Bear Grylls Invites Journalists to Experience ARTHUR THE KING Adventure Race

Published: March 15, 2024

Bear Grylls Invites Journalists to Experience ARTHUR THE KING Adventure Race

By Movieguide® Contributor

Renowned adventureman Bear Grylls recently invited 20 journalists, including Movieguide®’s Jeremy Carroll, to experience what racer Mikael Lindnord did in his remarkable race, as depicted in ARTHUR THE KING.

“So we’re out here in the sun, in the adventure, in the rain, and it’s kind of similar to what you went through but maybe a little more tame, right?” Carroll asked Lindord after the experience.

“I think we got a small taste…of how it is to be an adventure racer. I did this for almost 20 years, but that’s also the thing that we did here, we did also in the movie, so…ARTHUR THE KING is not the…same environment. We were out there in the bush, cliffs, everywhere,” Lindord said, “and I’m so impressed [with] all the staff and the crew and obviously the head experts for pulling off a movie like this.”

Director Simon Cellan-Jones told Comic Book Resources that he wanted the movie’s scenes to look dangerous, so they filmed in “tough” places.

In the Bear Grylls experience, the journalists ate scorpions, “rescued” a team member, zip-lined, rode mountain bikes, kayaked and tried to find their way in the bush through orange clouds of fog.

Outdoors journalist Daniel Terrill teamed up with Carroll for the kayak event.

Terrill wrote, “I paired up with Jeremy, who [works] for [Movieguide®], to share a kayak and it couldn’t have been a better match-up. We were nearly identical in height, weight, and build and we shared a passion for outdoor activities.”

“Out on the water, instructor Sean had us race out to one end of the shoreline. With our long arms, Jeremy and I were fast – probably the fastest out there (or the most competitive),” he said. “We paddled hard. Each stroke reached deep into the water as we pulled ourselves across. We were the first to reach the end.”

The instructors led the journalists to believe that the team that saves another instructor paddling in a dog costume wins the race. However, when Carroll and Terrill hurried over, they got their kayak tipped over as a reward.

“Sure, it was a little deceiving to be duped into saving someone only to be intentionally pulled in,” Terrill wrote. “But for me, it was one of those moments where I was glad things worked out the way they did. Although things technically went bad because I fell (or tipped) out of the kayak, I would’ve been disappointed if it hadn’t happened.”

Movieguide®’s review of ARTHUR AND THE KING reads:

ARTHUR THE KING is an unforgettable adventure movie. It stars Mark Wahlberg as Michael, a professional world adventure racer. Michael puts together an underdog team, a man with a hurt knee, a self-centered teammate, a woman who doesn’t really have the desire, and Michael himself, who is about to age out of the competition. As they start the race, Michael sees a scruffy, haggard-looking dog following them everywhere they go. Even in scenarios where it seems impossible, the dog shows up. Will this dog help them go the right way? Will the team of underdogs be able to make it through and win the race?

ARTHUR THE KING is a feel-good movie that will make audiences want to go along for the ride. It has a strong moral, redemptive worldview. It stresses love, laying down your life for someone else, and helping weaker people. All the characters must learn to give up their pride and work together. Sadly, however, ARTHUR THE KING has lots of PG-13 foul language. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution especially for older children and other media-wise viewers.

“Obviously it’s adventure, but you can take that adventure part away. It’s a love story, too,” Lindord said about the movie. “It’s about something that happened maybe once in a lifetime. It happened to me, and it turned out to be a friendship or a love for many, many years.”