The King of Kong is an utterly engrossing, utterly captivating documentary on the world of competitive classic gaming. It follows newcomer Steve Wiebe in his attempt to beat the classic Donkey Kong champion Billy Mitchell. The players are absolutely fascinating; they are humanly complex with richness and depth that resonate with honesty. They don't fully reveal themselves to the camera and so you get the sense that they have lives outside of the movie, which is the ultimate goal of any film. Character studies are always vastly more interesting in documentaries than any traditional narrative could be, and The King of Kong is a prime example.The structure of the film is brilliant. It sets up the story perfectly, from the greatness of the champion to the genius of the challenger. The editing is effective and efficient. It builds up the tension and excitement far better than most action blockbusters or mystery thrillers have been capable of. Watching it on Netflix Play Now, the film occasionally stopped due to poor buffering, and I just yelled at the screen, giddy to know what happened next. I can't imagine doing that for any other documentary. This movie is a true piece of entertainment, and despite the low-quality camerawork and simple special effects, I highly highly recommend it.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0923752/