Instant Review: The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

[unbibium]

Just saw this film with doubleonad.

If the film is accurate, then the dicketry of Billy Mitchell has not been exaggerated by the press. Though I'm open to the idea that the film Michael Moored him into looking like a bigger douche. A couple of out-of-context clips could have made an appropriate comment look inappropriate. But, still, there were undeniable cases of poor sportsmanship as the film wore on.

The game makes a brief attempt to explain Donkey Kong to those who are unfamiliar with it, but mostly in terms of how difficult the game is. It covered the most familiar level, the barrels, and the most frustrating level, the elevators. And for those who are familiar with the game, it reveals the most important tip for those two levels. There were plenty of action shots, with Mario as the proxy for the player. It brings back the feeling every long-time gamer has felt when you dodge an enemy by a single pixel, or finish a level by the skin of your teeth.

I was surprised that they managed to license those two big training-montage anthems.

Know what else I found weird? Absolutely no mention of Japan, or Japanese competitors, that I could remember.

Anyway, I highly recommend this film. Come for the geek, stay for the human interest. It's been extended through next week at Harkins Valley Art, but don't dawdle.

Comments

[atillathehung.livejournal.com]

We saw it, too. Great movie...I didn't know much about it, and I thought I was looking at a Spinal Tap take on video game culture. I'm amazed it was real.

[pentomino.livejournal.com]

You always think that during a documentary where they seem to have footage of too many serendipitous moments. Real life doesn't have a narrative structure the way movies do, and whenever I hear a story that has such an obvious beginning-middle-end, and such an obvious hero/villain or face/heel dichotomy, it sets off my skeptic-dar.

Though there's nothing impossible-fake, like external shots alongside traveling vehicles, which I've seen in way too many fake documentaries. And I had heard of Billy Mitchell before, and I'd even heard what a dick he was before. So I never doubted, but rather recognized Mitchell's "tactics" as him just externalizing the high-school drama playing out in his own head.

[doubleonad.livejournal.com]

On a somewhat related note:
Corleone's is pretty tasty, but don't try to go there on a Tuesday if you're in a hurry.

[doubleonad.livejournal.com]

Also, I think part of what made Billy seem like such a douchebag villain was the how much of a little suck-up lackey henchman Brian Kuh was/is. It just seemed like Mitchell had this whole Super Evil Team to thwart the attempts on his high score by Steve Wiebe.

[pentomino.livejournal.com]

Well, remember that our "hero" Steve was aligned with "Mr. Awesome", who will no doubt one day be whisked away to NORAD to save us from an onslaught of nuclear missiles. But, Mr. Awesome was just personally unpleasant, and politically inconvenient.

Having a network of spies on cell phones, attending all the parties you're afraid to attend, and doing your bidding... that sounds like something I would have fantasized about doing in the 8th grade.