed the 15-year tour of duty guarding Hadrian's Wall required of them by Rome. Arthur's knights are conscripts from Samaria, young, pagan horsemen from the Steppes of present-day Georgia/Russia, who cannot return home without safe passage papers from Rome. Meanwhile, half-Roman/half-Celtic Arthur hopes to be reunited with his friend, the moral reformer, Christian, and free-will proponent Pelagius, to partake of the democracy and equality that Arthur believes now rule Rome. However, the bishop who carries their release papers also brings the news that Arthur and his men have one final mission to complete: they must cross Hadrian's Wall to face the blue-painted tribes to the north led by the sorcerer-warrior, Merlin ( Stephen Dillane ), in order to retrieve a noble Roman family.

Is It Any Good?

Saying that this retelling of the King Arthur story is "The Truth Behind the Legend" is an overstatement of epic proportions, making the movie's tagline the only thing epic about it. The battle scenes, dialogue, and attractive actors all place King Arthur squarely in the realm of summer popcorn flicks: entertaining and briefly uplifting, but not destined to linger in memory, much less in history. The story sounds complicated, especially considering that it jettisons just about everything you expect in a story about King Arthur but the Round Table. It piles on the history, but there is just enough plot to fill the scenes between battles.

Those looking for the familiar terrain of King Arthur's legend -- the silvery arm holding Excalibur aloft, the search for the Grail, and the illicit love between Lancelot and Guinnevere -- should head to the library. Those in search of the true stories behind King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table can look to Celtic, Scottish, Welsh, Roman, and Assyrian legends. But those looking for some memorable battle scenes and some attractive actors without too much plot to slow things down can fill up the popcorn bucket and sit back for some mindless entertainment.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about leadership and the characteristics that inspire loyalty in King Arthur , as displayed by Arthur, Merlin, and the Saxons.

How does the movie remain true to the well-known stories of the Arthurian legend, and where does it put its own spin on the tale?

Was all the violence necessary in order to convey a sense of what medieval battle was like, or did it seem like it was forced in to make the movie exciting?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 7, 2004
• On DVD or streaming : December 21, 2004
• Cast : Clive Owen , Ioan Gruffudd , Keira Knightley
• Director : Antoine Fuqua
• Inclusion Information : Black directors, Female actors
• Studio : Touchstone Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Adventures , History
• Character Strengths : Courage
• Run time : 120 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense battle sequences, a scene of sensuality and some language
• Last updated : November 16, 2023

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King Arthur

• Action/Adventure , Drama , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Clive Owen as Arthur; Keira Knightley as Guinevere; Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot; Mads Mikkelsen as Tristan; Joel Edgerton as Gawain; Hugh Dancy as Galahad; Ray Winstone as Bors; Stellan Skarsgård as Cerdic; Stephen Dillane as Merlin

Home Release Date

• Antoine Fuqua

Distributor

• Touchstone Pictures

Movie Review

Think you know all the stories ever told about King Arthur? Think again. Here the knights’ armor is not so shiny, and there’s no Camelot in sight. No damsels in distress, either. In fact, the story’s major damsel, Guinevere, is a major source of distress for the bad guys.

Writer David Franzoni, who also penned Gladiator, revisits the Roman legions in this version of the story, set in Britain during the time when the Pax Romana was retreating from the far reaches of the empire like a fast low tide. Arthur, otherwise known by his Roman name Artorius Castus, is the leader of a Roman cavalry unit. His “knights,” all impressed into service from their homeland on the steppes of Russia, have fulfilled their 15-year obligation to Rome and await their discharge papers, which will make them free men and full Roman citizens.

But Bishop Germanius has other ideas. He forces Arthur and his men into one last mission: to go north of Hadrian’s Wall, the high-tide mark of the Roman Empire, to rescue a Roman family whose son is a favorite of the Pope. Along the way they’ll have to fight past the native Celts, and that’s only if the invading Saxons don’t get them first. Either way, they face some unpleasant choices.

Positive Elements

Even though this movie remakes the time and setting of the Arthur legend, it does not remake the characters (except for Guinevere, who’s a tomboy spoiling for a fight). Arthur is a brave and inspiring leader. His knights are valiant, selfless warriors. Upon rescuing the Roman family, Arthur cannot bring himself to leave the local serfs behind to be slaughtered by the Saxons, so he moves the entire lot south toward safety.

