User reviews

This movie proves two things: 1), a documentary really can be about anything, and 2), movies aren't always what they're about, but how they are about, as Ebert puts it. This movie begins by retracing the early video game craze of the early 80's, and it focuses on the 20 year plus record-holder of the highest score ever for 'Donkey Kong'. His name is Billy Mitchell, and he's the Michael Jackson or the Wayne Gretzky of the video gaming world. We learn of other players who helped to define the era, one who no longer plays but gives much of his time away by refereeing video game competitions. Perhaps all that would've made for an interesting doc in it's own right, but in walks Steve Wiebe, a pretty normal guy with a wife and two kids, and we learn how he got into video gaming after a handful of setbacks in his life. As it becomes clear to us that Wiebe is an amazing player in his own right, politics enter the picture and we end up with a fascinating study about the nature of people that gets beyond simple competitiveness and digs a little deeper into the psyches of how we perceive our own selves. I'm so happy to have run into this title. You don't have to be interested or know anything about video games to really care about this movie.

I just got done seeing this film in Santa Monica and was so happy that it lived up to how great the trailer makes this film and the characters out to be. It was totally entertaining from start to finish and lives up to the obvious Rocky comparisons. And like Rocky this film deserves it time in the sun right now and hopefully a ticket to the Oscar dance next year.

And yes the film was carefully edited to make for some dramatic moments as all films are. It is after all entertainment. But nothing so much that it taints the great story this film tells. I can think of quite a few documentaries and films in the past few years that did the same thing. Fahrenheit 9/11, An Inconvient Truth, JFK and pretty much any story you see told on the news tonight. The truth is left on the editing room floor. AlphaPepper should probably change his login ID to Sour Grapes and remove his head from... well you know.

Billy Mitchell is no doubt a nice guy but is perfectly edited as the villain for this film. Steve Weibe is likewise edited to be the perfect underdog. All the other cast of characters in this film and some of their comments make this a film worth seeing. And without a doubt Steve Weibe's daughters "from the mouth of babes like" comment steals the whole show in the end.

In the end this is just a great story about two men Steve Weibe and Billy Mitchell fighting for title of King of Kong. I hope this film gets picked up for larger distribution so more people can enjoy it like I did.

King of Kong (or Billy vs. Steve, basically), is an excellent film about a rivalry that says a lot about competition in our culture. The movie portrays Billy, the Donkey Kong Champion, doing everything in his power to keep his record and to deny Steve Wiebe (wee-Bee) the title of world record holder in Donkey Kong. Steve is an outsider in this culture where Billy is an icon, and at first there are people within the video game community who do not want him to succeed. It becomes kind of a struggle between good and evil, as the powers that be try to hold down those not in power. Suddenly, Steve is the guy you're rooting for, if only just to beat that smart-ass Billy. It is a journey that takes you through the darker and seedier side of the video game revolution of the '80s. If it seems silly to be writing about such weighty issues of good and evil when a movie is about a video game, watch the movie: it really does the job of making you care about what happens to these odd, fascinating people.

This is an incredible documentary, and as with most great documentaries the story arises as the filming happens; it is not preconceived. The film starts out as a story about a battle between two gamers who each want to hold the donkey kong high score records, but what it turns into is a story about man vs. the empire(and not in a star wars sense). It is a story about how who you know is always everything and how much harder an everyman must work to make it in a world of networks. The story of these people, especially steve's, are really inspiring and you find yourself feeling all of the twists and turns of the film along with the characters. A truly wonderful film about human beings not just donkey kong.

If it weren't for the sincerity of it all- or maybe because of it- King of Kong could be conceived of as a mockumentary. But there's no joking with these guys, which sometimes makes it a lot of fun to watch the competition between Billy Mitchell and Steve Weebie (right way to say the name?), where sycophants and idiosyncrasies fly on the former's self-spun empire/network and on the latter just your average suburban housewife and kids going somewhat begrudgingly along the ride. It's a saga though not just about them, but about the world of gaming, of the mind-set that pervades everyone from lawyers to 'Roy Awesome' to little old ladies competing at Qubert, and the nature of competition itself. Not since Rocky- and maybe even better in its exuberance and humility- has one seen a tale of the underdog and the king played out in odds that should seem somewhat silly.

