Movie · 2024 · Adventure, Drama · 1h 47m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 2.1/10 (39.2K ratings)
An unexpected encounter. An unlikely bond. An unforgettable adventure.
Overview
Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.1/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
Metacritic: 54
TMDB: 7.5/10
Director
Simon Cellan Jones
Production
Entertainment One, Tucker Tooley Entertainment, Municipal Pictures, Atmosphere Entertainment MM
Cast
Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Suliman, Bear Grylls, Paul Guilfoyle, Rob Collins, Alani iLongwe, Cece Valentina, Roger Wasserman, Oscar Best, Theodore Johns, Jonathan Lopez, Michael Landes, Angie Berube, Andrés Castillo, Luke Grozenski, Luis Bryan Mesa, Carlos Alfonso Rodriguez Tejada
Where to watch
Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
Curator Review
Verdict
A sturdy, sentimental survival-adventure with real crowd-pleasing appeal, especially if you’re here for an underdog story and a very good dog. It’s predictable and occasionally corny, but the race sequences, physical stakes, and emotional payoff make it easy to watch.
Best for
dog lovers
feel-good true-story fans
adventure and endurance-race viewers
audiences who like inspirational dramas
fans of straightforward mainstream crowd-pleasers
Skip if
you want a gritty or unsentimental survival film
you’re tired of formulaic inspirational biopics
you need deep character complexity over uplift
you dislike obvious emotional manipulation
Overview
Arthur the King is built on a simple, effective engine: a grueling race, a damaged team, and a stray dog who becomes the movie’s emotional center. The film knows exactly what it is, and when it leans into the physical challenge of the adventure race, it has enough momentum to stay engaging.
Worth noting
The drama is broad and familiar, with the usual beats of conflict, redemption, and team bonding. Some viewers will find the human material a little generic, but the movie’s sincerity helps it land better than a cynical version of the same story would.
Bottom line
What makes it work is the combination of outdoor peril and canine charisma. If you want a polished, accessible tearjerker with enough action to keep it moving, this is an easy recommendation. If you’re looking for something sharper or more surprising, it may feel like it’s running on well-worn tracks.
Top Letterboxd reviews
tajakartio (3★) · 932 likes
Mark: Race starts in like .5 seconds. We can do it guys. We’re ready for this. We didn’t come here for 2nd, we came here for 1st. We a mf TEAM!
Missandei: uhhmmmmm… idk if this is a bad time but my dad is dying of cancer ☝🏼😔
sydneybroyls (1.5★) · 735 likes
needed less mark wahlberg and more dog
📀 Cammmalot 📀 (3★) · 412 likes
FUN FACT: The following year eight teams showed up to the adventure race with canine mascots of their own. However, by that time, the IRC had already banned the use of what they called: PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DOGS.
Three years later, there was even more controversy, when the winning team, De-Scepter was disqualified, because it was discovered that their fourth team member, “Mr Belvedere” was actually a labradoodle in disguise.
No extra meatballs for you my friend.
Cinematic Time Capsule – 2024 Ranked
2024 U.S. Release Schedule
Movie Trailer Court - 2024
FTRTGlenn (2.5★) · 289 likes
Craziest fucking drowning scene I have ever seen in a movie holy shit 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
The first 2/3rd’s of this movie are not even about the dog.
2024 RANKED
Calla (1★) · 274 likes
most insufferable corny rich white man blows his wife and daughter’s savings, lies to everyone he knows, and yells at his veteran dad, but it’s all okay because he met a dog.