Even though the knights eventually receive their discharge papers, they turn back to fight one last battle with Arthur. Arthur frees a slave from chains (he’d been uppity, according to the master) and liberates people from a dungeon. He is a strong believer in the equality of all people—hence the Round Table. (No one can sit at the head of such a table, much to the consternation of the local bishop.) He prays that if anyone has to die in an upcoming fight, it be he so that his comrades will be spared. One of the knights sacrifices his life to allow the others to escape.

Spiritual Elements

Arthur is a devout and outspoken believer in God, although his life doesn’t always show the fruit of his stated commitment. (He has sex with Guinevere, and at the end of the film he gets married in a pagan ceremony officiated by Merlin, which makes you wonder what Arthur thinks of the apostle Paul’s counsel in 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”) He is also a follower of Pelagius. (See postscript for more on Pelagius.)

Arthur does pray often and thanks God on more than one occasion. “Everything I’ve done I’ve done for the Church,” Arthur says at one point, and another times asserts, “Deeds mean nothing if not done for a higher purpose. Without faith we are nothing.” He says of his men, “They retain the religion of their forefathers.” And just because he supports the Church doesn’t mean he’s content to let the Church slide into disarray. He challenges a crooked bishop and berates mistaken priests who believe the only way to convert pagans is to lock them in a dungeon. Upon seeing the dungeon, Lancelot angrily asks, “Is this the work of your God?” But when Lancelot boasts that he kneels to no god, Arthur says, “No man fears kneeling before a God he trusts.”

During one fight a monk hides under a wagon and prays in fear. After the battle, one of Arthur’s men mocks the monk and his prayers. A bishop accuses Arthur of defying the Pope. The head of a Roman family, while claiming to be a representative of God, is cruel to the local peasants. Merlin is called a “dark magician,” although there’s no evidence of such “magic” on the screen. A tribe of renowned horsemen believes that fallen knights return as great horses, and at the end of the film we see three magnificent horses galloping free—coincidentally, the number of Arthur’s knights who die.

Sexual Content

The infamous love triangle between Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot is missing from this version of the story, and while Lancelot casts a few winsome glances at Guinevere, it’s clear that she’s interested in Arthur. She proves it by entering the king’s bedchamber one night, where the pair begin groping and kissing. Arthur runs his hand pretty far up her outer thigh before the camera cuts away, but enough is seen to convince viewers the pair goes further, and they’re left with a vivid image of Guinevere’s sexual pleasure.

A Saxon invader attempts to rape a woman. (He’s stopped after he pushes her to the ground and jumps on top of her.) A woman is seen bathing. There is some coarse joking about a man’s privates. When facing a horde of Saxons, a knight jokes to Guinevere, “There’s a large number of lonely men over there.” Her retort: “Don’t worry, I won’t let them rape you.”

One knight, Bors, has fathered so many children that he gives them numbers instead of names. Still, he is not married to their mother. [ Spoiler Warning ] When Arthur and Guinevere marry at the end, Bors sulks to one of the kids, “Now I’ll have to marry your mother.”

Violent Content

Hey, it’s a movie about knights. That means lots of swordplay and flying arrows, although nothing gory is seen. One side hurls huge fireballs at the other, and some men are set afire. (Historical side note: The Saxons’ crossbows and the fireball-hurling trebuchets in reality would not be invented for several centuries.) A group of warriors breaks through a frozen lake, and we see them trapped beneath the ice, drowning.

Crude or Profane Language

Minor. One use of “bloody.” A few uses of “a–” and “p—,” and one “d–n.” A man refers to children as “little bastards,” although he’s being quite literal since he’s not married to their mother.

Drug and Alcohol Content

The knights toast with goblets of wine. A scene in a tavern features drinking. One man says, “I’m going to drink until I can’t p— straight.”

Other Negative Elements

A man protests that he doesn’t kill for fun. He companion urges him to try. “You might get a taste for it,” he says.

Part Braveheart (complete with blue-painted warriors), part The Seven Samurai with a dash of Gladiator thrown in, this movie features many positive lessons on loyalty, courage and self-sacrifice. A sexual situation, battlefield violence and a bit of coarse joking go some distance to spoil them, though, and some teens might get bored with the ponderous storytelling. King Arthur would work far better had it included fewer scenes of a brooding king plodding through the forest.

A postscript: It’s interesting that the filmmakers chose to set up the conflict between Arthur and the crooked bishop as one of theology—a Pelagian versus the established church instead of simply a Christian versus a corrupt leader. Probably 99 percent of viewers will have no idea who Pelagius was and why it’s necessary to the story. Still, it would make an additional interesting point to any post-film discussion.