But what's so amazing is how first-time director Seth Gordon plunges the viewer into this world, and it's immediately recognizable to anyone over 18 and under, well, 55 to 100- anyone who's ever gone to play one of the "old-school" arcade games like Donkey Kong or Pacman/Mrs. Pacman or even Pong. We see how the players have to not just go into the games haphazardly by luck; like football, there's game-plans and strategies, and like that sport there are also some obstacles that are apart of the nature of the design of the sport. There's a whole incredible facet one takes for granted, for example, about the technology of the machines, which despite being eclipsed many times over by new systems can still be tampered with, as is the case with Steve's first machine that reaches the top score, and then discredited because of a chip possibly (or not) being replaced or implanted in to give leverage at a non-gamer store.

Yet the more slippery side-stepping for players is what's even more intriguing. Characterization can be a tricky thing for the documentary director to deal with, but in King of Kong it becomes something of a controversy left by the wayside as Billy surpasses Steve's score with a game he played recorded on videotape- while Steve set his score by an official Twin Galaxies referee (Walter Day, to be exact, who's a character in and of himself)- with more than a few skips right were the score should register. Saying it skims the line of reality and mockumentary comes with the territory- after a while watching Mitchell is like watching someone who's improvising as he goes along, hiding behind his perfectionist guise as a world-class champ and purveyor of fine hot sauces with his fake-buxom wife and lackeys watching every move Steve makes.

Aside from it being compelling storytelling as one sees the transformation of Steve from failed baseball pitcher and drummer to a Donkey Kong (and Donkey Kong Junior) champ, making all-time high scores while his kids cry about their poor behinds, it's one of the best kinds of sport-genre features in years. Many times one sees this played out, and it's been parodied in the likes of Dodgeball ("Nobody makes me bleed my own blood" came to mind once or twice looking at Mitchell, and his smart but biased cronies are like classic supporting characters), and the clichés and conventions get the better of the narrative. This time there's no pressure to push it into what's expected: we genuinely care what happens in this battle of the joystick, as Steve sheds genuine tears playing his ass off at all accounts of live events whilst Billy sulks away in his living room hearing the updates on his phone.

As far as triumph-of-the-human-spirit stories go, King of Kong is hilarious entertainment, sometimes for all the strangest (Day's would-be musical career) and silliest reasons (what's so special about the Guiness book of records, Steve's daughter asks), but engrossing as documentaries should get- one of the best of the year in fact.

Though this geeky arcade fighting flick may remain an acquired taste, The King of Kong feels like one of the more entertaining documentaries to emerge in years. Even though you would think the chief demographic of forty year old virgins and basement-ridden, antisocial, hardcore, old-school gamers would flip the bill, Kong immediately offers so much more on so many different levels of psychological and sociological intrigue that anyone not self-conscious enough to feel embarrassed for investing an emotional stake into a Donkey Kong showdown, (highlighting a bittersweet anti-climax) will find themselves deep inside a world they never thought imaginable.

The mock-epic tone, which so many supporting characters delightfully contribute to, feels seized by director Seth Gordon and infused into his charming take on good-vs-evil, letting this potentially inspiring metaphor stretch it's wings into a blossomed, well-rounded quirk-fest far more fun then it's rigorous gaming pedigree would suggest.

KING OF KONG is one of the greatest movies I've seen in a while - not documentaries, movies. The film-making here is nothing short of extraordinary - building suspense, creating anticipation, and playing with the archetypes like the best Hollywood movies.

If you have ever played the original Donkey Kong arcade game, or on the original Nintendo, you have to see this movie. I have never beaten Level 3 on the third cycle - the spring on the elevator stage, if you know what I'm talking about, is going extremely fast. These guys get beyond 20 cycles.

