This film is a documentary on one man's quest to have the top score on the old coin op classic Donkey Kong. Not on one machine, but in the world.
Why would you want to watch something like this you ask? Because it is absolutely brilliant. I grew up playing Donkey Kong, I know the pain they go thru. I never got to their levels, but I wasn't bad. The game is hard, there is no "pattern". There is a randomness to it that gets most players in the end.
But this is a quest of Steve Wiebe. He was laid off, and decided that he was going to be the best, so bought a coin op machine for his house. He also had to help raise his kids, and do family things, and be an everyday type of guy.
And he accomplishes it. He breaks the mark of 975000, sends in the video to the governing body, and waits for his accolades.
Billy Mitchell is the old owner of the record, and he also is in charge of confirming that the boards haven't been tampered with. Amazingly, his friends find that they might have been, so they disallowed the record.
You would be amazed at how organized the old coin op community still is. This is a big deal to a whole bunch of people. And what a group it is. The cast of characters, all real people, made you sit and wait for them to break out the 72 sided die, and a D and D session break out.
But they're "adults", and there is enough back biting, finger pointing, and childish behavior to fill a fourth grade class.
Billy Mitchell is the biggest baby of all. Steve Wiebe eventually goes to New York I believe, to a sanctioned machine, and in front of a crowd, gets the record, and makes a kill screen, on a machine that had defeated everyone. They put his name on the website as champion, and Mitchell sends a video of him beating that score. But the tape is jumpy, and questionable, but they accept it, because they know Billy Mitchell.
Billy Mitchell is a success in everything he's ever done. Just ask him. He is a god amongst the dorks. And you just wonder "How?"
I really liked the movie though. I am a documentary dork, and this is the best one I've seen since "Dig". If you aren't a gamer, there is still plenty enough in here for you. It's not all technical, but is a study in the people involved.
I definitely give it 10 barrels out of 10. I think that it is well done, well edited, and gives you everything a mainstream movie would give you, but its real. Sure, its not going to inform you about the rain forrest, or global warming, but it does give you a look at a community that you don't really realize they're out there, and they aren't trying to kill you.
And I love Donkey Kong