Pelagius was a monk who lived in the 5th century. Influenced by Roman Stoic philosophy, with its emphasis on human virtue (compare this to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator), Pelagius denied Original Sin and said Adam’s fall was merely the setting of a bad example. For Pelagius, death was not a result of Adam’s sin but simply the natural order of things.

Accordingly, he denied that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin and that we are saved by God’s grace. Pelagius taught that Jesus, by his life and death, merely countered Adam’s bad example and that if we work hard enough at copying Jesus’ model, we too can earn salvation. That’s why the Arthur in this movie spends so much time talking about and doing honorable things. The Church declared Pelagianism heresy in AD 418.

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Summary A spectacular, epic tale of one man's destiny to become a king. [Touchstone Pictures]

Directed By : Antoine Fuqua

Written By : David Franzoni

King Arthur

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‘arthur the king’ review: mark wahlberg lets the dog steal the spotlight in cheesy but charming canine comedy.

Wahlberg plays an adventure racer who forms a powerful bond with a stray dog in Simon Cellan Jones' film based on a true story.

By Frank Scheck

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'atlas' review: jennifer lopez and simu liu in another netflix movie made to half-watch while doing laundry, mark wahlberg's 'flight risk' movie from director mel gibson lands fall 2024 release, arthur the king.

He is, perfect, however, for playing the sort of obsessed, win-at-all-costs character who clearly spends much more time at the gym than your typical husband and father. His Americanized character, Michael, is shown in the opening scenes of the movie competing in a previous competition in which he nearly kills his four teammates with his reckless decisions, and still winds up losing the race.

Interspersed with the scenes detailing Michael’s preparations are ones introducing us to Arthur, an injured, scruffy street dog who’s clearly seen hard times but is resourceful enough to hitch a ride on a passing truck when being chased by two larger canines.

Michael makes Arthur’s acquaintance during the team’s first rest stop after their jungle trek, when he’s impressed by the dog’s unwillingness to beg despite being obviously hungry. Michael gives him a meatball anyway, not realizing that he’s sealing an irreparable bond between them.

Some 200 miles later, after his team nearly runs into catastrophe while making a shortcut that involves mountain climbing and ziplining with their bicycles attached (it’s a truly harrowing sequence), Michael is astonished to encounter the dog again, having no idea how he managed to follow them through the rough terrain. Dubbed “Arthur” because of his noble demeanor, the dog soon becomes an invaluable member of the team, keeping up with them every step of the way and even saving Leo’s life by preventing him from unwittingly walking off a steep cliff in the dark.

Obviously, being a dog lover goes a long way toward one’s enjoyment of Arthur the King . But even if you’re not, you won’t be able to resist this canine thespian who manages to convey a world of information merely through barks. And he doesn’t even need those. When Michael sits down to tell him that, sorry, he won’t be able to kayak with them, Arthur looks at him with the most doleful, poignantly sad eyes since Charlie Chaplin gazed at the formerly blind girl at the end of City Lights .

Is all of this manipulative and cheesy? Yes, and yes. But it ultimately proves irresistible, and will be especially so for younger audience members. Parents should be advised that taking their children will inevitably result in pleas for a dog of their own immediately following the film.

Wahlberg infuses his performance with genuine heart, making his character’s falling in love with his new canine companion fully believable. And Juliet Rylance is fine as Michael’s supportive wife, even if she’s forced to spend most of the movie staring at a computer and saying lines like “Michael, what have you done?” and “Way to go, Michael!”

But it’s Ukai who’s undeniably the real star of the film. Now if only Hollywood can put him in a canine buddy movie with Messi from Anatomy of a Fall .

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King Arthur Review

30 Jul 2004

125 minutes

King Arthur

In a wordy pre-film caption, it is made clear we are about to witness King Arthur minus the frills. This is an epic based on the recorded fact that there was a bona fide Arthur, as in Lucius Artorius Castus, who may have been the germ from which local legends blossomed into fanciful myth. Shed your preconceptions for the sharp tang of truth: there's no love triangle, no pre-ordained destiny, no Holy Grail and no magic. A questionable policy when it comes to the eager froth of summer moviemaking - it's like taking the Merry Men out of Robin Hood.

So, the names may be familiar but the setting and storyline are as bleak as a soggy Glastonbury. Arthur and his boys, hungry for retirement, get bogged down in one final mission - its relevance hastily abandoned - and happen upon an imprisoned Guinevere (Knightley's comely tribal princess). With the pillaging Saxons bearing down on her tribe, she uses her wiles to entice Arthur into doing the decent thing by clobbering some incoming crusties.