I don't want to give anything away...I heard they are going to make this a feature movie with actors, but I think that eliminates the main draw of this concept - these guys are in their forties, in some freak cases have wives and children, and they play Donkey Kong with as much heart as Lance Armstrong rode bikes. They are some of the strongest characters I've seen in a movie since STAR WARS. To best summarize how enjoyable this movie is, after watching the DVD for the first time, I immediately restarted it from the beginning, and watched it again.

As entertainment, King of Kong is quite good, portraying a strange insular world of video game fanatics and a good vs. evil story of a scrappy newcomer fighting to win the record from its sleazy holder.

But as a documentary, it is quite possible that almost everything in it has been twisted in pretzels to fabricate a story.

After I saw the documentary I looked in up on wikipedia, where I saw some fairly shocking claims regarding what the movie altered and left out. I went to the Twin Galaxies website and read more.

Of course, since Twin Galaxies and Billy Mitchell (I found an interview with him in AV Club) are portrayed negatively in the movie there's a possibility that they aren't telling the truth, but since some of the most important claims would be common knowledge within the classic arcade gaming community, they would ruin their reputation by lying, and be instantly refuted, so I have to lean towards believing them.

This is quite frustrating. The movie is entertaining. And it is fascinating to see how seriously people take this tiny little world. But if what Twin Galaxies claims is true, then I was totally mislead on what was going on, and I basically can't trust a single thing in the movie.

Documentaries, in my opinion, should strive to tell the truth more than to tell a good story. King of Kong tells a good story, but its relationship to the truth is highly suspect.

The best movie I've seen this year! I laughed to the point of exhaustion. I'd recommend it to anyone with a heartbeat. Must see!The only thing I can't get over is that this Billy Mitchell guy is a real person. I mean you can't make up a character like this. And Steve Weibe... how humble can you get. I mean the guy is the poster child for humility. (Okay so here is where I admit that I actually know Steve personally. Thing is, he actually IS this humble. No lie. For his recent 20 year high school reunion he listed as his proudest accomplishment: "recieving my teacher's certificate", no mention of Donkey Kong. Now that's the kind of hero everyone should look up to. Especially anyone with a huge ego. And lord knows there are enough of those to go around. So don't walk, RUN to the movie theater and see this movie. You won't regret it. (Just make sure you use the bathroom before the movie starts, you won't want to miss a second!)

I really enjoyed this movie as did apparently a lot of other viewers. My interest was piqued enough that I wanted to see if I could find details on why Robert Mruczek, the Twin Galaxies Head Referee, resigned shortly after the Funspot tournament (as noted in the credits). I didn't find any information on that subject but I did find that Walter Day of Twin Galaxies has put together a lot of information debunking the "facts" as portrayed in King of Kong (http://www.twingalaxies.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=86). I strongly urge viewers to read the full story before making up their minds about Twin Galaxies and Billy Mitchel.

I am not in any way affiliated any of the parties involved in this movie. I'm not really even a big fan of classic arcade games. This just goes to show how interesting the movie and this controversy are.

People do realise that Billy Mitchell is a proven cheater and compulsive lier right? You've all been fooled! Baffled how this rating is so high!

Maybe the best documentary I have seen in years... A must-see for anyone who loves rooting for the underdog. King of Kong tells the story of two men competing for the highest all-time score in the arcade classic Donkey Kong. Seth Gordon skillfully explores this whole American subculture of die-hard classic video gamers. The fact that this is all real (as opposed to a Christopher Guest style mockumentary) makes it all the more hilarious, but above all this is a true story of inspiration that should appeal to anyone regardless of whether they know anything about video games. In a country dominated by politically-fused documentary/movie propaganda, we need more films like this to remind us of how wonderfully weird we can be. Michael Moore eat your heart out.

