Movie Review: The King Of Kong

I saw a commercial for this documentary on G4. They are showing it in the upcoming month. It caught my attention because it looked so painfully dumb. I happened to find it online and watched it. It was actually pretty interesting.

The movie is about competitive video game players, mainly those who play Donkey Kong. The movie starts by building up the champion score holder, Billy Mitchell...a completely arrogant, insecure and fragile restaurant owner. This man obviously was told by his parents that he would be an astronaut. I have never seen someone so stuck on himself in my life. And the only accomplishment he can really brag about was...having the highest score in Donkey Kong that he suspiciously video taped himself playing...we think. His machine wasn't put under any testing to see if it was rigged. To top it all, the man IS afraid to play anyone head to head to defend his throne. He's too big for that. He honestly reminds me of the dwarf in Elf that thinks he is more than he is or Rex from Rex Kwan Do in Napoleon Dynamite.

Then there is Steve Weibe. Very humble obsessive compulsive guy who challenges him for his record. His family is visibly strained by his addiction, but his wife still supports him. His daughter makes a statement about his pursuit of a Guiness World's Record that was prophetic. She said "A lot of people ruin their lives to get in that book." Wow! Out of the mouth of babes. Steve is a nice guy and a school teacher who hasn't succeeded at much. He scores over a million on video tape, but his machine is put under scrutiny by Mitchell's henchman. On top of that, he scores a record at the time Mitchell sends a video tape of his supposed record.

It is a fascinating movie. I was laughing at some of these morons that are so addicted to games! Then Billy is a complete piece of work who is very insecure in himself. He talks tough to make up for what he isn't. His wife is a trophy wife. His marriage and life are a complete opposite to the life of Steve.

I thought it was going to be a sad end, but then it flashed an update at the end which made it worth it! Too awesome!!! Definitely fun to watch and laugh at. 3 stars from me.

"The King of Kong"