Rather than lacking a story, the film seems to be struggling to keep 27 of them in the air at once. Half-Roman, half-proto Brit, Arthur is a mess of motives: is it honour, religion, patriotism, doubt, love, revenge or a dedication to free will that drives his struggle? Clive Owen, impressive to look at but limply unheroic, struggles with reams of exposition and a very silly helmet. We're supposed to believe his magnetic leadership has fuelled a localised PR frenzy.

Knightley, too, seems exhausted by the lead-weighted dialogue and thin romance. However, she perks up when dolled in war-paint and, with very little on, romps into battle to such vivid effect you wonder why she bothered to enlist the dour Arthur in the first place.

His seven-strong band is efficiently established, helpfully demarcated, despite infestations of facial fuzz, by weapon of choice, age, personality, fighting style and level of grumpiness. Ray Winstone bellows to much-needed comedic effect as the barrel-chested Bors, Dane Mads Mikkelsen spins non-regulation Kill Bill poses as Tristan, while the stand-out is Ioan Gruffudd's headstrong Lancelot. He has the only genuine charisma on show, and in one variation of the plot could be regarded as the protagonist, but the turmoil of the man is another empty promise.

What becomes swiftly obvious is that Fuqua is more tickled by paying homage to Seven Samurai than refitting Excalibur's plush medieval romance to a mud-caked Dark Age. Which is no bad thing in itself - if you're gonna pilfer, pilfer big - and if he'd concentrated solely on such a mission the movie could have harnessed some genuine dramatic thrust. No such luck. It's been scattered to the four winds of marketing, lavishing unwieldy screen time on Knightley's good looks at the expense of the leathery knights, and dashing hopes of flying giblets realism for an all-encompassing demographic.

Somewhere in the murk there's a decent movie just out of reach. Fuqua favours a rich, earthy look of airborne sods, pea-soupers and dizzying blizzards, peaking with a terrifically inventive clash on a frozen lake. Atmosphere spills from all directions, but to what purpose when the action is slashed to ribbons and the characters hobnailed by the script's indecision?

Nothing aligns, nothing builds, and before you know it we're hip-deep in the big showdown - a free-wheeling frenzy of choreographed combat that neglects to find much space for the cast. And, by band-of-brothers movie lore, not nearly enough of the good knights buy it.

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Arthur the King Blu-ray Review: Great Bonus Features Aid True Story

By Tyler Treese

The Arthur the King Blu-ray is now available following the film’s theatrical release earlier this year. Based on the remarkable true story of adventure racer Mikael Lindnord , the film is an inspirational drama about the bond between man and dog and what really matters in life. Starring Mark Wahlberg , the gripping dog movie directed by Simon Cellan Jones combines some great sports action with drama that will melt the heart of any animal lover.

“In Arthur the King, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur over the course of a grueling 10-day, 435-mile racecourse,” says the official description. “Based on true events, [the movie] follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. Pushing the team to the outer limits of endurance and sacrifice, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty, and friendship truly mean.”

Admittedly, I am a dog owner and clearly the intended audience for Arthur the King, as I was captivated from start to finish. The film has really strong performances by not only Wahlberg and the supporting cast (including the wonderful Nathalie Emmanuel, Simu Liu, and Ali Suliman ) but also its canine thespian named Ukai. The dog and the crew did a wonderful job of imbuing the movie with a ton of heart, making the dog appear as a stray struggling with infections and then going on an incredible journey with the adventure racers that it follows. Through swamps, tall grass, and everything in between, Ukai does a great job in some tough filming scenarios, and you can tell that there’s a real bond between the animal and Wahlberg that goes beyond the screen.

While the drama of getting Arthur home is ultimately at the heart of the film, the actual adventure racing provides plenty of thrills. This is a physically intensive film as the actors had to climb, hike, bike, zipline, and kayak in its many racing scenes. A few action set pieces really stand out, serving as strong high points with some really striking shots of the Dominican Republic where the film was shot.

One of the coolest parts of the Arthur the King Blu-ray is that it includes not one, not two, but three commentary tracks. Considering it is becoming an increasing rarity for commentary tracks to be included on home releases, it is great to see such care and for there to be multiple ones. The most interesting is the one between the director, Simon Cellan Jones, and the real-life inspiration, Mikael Lindnord, as they trade some great stories about the production and the true story that it’s based on. The other two tracks are also a fun listen, with some interesting perspectives from two pairs of producers: Tucker and Tessa Tooley, plus Mark and Dorothy Canton.

