Movie Review:
King of Kong – A Fistful of Quarters

As a fan of modern-day competitive video gaming, I was pretty anxious to see this movie. With it’s limited showings in cities around the country, I had feared that I would either have to wait for it to come to DVD, or just read about it and miss out on it altogether. On many gaming websites there has already been lots of hype and hoopla over the film, ranging from wild and exaggerated praises to irate gaming fans that feel that the film’s antagonist was portrayed in an unfair way. Well, whatever. I had to see it for myself to form an opinion, and lucky for Jacksonville, we can now see King of Kong in theatres starting this Friday.

King of Kong is a documentary film that follows the casual but dedicated gamer Steve Wiebe (pronounced “Wee-Bee”) on his mission to get the top score in the age-old classic known as Donkey Kong. Steve, who judging by the movie seems to be a pretty regular guy aside from the fact that he plays so much Donkey Kong, really goes the distance to show his worth. As the film starts, you find that Wiebe had recently achieved the accomplishment of getting the world record high score in not only Donkey Kong, but also the sequel to the game, Donkey Kong Jr. In doing so, he knocked out video game legend and hot sauce mogul Billy Mitchell, who eventually becomes the antagonist of the film. Billy Mitchell plays a good bad guy in the film, and he is probably the most quotable guy in the history of all champions, with the exception of Muhammad Ali. Take this little gem, for example: “No matter what I say, it draws controversy. It's sort of like the abortion issue. If you're for it, you're a son of a gun. If you're against it, you're a son of a gun.” (Note: Mitchell never ever uses swear words, and never curses)

Wiebe, on the other hand, seems to be the polar opposite. Calm and friendly, all he wants to do is play some Donkey Kong in a head-to-head fashion with Billy Mitchell in a friendly match. He comes across as the nicest guy ever, and doesn’t seem boastful or rude to anyone in any way during the film, and though he strives for the high score, his family seems to keep him grounded. When discussing the Guinness Book of World Records and the importance of gaming scores, a little girl who I’m sure was Wiebe’s daughter made a good point. While Wiebe noted that some people take them very seriously, she responded back: “Yeah, but some people ruin their lives with that stuff.”

The ups and downs of Steve Wiebe’s adventures are well documented and edited in a dramatic way that stays interesting throughout the movie. Along the way you meet plenty of colorful, real-life people who really show some personality, such as the Twin Galaxies arcade referee who also happens to be a musician and something of a hippie, if you go by his appearance in the film. And I can’t leave out a mention of mustachioed men who wear specialty gaming gloves molded from weightlifting gear, or the greasy hair and awkward clothing that seems to have come from an 80s movie. Yes, there are nerds aplenty, but not only are they real and authentic, they also wear the clothing that nerds from the era of their favorite game would have worn back in the day. I’m talking golden Phil Donahue eyeglasses, greasy hair, and fanny packs, a look only upgraded with cell phone holsters on the hip. Terrific!

Overall, I feel that the movie in itself is worth the ticket price, if not more. Like most documentaries, much of the subject matter has been edited for dramatic effect and certain nuances are left out that may give some insight to the relationship between Steve Wiebe and his rival Billy Mitchell, but as it is it’s a great watch. If you want to read up on the current high scores and see opinions from fans of the players and from some top players themselves, you can read all about that and more at the official movie site. But even if you aren’t THAT interested in the subject matter of this film, it’s a great watch nonetheless, and definitely not just geared toward videoheads from the 80s.