"I believe in Mike Ross"
I've been working hard to step up my game these past few months, and SF is becoming a daily routine.. So when light came on a Mike Ross documentary; it was a day 1 must..
From the trailer a few months back, it was looking to be a personalized documentary on the 'comeback king' Mike Ross, as he prepared to compete in the 2010 EVO championships. I had pretty high hopes on this, and to be honest.. Was right on the money!
Ross is such an incredibly humble, nice guy, you can't help but get pulled into his methodology and perspective on fighting games. There's something about his character that instantly connects with the viewer and breaks the stereotype of what many believe to be a pro video gamer. A humble player with a long history in the game, mike knows where he stands amongst his peers; In fact one of the most attractive aspects of the documentary is the brutally honest perspective on Mike himself. That he isn't the best, hasn’t had much consistency and has a lot of flaws to his game. One of the guys quoted him as Mike "Loss" at one point. It's a classic.
The documentary shows the ups and downs, the pressures and passion that are essential to achieve, to be the best.
Shot at a base level and explaining the competitive aspects of the game in a way that even non video game fans can respect and appreciate is something that should make this assessable to wider audiences than 'King of Chinatown' released a few years back.
The documentary has heart, and a lot if that was on Mike’s personality in and outside the gaming community. With no hype, entourage or shit talking, you can respect his focus and love for the sport. When he takes his losses you feel for him, when he takes the wins, you're there with him, you can feel the pressure and see how close victory.. Or loss can be.
As a 20 something gamer myself, it's pretty rare to find anything that will just sync without cynicism, or some saltiness, especially following a member of the Street Fighter community (famously scrubby and trolly). It was perfect timing too with this years EVO taking place as we speak..
Focus doesn't sit with the intent to teach the masses about video games or fighting game culture, but show you the journey of a lovable guy trying to topple Everest. Maybe it's something to do with my Rocky mentality, but I loved this documentary to bits. You feel what you’re suppose to. No flashy photography, just a raw and honest old school underdog tale.
It'll be great to see some other documentaries in the same light in the coming years. The scene has a lot of stories to tell..
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