Kong is King
I went to see the documentary “The King of Kong” last night. I had heard the hype of this documentary through my brother, who had read an article in the LA Times about it. He told me that it was a documentary about one man’s quest to break the all-time high score on Donkey Kong (Which was set by classic arcade legend Billy Mitchell in 1982).
My Bro knew that since it was about gaming (especially classic gaming) that it might spark my interest. I proceeded to forget about the movie and come Saturday, I read some reviews on my regular gaming news sites. Then my memory was refreshed and I decided to research more reviews out of curiosity.
All the reviews were impressive…so I figure “Why not go see the freekin’ thing and do a review on my blog?” (boy do I sound dumb). So I saw it… and here we are.
The screening I went to was at the Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles (an independent film theater). This theater is only one of five different screens that will be showing this film nationwide (to start with). I had read a little about the film before I went to the screening, so I was somewhat prepared. There was definitely a full house, and a Donkey Kong machine in the lobby for display. I found out later that they were giving it away on their website. There was a good mix of geeks and film buffs in the house. On top of that… the Director (Seth Gordon) and the Producer (Ed Cunningham) were at the screening and were having a questions and answers session after the screening (which was a real plus).
The film is a story of Steve Weibe. A 35 year old father of 2, who had just lost his job with Boeing and gained an interest in Donkey Kong (which he had in his garage) while in between jobs. He soon became really good at the game, and stumbled upon the record (on the internet), and the legend of the record holder…Billy Mitchell!
Steve begins on a quest to beat the current world record held by classic gaming God…Billy Mitchell. He spends months in his garage playing until he finally beats Billy’s record and records it on tape. He sends the tape into 2 Galaxies (the organization in charge of records for all the classic arcade games) to claim victory over Billy Mitchell.
Little does Steve Weibe know that he is dealing with a quirky organization of gaming geeks that worship the ground that Billy walks on. So in short Steve is shut down by Billy Mitchell and his minions.
Steve doesn’t lay down so easily though! He delves deep into the world of the classic gaming geeks and proves live, once and for all, who’s the King of Kong.
Even though our hero Steve beats the record live in front of all the 2 Galaxies officials, Billy still finds a way to shut poor Steve down again.
Steve still doesn’t lay down, and challenges Billy to a one on one showdown right in Billies home town in Pompano Beach, Florida (for the Guiness Book of World Records). Will the legendary Billie Mitchell show up for the event and prove his prowess? Or will Steve lose it all to this gaming legend? You’ll just have to find out for yourself!
This was a fantastic movie. It was full of interesting characters (some borderline retarded and some definitely socially retarded), a great story line and pure real human drama. There is no need to be a gaming fan, or even know what the hell Donkey Kong is to appreciate this movie. The editing was fantastic…from the reaction shot choices to the little visual effect nuances thrown in. This movie had a great contour to it, and ranged from big laughs to even a tear.
My hats off to you Seth Gordon and Ed Cunningham…Great job! I highly recommend that all who read this article, look out for this movie and see it! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!
Oh…and on a side note, Seth and Ed are already developing the narrative feature for the documentary…can you imagine Tom Cruise and Greg Kinnear as Billy and Steve?
Click here for more info
Click here for another review
Technorati Tags: The King of Kong, documentary, LA Times, Donkey Kong, Billy Mitchell, gaming, Nuart Theater, West Los Angeles, independent film theater, geeks, Seth Gordon, Ed Cunningham, Steve Weibe, 2 Galaxies, Pompano Beach, Guiness Book of World Records
