The King of Kong (2007)

Directed by: Seth Gordon

***1/2

There's a list of film history's top villains that includes the likes of Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader and Norman Bates. Its a list that's difficult to argue with but there's one person I'd be willing to add after having seen The King of Kong. The scary part of this is that Billy Mitchell is a real person. A real, dishonest, conniving, selfish person. I don't think this documentary about playing video games at the highest level would have been much without his presence however so like any good movie, The King of Kong has a good guy (Chris Wiebe), a bad guy (Billy Mitchell) and a conflict, (achieving the world record score in Donkey Kong).

Video games are often portrayed as mind-numbing activities. In my experience, they're not something one wants to get in the habit of playing for hours on end. However, watching TV for hours on end wasn't encouraged either as I was growing up, yet now I do just that for the sake of writing these reviews. Once something became more than just a mindless activity and became something that I studied and improved at doing (that's right... I'm better at watching TV and movies now than I used to be) it could be considered an admirable activity. This is what I recognized in The King of Kong. Its not just kids avoiding their parents or refusing to play outside. People like Chris Wiebe and Billy Mitchell are smart, skilled and professional in what they do.

This movie is really about the journey that Chris Wiebe takes to break the world record in Donkey Kong and the obstacles that stand in his way. Its only possible to accept this journey if one accepts the fact that he is that skilled professional I described. Otherwise, its just kinda sad to see a grown man drag his family across thousands of miles to arcades. What makes Wiebe so determined is when he is cheated out of his world record he achieved in his garage. The power's that be determined that he had a faulty board in his game and his score could not be counted. To officially obtain the world record, it has to be done in a public forum at a sanctioned video game event. Billy Mitchell eloquently compares it to Tiger Woods shooting a 59 one day but unless he does it at Augusta, it doesn't count.

Wiebe takes the punch and heads to New Hampshire where he has the opportunity to break the world record officially. After doing so, he's trumped by another high score of 1,047,200 by Billy Mitchell. He, however, just had a tape of this score. Somehow, it was okay for him to submit an official score via video tape rather than achieving it in a public forum. Now, not only do we have an antagonist and a protagonist, but thanks to those calling shots siding with Mitchell and essentially doing whatever is necessary to keep him as the Donkey Kong poster boy, we now have a true underdog story. It was only fitting to have Eye of the Tiger being played as Wiebe continues to compete.

Wiebe's patience and effort and determination to achieve something is admirable. It really does teach a lesson about life. That there will be those who stand in our way and that things aren't always fair but someone who's mind is set on something and not only accepts but overcomes the obstacles that get in the way even if it is something as mind-numbing as a video game is someone to look up to. The struggle of Wiebe makes this movie a worthwhile watch but the characters really define it and push it over the top.