Best movie I have seen in years. A wonderful stage is set up for a battle between good vs. evil. Will the underdog, who has been kicked down his entire life, reach his goal of scoring the highest Donkey Kong score ever? Will he meet face to face and defeat the evil, pompous villain in a match of "competitive gaming?" The protagonist is built up as a normal simpleton who has not been able to achieve his goals throughout life even with all the talent that he possesses. The antagonist is portrayed wonderfully as an arrogant hypocrite who thinks that the entire video game world revolves around him. You want nothing more than to see the villain fall down.

The best documentaries open up a world that didn't exist to you before you watched. The King of Kong did exactly that for me. I had no idea there was a group of people who religously guarded the their records--for the highest score on the video game Donkey Kong. What's even more fascinating is how driven these people are! Our hero, Steve Wiebe, is the Rocky Balboa to Billy Mitchell's Apollo Creed. (The Rocky theme music even makes an appearance during a key scene.) The filmmakers carefully follow the obsession of these professional gamers. What will they do to prove themselves? Are they above manipulation and deceit to keep their reputation? It makes for riveting drama.

My one complaint is that after watching the movie, I did a little bit of googling to find out more about the subjects. Apparently, the filmmakers may have left out key details and interactions to amp up the tension (and to present a certain angle) in the movie. This isn't necessary and is disingenuous to the viewer. Regardless, this documentary is compelling.

I totally disagree with the characterization that Billy Mitchell is made the villain and Steve Weibe the heroic underdog. This film did a great job of just letting each person fill in the colors for themselves. At the end, when Billy Mitchell's finally turning hypocrisy inside out, there are a few shots inserted finally that show that the filmmakers notice what is going on, but that is the extent of it.

This is a great film. Like the film American Movie, it is a whirlwind in which the power and depth of the material is remarkable, and yet it is incredibly compelling to watch, start to finish.

Another important point is that the film is not only a great treatise on individual psychology and what our winning-obsessed culture has wrought, but a great meditation on how the various types are fostered by and then fuel their immediate relations.

This is the kind of documentary that makes me really dislike the entire medium. I tell you, I hate to say that, because when I was watching it, it seemed like an amazing movie. I love the picture of the competitive video gaming subculture, and it tells a compelling story about a lovable, meek fellow battling against a debonair villain and an evil empire. This was the only documentary ever to bring a tear to my eye (well, okay, let's not count ones about the holocaust and other such horrors). The problem is, I found out the day after, the underdog story was completely fabricated. Seth Gordon manipulates facts and events ridiculously. I suspected that there might be some manipulation while watching it, but Gordon is really inventing a fictional story involving real people. Which must suck for some of the people, especially video game champion Billy Mitchell, whom the film makes look like an utter jerk. Some of his meanness might have been real, for all I know, but with all the stuff I now know Gordon did to make him look worse, you can't trust the movie whatsoever. The real story isn't bad, and if Gordon had stuck to the facts and not tried to create a gamer version of Pumping Iron (which at least never made any pretenses about not being phony), it wouldn't have irked me so much. The depiction of the subculture and the detail into which the film explores Donkey Kong still make it worthwhile.

Wow! The greatness of this documentary exceeded tenfolds my expectation. Reminiscent of "Spellbound", this documentary deals with a subject that can be considered living on the margins of "hot documentary topics", but when you have a very talented filmmaker telling its story, you find a drama that is very human.

On the surface, this documentary is about classic arcade games (focusing on Donkey Kong) and its players. But by the end of it, you will see what it means to stand up for what it's right, to stand up against your friend, to find the will to continue after what seems to be endless hurdles, and to stay decent and true when it feels like it doesn't do you anymore good - all play out in front of you in a movie about Donkey Kong.

As the credits roll, you will continue to find yourself rooting fervidly for the film's protagonist, Steve Wiebe, and wish that he does find what he is looking for.

The reviews of this are horribly out of date, particularly those that are 10/10. If someone were to review The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters nowadays as opposed to when it first came out, I bet the ratings would be completely different, now that Billy Mitchell has since been exposed.