Post by StevePulaski on Jun 14, 2010 17:50:10 GMT -5
Rating: 3½/4 stars.
This is a weird, interesting film that I'm surprised was even made. It seems like a simple process, get the world record, media hovers over it for a while, then it passes. But this could almost be a full length behind the scenes feature on a Guinness World Records DVD if one was to be put out. But the film's main focus is on a little arcade time killer called Donkey Kong, one of the most successful video games in the 1980's. The film is similair to a movie that came out around this release called Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade. The only difference is that one explores "The Golden Age of Gaming" more than a competition.
The film follows video game world champion, Billy Mitchell who had world records on games Donkey Kong and Centipede. He even went to level 255 on Pac-Man with one life. The 256th level of Pac-Man has an infamous "kill screen" which is half scrambled text which is believed to be the game codes. So it declares Pac-Man unbeatable, theres no end.
Pac-Man's "kill screen".
Steve Wiebe seems like a regular guy, he's laid off and finds solace with an old arcade machine of the classic Donkey Kong. He researches high scores of the game and discovers Billy Mitchell's 874,300 record score. He figures he could beat the score, and embarks on a challenge that will change his life.
Some people will find this movie sad and question how much of no lifes these guys are. I found these people cool and I find it extremely interesting. I love learning about old 80's arcade games and try to research and find as much as possible out about the games. I knew Billy Mitchell held the record for most #1 high scores, but I didn't know him and Wiebe were in steady competition. I must admit I was siding with Mitchell for most of the film, but went to Wiebe by mid-film because of his ambition and focus on the game, though Mitchell was a very clever man.
The current record holder for "highest score in Donkey Kong" is a plastic surgeon named Hank Chien who scored 1,061,700. He was inspired by this film and was crowned on February 26, 2010. No surprise some random unknown person decided to take the challenge of beating one of the all time greatest gamers. Surprisingly he suceeded though. So for a movie that has a 97% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes I couldn't help but see the film for myself. Truely an inspiring and remarkable film about two men striving to be the best, to get beat by someone unknown.
Staring: Steve Wiebe, Walter Day, and Billy Mitchell. Directed by: Seth Gordon.
This is a weird, interesting film that I'm surprised was even made. It seems like a simple process, get the world record, media hovers over it for a while, then it passes. But this could almost be a full length behind the scenes feature on a Guinness World Records DVD if one was to be put out. But the film's main focus is on a little arcade time killer called Donkey Kong, one of the most successful video games in the 1980's. The film is similair to a movie that came out around this release called Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade. The only difference is that one explores "The Golden Age of Gaming" more than a competition.
The film follows video game world champion, Billy Mitchell who had world records on games Donkey Kong and Centipede. He even went to level 255 on Pac-Man with one life. The 256th level of Pac-Man has an infamous "kill screen" which is half scrambled text which is believed to be the game codes. So it declares Pac-Man unbeatable, theres no end.
Pac-Man's "kill screen".
Steve Wiebe seems like a regular guy, he's laid off and finds solace with an old arcade machine of the classic Donkey Kong. He researches high scores of the game and discovers Billy Mitchell's 874,300 record score. He figures he could beat the score, and embarks on a challenge that will change his life.
Some people will find this movie sad and question how much of no lifes these guys are. I found these people cool and I find it extremely interesting. I love learning about old 80's arcade games and try to research and find as much as possible out about the games. I knew Billy Mitchell held the record for most #1 high scores, but I didn't know him and Wiebe were in steady competition. I must admit I was siding with Mitchell for most of the film, but went to Wiebe by mid-film because of his ambition and focus on the game, though Mitchell was a very clever man.
The current record holder for "highest score in Donkey Kong" is a plastic surgeon named Hank Chien who scored 1,061,700. He was inspired by this film and was crowned on February 26, 2010. No surprise some random unknown person decided to take the challenge of beating one of the all time greatest gamers. Surprisingly he suceeded though. So for a movie that has a 97% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes I couldn't help but see the film for myself. Truely an inspiring and remarkable film about two men striving to be the best, to get beat by someone unknown.
Staring: Steve Wiebe, Walter Day, and Billy Mitchell. Directed by: Seth Gordon.