There are also over 25 minutes of bonus featurettes included, plus a dog rescue PSA and its trailer. The first featurette, “Finding Arthur,” is a lovely nine-minute video about Ukai and the dog’s performance, showcasing just how talented the animal is. Additionally, “A Love Letter to Arthur” is a five-minute video about Lindnord and the true story, while “A Dog’s Journey” is an 11-minute making-of feature with some great behind-the-scenes footage.

Arthur the King Blu-ray Review: Final Verdict

With plenty of bonus content and three commentary tracks, the Arthur the King Blu-ray is an easy recommendation for those who love dogs or sports dramas. The actual movie is based on a wonderful true story and manages to both thrill viewers and tug on the strings of their hearts in the process, making it worthy of multiple revisits.

Disclaimer: ComingSoon received the product from the distributor for our Arthur the King Blu-ray review.

Tyler Treese is ComingSoon and SuperHeroHype's Editor-in-Chief. An experienced entertainment journalist, his work can be seen at Sherdog, Fanbyte, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more. When not watching the latest movies, Treese enjoys mixed martial arts and playing with his Shiba Inu, Kota.

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Adam holz, paul asay and johnathan mckee, movie review: arthur the king.

While the redemptive messages in this feel-good story might get many a tail a-wagging, its profanity is worth a growl or two.

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Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

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Adam Holz  After serving as an associate editor at NavPress' Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In's reviews along with hosting The Plugged In Show and the Plugged In Entertainment Review radio feature.   Paul Asay has been part of the  Plugged In  staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including  Time,   The Washington Post  and  Christianity Today . The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter  @AsayPaul . Jonathan McKee  is the author of over twenty books. He has over 20 years youth ministry experience and  speaks  to parents and leaders worldwide, He can be heard each week on the Plugged In Entertainment Review radio feature and The Plugged In Show. You can follow Jonathan on  his blog , getting a regular dose of youth culture and parenting help. Jonathan, his wife Lori, and their three kids live in California.

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King Arthur (2004)

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10 reasons mark wahlberg's new movie bombed at the box office, making just $7.5 million.

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8 reasons reviews for kevin costner's new western are so bad, kevin costner's new western movie sounds worryingly like his 14% flop from 27 years ago.

• Arthur the King's title misleads audiences, sounding like a medieval epic instead of a dog movie.
• Mixed reviews and a score of 64% on Rotten Tomatoes suggest mediocre reception.
• Mark Wahlberg's declining box office draw and a poor marketing campaign may have led to the film's flop.

Mark Wahlberg’s new adventure movie, Arthur the King , has flopped at the box office with a measly $7.5 million opening weekend, but why is the film doing so poorly? Adapted from Mikael Lindnord’s memoir Arthur – The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home , Arthur the King stars Wahlberg as Lindnord, the captain of a team of mountain climbers, who finds a stray dog during a grueling 435-mile climb. Arthur the King was directed by Simon Cellan Jones, scripted by Michael Brandt, and released into theaters by Lionsgate following an ill-advised, male-skewering marketing campaign.

With an opening weekend haul of just $7.5 million, Arthur the King has bombed at the box office . The movie has faced stiff competition from Dune: Part Two and Kung Fu Panda 4 , which have both had impressive legs at the box office, but that’s not the only factor in Arthur the King ’s failure. From a title that sounds like it belongs in a totally different genre to a star who doesn’t have the broad appeal that he once had, there are plenty of reasons why Arthur the King has been a box office flop.

10 Arthur The King's Title Sounds Like A Medieval Epic, Not A Dog Movie

The title tells audiences nothing about what kind of movie it is.

It’s easy to blame box office failure on a bad title, but that has to be the case with Arthur the King . Anyone who hadn’t seen any marketing for Arthur the King , and was just checking listings at their local movie theater for something to watch, would assume that it’s a medieval epic, not a lighthearted dog movie. The title of the memoir that the film was based on, The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home , might be a little wordy, but at least it tells its audience that it’s a story about a dog.

9 Arthur The King's Reviews Were Okay But Not Great

It has a "fresh" score on rotten tomatoes, but it's a low fresh score.

Arthur the King earned a “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score , but that fresh score is 64%, just 4% above the fresh threshold . That’s not a high enough score to turn any heads – it’s attached to a picture of a nice, ripe tomato, but it’s still a sign of mixed reviews. Audiences feel a lot more confident watching a movie with a Rotten Tomatoes score in the 80s or 90s, which practically guarantees a good time, than a score in the 60s, which could go either way.

