Dorchester’s Mark Wahlberg stars in ‘Arthur the King,’ a feel-good film about an athlete’s last shot at winning with a surprising turn involving a dog.

By Bob Tremblay/Boston Movie News

If “Arthur the King” tugged at the heartstrings any harder, it would rip out an aorta. 

This is one of those feel-good movies that goes out of its way to try to make you feel good. How good you feel after watching it will depend on how much schmaltz you can digest. 

Based on a true story (revealing the title would be a spoiler) by Mikael Lindnord, the film tells the tale of an athlete who gives it one last shot to win after years of losing. Heard that plot before? Here, the athlete is an adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Walberg in place of the Swedish racer Lindnord). His one last shot is a 435-mile race in the Dominican Republic (replacing Lindford’s Ecuador) that involves hiking, biking, and kayaking through unfriendly terrain. The film opens with Michael’s team losing in an embarrassing fashion. It’s time for—drumroll, please—redemption.

To make amends, Michael has to leave a real estate job he dislikes (his war-hero father runs the business), his family—wife Helen (Julie Rylance, daughter of Mark) and cute daughter Ruby (Cece Valentina)—and a gorgeous Colorado home. For a lifetime loser, he lives well, and Michael sure wants to succeed like his dad did. You can keep track of the cliches with a calculator.

Determination intact, Michael now has to find a sponsor and then put together a team. If you’re waiting for the dog to show up with Michael, you’ll have to wait awhile. We do see him scrounging for food and being chased by dogs through the streets of Santo Domingo. He’s also clearly been abused. That’s a sympathy builder similar to Disney’s penchant for killing off a parent (or both parents) of the protagonist.

Michael’s team consists of Chik (Ali Suliman), who has a bad knee history (he’s frequently asked if his knee is OK), Leo (Simu Liu), a racer and social media influencer who butted heads with Michael during their last race together, and Olivia (Nathalie Emmanuel), who’s racing for her father. Wait, doesn’t there have to be a serious illness involved to ratchet up the emotions further? Actually, there are two. And wait again, doesn’t there have to be a life-fulfilling moment to counteract that? Of course, there is. This is a feel-good film, after all. 

Anyway, the team finally gets assembled, and off they go. And in case you missed this piece of repetitive dialogue, “Racers race.” Oh, and did you know that winners win, too? And did you know that Michael is his own worst enemy? He even gets to say, “This is our time.” Don’t expect any Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay here

Eventually, the aforementioned dog (played by Ukai) shows up out of nowhere and starts following the team. Michael names him Arthur the King because Peter the Great had already been taken. This gives Michael the opportunity to feed Arthur meatballs and converse with the dog. We even have a scene where Lassie saves Timmy from the well. I mean Arthur saves the racers from certain death. Real-life adventurer Bear Grylls acts as race narrator. I was waiting for him to say, “Win one for the nipper.” 

In the kayak race, the team abandons Arthur—no dogs in the kayak says an official. So Arthur goes dog-paddling after Michael’s kayak. This ends up providing a scene so ludicrous that even the audience at the screening I attended laughed during it. Trust me, that wasn’t the filmmaker’s intent.

So, how does a feel-good film end? Everyone dies in a kiln explosion. No, either the underdogs (sorry) triumph against all odds, or they win in other ways, aka the “Rocky” factor. Even though he loses the fight, Rocky still emerges a champion. If you haven’t seen “Rocky”  and I just spoiled the movie for you, my apologies. 

I can’t completely pan “Arthur the King” because I don’t want dog lovers howling at me (sorry again). Seriously, not all of the dialogue from screenwriter Michael Brandt is dreadful, the cast doesn’t humiliate themselves, the scenery looks great, and the action scenes are impressive, including one that may make you think twice about venturing on a zipline). Once the race begins, director Simon Cellan Jones keeps the pace frenetic with only breaks to treat health issues.   

Just in case anyone thinks I’m a hopeless cynic, I do like dog movies—good dog movies. I loved “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey” (yes, there’s a cat in it), and I still haven’t recovered from watching “Old Yeller.” Jones has the unenviable task of trying to make a hybrid movie work, melding a sports film with a dog melodrama.

“Arthur the King” says a lot about sacrifice, friendship, and loyalty. I just wish it told its story without injecting an overdose of saccharine.      

‘Arthur the King’

Rating: PG-13. Some naughty words and a little peril. To be honest, the film could easily be rated G, but then no tween would go see it.

Cast: Mark Wahlberg and Ukai the dog

Director: Simon Cellan Jones

Writer: Michael Brandt

Running time: 107 minutes

Where to watch: In theaters Friday, March 15

Grade: C

Bob Tremblay is the former film critic for the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Mass., and a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics.