The King of Kong One of the Best of 2007

I'm certain that there is a large portion of the population that would roll their eyes and scoff at hearing the words "competitive arcade gaming". It might easily conjure up a mental image of kids with thick glasses and ratty clothes huddled over arcade game cabinets, their faces silhouetted by the flashing glow of the video screen. They may be mall rats, nerds and uncool. But despite all that, one thing is for sure - The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters will suck you in and keep you entertained from beginning to end. Of that I am absolutely sure.

The King of Kong is a documentary film which debuted in 2007 and has begun to grow a cult following. As you may have guess from the introduction, its subject matter is competitive arcade gaming. Don't be fooled by how it sounds, because all I can say is that I was shown a world of competition beyond anything I could have fathomed. Those childhood sentimental favorite games from the 1980's (Pac-Man, Q-Bert, Donkey Kong, etc.) are a bigger deal that we all might have thought. Holding ownership over high scores is a big enough deal that there is an official record-keeping organization that acts as referee (Twin Galaxies) and there are officially sanctioned methods by which to challenge an official high score. Still think it is a farce? Well, when the Guinness Book of World Records gets involved, let me assure you that egos reign supreme and the competition is cut-throat, maniacal and borderline mafia-esque!

This film documents just such a challenge to the 20 year old high score to arcade classic Donkey Kong while also chronicling the history of organized arcade gaming. Billy Mitchell is a gaming master and officially laid claim to the Donkey Kong high score in 1982 after another kid, Steve Sanders, claimed to have topped his score. After a live head-to-head challenge, Steve was shown to be a fraud and was blown out of the water by Billy. Competitive arcade gaming was born.

Fast forward to 2005. Steve Wiebe (wee-bee) was out of work and looking for direction. In the meantime he bought a classic Donkey Kong arcade cabinet for his garage to help take his mind off things. Soon he found that he was really pretty skilled at Donkey Kong and wondered what the all-time high score was. He came across Twin Galaxies and Billy's high score, proceeded to video tape himself breaking the score and sent the tape in to be viewed, logged and awarded the new high score title! Instead of that being the end of the story, it turns out to only be the beginning of a very wild, intense, mind-blowing ride that sees Steve travel across the country from his home in Washington state to New Hampshire to the mecca of arcade gaming known as FunSpot.

This film is totally engrossing and slowly, but methodically, pulls you into the world of competitive arcade gaming. Before you know it, you find yourself chomping at the bit to see what will happen next! Who will be the official record holder? Will David beat Goliath? What will it take to be the best? It truly is a entertaining match-up of wills and personalities in what Twin-Galaxies co-founder and referee Walter Day describes as "one of the greatest rivalries of all time!"

The King of Kong was a truly unexpected gem of a film and the most entertaining documentary I have ever seen, bar none! In some ways, it mirrored the comedy of the competitive dodgeball world as parodied in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, but was also completely engaging being the true story that it is from a world mostly hidden from public view. It's an instant classic that can appeal to everyone and earns the label "MUST SEE". Do yourself a favor and check this one out. 10/10