8 Mark Wahlberg Isn't The Box Office Draw He Used To Be

The old a-list has been replaced by a new a-list.

About a decade ago, when Wahlberg was starring in movies ranging from award-winning dramas like The Fighter to raunchy comedies like Ted , he could draw in a crowd. However, in more recent years, he’s starred in flops like Deepwater Horizon , Patriots Day , and Mile 22 , and relied on the brand recognition of franchises like Transformers and Uncharted to succeed at the box office. The traditional movie star is slowly becoming a thing of the past, and former A-listers like Wahlberg are being replaced by new talent like Timothée Chalamet and Sydney Sweeney .

7 Arthur The King's Marketing Might Have Hindered It

Arthur the king's trailers targeted male sports fans, not the bigger demographic of dog lovers.

As with many box office bombs, Arthur the King was let down by a misguided marketing campaign. The trailers focused more on Wahlberg’s character, the captain of an adventure racing team embarking on a mountain climb, and less on his relationship with the stray dog they encounter. The marketing skewed an audience of male sports fans, but they’re not a big moviegoing audience. Dog lovers are a much bigger demographic, so the trailers should’ve focused on Arthur the dog instead.

6 Arthur The King Could Have Decent Legs (Thanks To Its "A" CinemaScore)

The audiences who have seen arthur the king seem to have loved it.

While it has a lukewarm critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Arthur the King has an impressive audience score of 97%, indicating near-unanimous satisfaction. It also has an “A” CinemaScore from moviegoers leaving the theater. Arthur the King may have only been seen by a small number of people, but the people who did watch it seem to have enjoyed it. If they tell their friends about it, it could generate positive word-of-mouth that gives the movie good legs at the box office , allowing it to be a hit after all.

5 Arthur The King Seems More Like A Streaming Movie Than A Theatrical Release

This is the kind of movie that audiences are happy to watch at home.

There’s nothing about Arthur the King that demands to be seen on the big screen. With its small scale and simple storytelling, Arthur the King is the kind of movie that would do really well as a streaming exclusive. Since it doesn’t promise spectacle, and it doesn’t promise something that audiences have never seen before, it’s not the kind of movie that does well in a theatrical release.

4 Dog Movies Aren't Exactly A Blockbuster Genre (Although Some Have Done Well)

Dog movies aren't a guaranteed moneymaker.

With its tale of a man’s relationship with his dog, Arthur the King isn’t the kind of movie that audiences usually flock to. It’s not a superhero movie or a legacy sequel; it’s an intimate story about an adorable animal. Dog movies have performed well in the past – A Dog’s Purpose , A Dog’s Journey , and Channing Tatum’s Dog all made a lot of money – but it’s not a guaranteed blockbuster genre. Harrison Ford’s The Call of the Wild was a flop (although that can be partly attributed to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic).

3 Arthur The King's Budget Was Too Big

Some reports have arthur the king's budget at $40 million.

The mid-budget movie is dead. The only movies that seem to succeed these days are massive $200 million blockbusters by major studios and tiny $1 million indie movies that manage to make a splash in the cultural conversation. A24 and Blumhouse have made a lucrative business out of producing low-budget, low-risk movies, some of which break out and turn a huge profit that covers the losses of their other films. A movie like Arthur the King , which is reported to have a budget of up to $40 million (via Deadline ), just can’t thrive in this climate.

2 Arthur The King's Box Office Is Missing The Canadian Market

Arthur the king is going straight to prime video in canada.

The North American box office figures for Arthur the King only account for the United States. For its Canadian release, the film is being released straight to Prime Video. Canada is a huge country full of avid moviegoers and typically makes up a large chunk of any mainstream movie’s North American box office haul. By sending the movie straight to streaming in Canada, the studio has slashed its potential box office revenue.

1 Arthur The King Is The Kind Of Movie That Would've Performed Well Pre-COVID

The film industry is a very different beast in the post-covid world.

The film industry still hasn’t recovered from the effects of the COVID pandemic, and it will likely never get back to its pre-COVID ways. Before COVID, when audiences were more likely to go to a small movie at a theater and streaming services hadn’t made at-home viewing the norm, a movie like Arthur the King could’ve been a modest hit. But it’s just not the kind of movie that can succeed in a post-COVID world.

Source: Deadline

Arthur the King

Arthur the King is an adventure movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Simu Liu. Based on a true story, Wahlberg plays Michael Light, a pro-adventure racer who connects with a stray dog named Arthur. On his journey to win a final race, Light learns the true meaning of victory and friendship as his endurance is pushed to the limit.

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Arthur the King Blu-ray Review: Great Bonus Features Aid True Story

The Arthur the King Blu-ray is now available following the film’s theatrical release earlier this year. Based on the remarkable true story of adventure racer Mikael Lindnord , the film is an inspirational drama about the bond between man and dog and what really matters in life. Starring Mark Wahlberg , the gripping dog movie directed by Simon Cellan Jones combines some great sports action with drama that will melt the heart of any animal lover.

Buy Arthur the King on Blu-ray

“In Arthur the King, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur over the course of a grueling 10-day, 435-mile racecourse,” says the official description. “Based on true events, [the movie] follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. Pushing the team to the outer limits of endurance and sacrifice, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty, and friendship truly mean.”

Admittedly, I am a dog owner and clearly the intended audience for Arthur the King, as I was captivated from start to finish. The film has really strong performances by not only Wahlberg and the supporting cast (including the wonderful Nathalie Emmanuel, Simu Liu, and Ali Suliman ) but also its canine thespian named Ukai. The dog and the crew did a wonderful job of imbuing the movie with a ton of heart, making the dog appear as a stray struggling with infections and then going on an incredible journey with the adventure racers that it follows. Through swamps, tall grass, and everything in between, Ukai does a great job in some tough filming scenarios, and you can tell that there’s a real bond between the animal and Wahlberg that goes beyond the screen.

While the drama of getting Arthur home is ultimately at the heart of the film, the actual adventure racing provides plenty of thrills. This is a physically intensive film as the actors had to climb, hike, bike, zipline, and kayak in its many racing scenes. A few action set pieces really stand out, serving as strong high points with some really striking shots of the Dominican Republic where the film was shot.

One of the coolest parts of the Arthur the King Blu-ray is that it includes not one, not two, but three commentary tracks. Considering it is becoming an increasing rarity for commentary tracks to be included on home releases, it is great to see such care and for there to be multiple ones. The most interesting is the one between the director, Simon Cellan Jones, and the real-life inspiration, Mikael Lindnord, as they trade some great stories about the production and the true story that it’s based on. The other two tracks are also a fun listen, with some interesting perspectives from two pairs of producers: Tucker and Tessa Tooley, plus Mark and Dorothy Canton.

There are also over 25 minutes of bonus featurettes included, plus a dog rescue PSA and its trailer. The first featurette, “Finding Arthur,” is a lovely nine-minute video about Ukai and the dog’s performance, showcasing just how talented the animal is. Additionally, “A Love Letter to Arthur” is a five-minute video about Lindnord and the true story, while “A Dog’s Journey” is an 11-minute making-of feature with some great behind-the-scenes footage.

Arthur the King Blu-ray Review: Final Verdict

With plenty of bonus content and three commentary tracks, the Arthur the King Blu-ray is an easy recommendation for those who love dogs or sports dramas. The actual movie is based on a wonderful true story and manages to both thrill viewers and tug on the strings of their hearts in the process, making it worthy of multiple revisits.

Disclaimer: ComingSoon received the product from the distributor for our Arthur the King Blu-ray review.

The post Arthur the King Blu-ray Review: Great Bonus Features Aid True Story appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More .

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Arthur the King Giveaway

A rthur the King was a movie that we missed seeing in theaters. I would see the commercials for the movie and see the stars being interviewed but I never got around to seeing the movie. We were given a review copy and the movie was not only great but it was heartwarming and had my […]

The post Arthur the King Giveaway appeared first on Fan Dads .

Young Woman and the Sea Review: Inspiring Disney Magic with a Determined Daisy Ridley

Ridley sports an American accent and fierce determination that rivals her Star Wars persona, here as famed swimmer Trudy Ederle.

• A determined Daisy Ridley shines in a new Disney biopic, showcasing her versatility and talent as a leading lady.
• Gertrude Ederle's inspiring story of overcoming adversity, illness, and sexism is told in a pretty traditional way with a lot of sentiment, but nonetheless inspires.
• Young Woman and the Sea has an excellent supporting cast across the board, especially Stephen Graham.

WNBA star Caitlin Clark is sending shockwaves through the sport of basketball and reminding us that athletics don't have to be male-dominated in order to garner the attention of all those fans across the U.S. And 100 years ago, a similar dynamic came to light, when a certain female swimmer successfully crossed the English Channel by herself , proving you don't need that extra chromosome to make it happen. It was Trudy Ederle who accomplished this incredible feat in the 1920s and lived until 2003. Daisy Ridley portrays her in the new film, Young Woman and the Sea .

Her extraordinary journey amid tough times (to put it mildly) in a more sexist America is now depicted on the big screen with Disney's knockout new film. Young Woman and the Sea is a perhaps too traditional biopic that will nonetheless bring tears to your eyes and might even bring you to your feet in the theater , as you jump for joy and/or pump your fist to the beat of Ederle's inspired heart.

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Young woman and the sea.

Young Woman and the Sea tells the story of Gertrude Ederle, an American swimming champion, who first won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games. In 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English Channel.

• Daisy Ridley continues to impress as a powerful leading lady.
• The whole supporting cast give excellent performances in a very uplifting movie.
• Gertrude Ederle's story is inherently compelling.
• The movie plays it pretty safe as a very traditional biopic that can get a little too sentimental.

The late, great Chadwick Boseman was a perfect candidate to portray another sports icon, Jackie Robinson, in the acclaimed film 42 back in 2013, with Boseman's lion-like eyes evoking that fierce determination needed for the groundbreaking ballplayer. Similarly, there's Daisy Ridley, whose equally piercing eyes stole the show in the latest Star Wars trilogy as the beloved Rey Skywalker. It's no surprise, then, that she's the Young Woman for the part here. Daisy Ridley plays Ederle wonderfully with a flawless American accent (which she also showcased in Sometimes I Think About Dying ) alongside an extremely talented supporting cast.

In our recent interview with iconic producer Jerry Bruckheimer , he commented on how Young Woman is the highest-testing movie he's done to date . No surprise there. In addition to the stacked cast and inspiring story, this new offering from director Joachim Rønning ( Tron: Ares ) — working off Jeff Nathanson's script that was adapted from Glenn Stout's acclaimed book about Ederle — is also just purely entertaining from start to finish. Its quick pacing refuses to let you step away for a bathroom break, with exciting story developments at every little turn . Just you wait.

The Incredible True Story (and Book) That Inspired Arthur the King

It starts with young Trudy, when her life was threatened by illness before swimming even entered the picture. Years later, Ridley is now portraying the icon, swimming along the Brooklyn pier despite her dad Henry's (Kim Bodnia) perpetual disapproval. Anyone familiar with AMC's Emmy-winning series Killing Eve will surely enjoy seeing Bodnia in a more likable role here, though his stiff-dad antics might just make you eye-roll right alongside Henry's wife, Gertrud (the fantastic Jeanette Hain). Gertrude will stop at nothing to raise the funds necessary to see that her daughters Trudy and Margaret (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) can pursue their dreams of diving into the water and swimming alongside the men in this patriarchal society.

10 Best Daisy Ridley Movies, Ranked

Stephen graham and a great supporting cast.

Trudy starts to make a name for herself and ultimately weed out the bad eggs — AKA the men working with the swimming association, James Sullivan (Glenn Fleshler) and coach Jabez Wolffe (Christopher Eccleston), who act like they want her to succeed, but really don't. She soon crosses paths with the "good eggs" — fellow swimmer Ishak (the excellent Alexander Karim), who's also trying to cross the English Channel single-handedly, and a veteran swimmer who's already done it himself, played to perfection by Stephen Graham .

Folks will recognize Graham from grittier projects like The Irishman and Boardwalk Empire , but he's also dabbled in kid-friendly projects like Netflix's Matilda musical. And in the PG-rated Young Woman , he's a knockout as his wildcard character takes an interest in Ederle's seemingly impossible dream. Wait for a show-stopper of a sequence involving Ederle coming face to face with a swarm of jellyfish — and the tough advice Graham offers her along the way — that will simply stick with you.

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Daisy ridley and gertrude ederle inspire us to swim through adversity.

Earlier in the film, another knockout performance is Ederle's first coach, Lottie, played by Fleabag standout Sian Clifford. Here she's also donning a Brooklyn accent, and her dynamic as a hardnosed but uplifting coach opposite Ridley will inspire dreamers and budding athletes everywhere. And speaking of, Ridley continues to prove herself as a leading lady in Hollywood who won't just be remembered as a Star Wars actress . Sure, she'll appear in at least one more Lucasfilm project, but Young Woman and the Sea makes clear that she can tackle a wide range of commanding roles.

We could go on all day about how, despite its traditional and sentimental approach, Young Woman can motivate the masses to put down their TV remotes and get out there to pursue their dreams . Don't be surprised if this film ultimately gets screened in classrooms for years to come. "See, kids? This is what you can do if you follow your heart and never give up, despite the odds."

From Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Young Woman and the Sea will be released in theaters Friday, May 31.