Arthur the King (2024)
Directed by Simon Cellan Jones
Written by Michael Brandt
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance
Release Date March 15th, 2024
Published March 15th, 2o24
There is nothing remotely surprising or unique about Arthur the King, aside from that strange title. Forgive me a moment of being pedantic, but, in context, I have no idea what led to this title or the name of this dog. In the scene where Mark Wahlberg, as Adventure Racer Michael Light gives the dog the name Arthur, The King, he says the dog is acting like a King because he wasn't begging for food, he was patiently waiting to be offered food? And this is, I guess, a reference to King Arthur? Was King Arthur known for patiently waiting to be offered food before he ate?
It feels like a reach and the movie gives us no context for why Michael Light made this logical leap to 'he's a King because he doesn't beg and waits patiently,' you know, like Kings do. I'm sure that the real life Michael Light had a more reasonable explanation than this in arriving at this moniker for his new dog friend. The movie just makes it feel awkward and bizarre because it's in a rush to keep this overly familiar, sports crossed with dog movie moving. Title aside, Arthur the King delivers exactly what is promised, a charismatic pooch, a rugged athletic hero, and an underdog story that lives up to the word, underdog, in more ways than one.
Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here
No comments:
Post a Comment