Arthur the King (2024)

The best scene partner Mark Wahlberg has had in years is a stray dog who joins his team over a single meatball. Arthur the King stacks an adventure-race movie, a comeback story and a dog movie on top of each other, and the seams show. Wahlberg plays Michael Light, a racer still stung by a viral flop in Costa Rica, when he steered his team’s kayak against the tide. Years later he gets one more shot in the Dominican Republic, but his sponsor halves his funding and forces Leo, now a social media star with a clothing line, back onto the team. The race itself is legit fun, especially a stretch where they climb rock faces with bikes strapped to their backs. The tear-jerking is heavy-handed. It holds a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes and made $40.86 million worldwide on a reported $19 million. A 6.2 because the dog is perfect and the movie keeps underlining it. $3,568 says you share your next meatball with whatever dog is closest and call it destiny.

What works: The race sequences have real physical scale, and Wahlberg and the dog share an easy chemistry that carries the sappy stretches.

What doesn’t: It’s three movies fighting over one runtime, and the sentimental beats get underlined in thick marker.

Who it’s for: Dog people, adventure-race fans and families who want a guaranteed cry on movie night.