The Reel Review
A team competing in the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic adopts a stray dog on their journey after the dog saves their lives. Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Natalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) star in this family adventure drama based on adventure racer Mikael Lindnord’s own life story.
Every dog owner loves a good dog movie, especially when the star is a dog as sweet and cute as the one in this film. But other than one harrowing scene involving a racer stuck on a quickly fraying zip line, this story is disappointing in its blandness, especially given its thrilling, adventure racing backdrop. As a result, the intended heartfelt moments feel empty and unearned.
Michael Brandt’s (3:10 to Yuma) weak, disjointed screenplay, under the guidance of director Simon Cellan Jones, feels like separate stories – one about the main character’s relationship with his fellow racers and family, and another about the new canine companion, with clunky pacing and a very phoned-in performance from Wahlberg. In the canon of dog movies, this one is a bland miss.
REEL FACTS
• Mikael Lindnord wrote Arthur – The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home.
• Although the racing team in the film is Americans, Lindnord is Swedish and the race took place in Ecuador. The real Arthur died in 2020, six years after his rescue and just before filming began.
• Director Simon Cellan Jones also directed Mark Wahlberg in 2023’s The Family Plan.
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