Fantastic Fest: ‘Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest’ (2021) Review – A charming but a wasted opportunity

Fantastic Fest: Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest (2021)

Directed By: Mads Hedegaard

Starring: Kim Cannon

Plot Summary: Kim Cannon is not your average grandpa. With killer hand-eye coordination and a mean mullet, he’s a legendary fixture of Copenhagen’s Bip Bip Bar, and renowned for playing the 80s arcade game Gyruss for 49 hours straight on a single coin. With help from his buddies at the bar, a community of heroic outsiders who support one another no matter what, Kim attempts to obliterate his previous record and play for 100 hours consecutive hours (four days!).

There have been other classic arcade game documentaries. Probably the two biggest being The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007) and, not as good but still really entertaining Man vs. Snake: The Long Twisted Tale of Nibbler (2015). Sadly, Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest (2021) is charming but not very good. But first the good. Cannon is a documentary about an arcade game. Yes, that’s a given, but on a deeper level it seemed like (those misguided-more on that later) the film is ultimately about finding your own tribe and thriving in a chosen family. Indeed, we get a look at these interesting gamers which forms the backdrop of the doc. This is probably one of the single strongest elements outside of a pretty awesome soundtrack featuring Iron Maiden and Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out for a Hero used to maximum effect. The film is also not without its own visual flare.

I almost feel bad for dunking on this movie as it was clearly made with love but I felt that it had a lot of problems. The biggest one is this is clearly an hour-long documentary that has been woefully stretched to 97 minutes. There is a lot of needless padding that doesn’t go anywhere and, I was completely disengaged. I could also tell that this was Mads Hedegaard first feature as this doesn’t have a polish or tight focus. And, I am a nerd that loves gaming and game history, so I am clearly the target audience. Frankly though I was bored. The great thing about The King of Kong for example is even non-gamers cannot help but be totally enthralled with its story. It tells a basic David and Goliath narrative that is lean, focused and really fleshes out characters you root for. Not to mention it also does double duty in giving you a cool look into competitive classic arcade gaming whilst also properly showcasing the ego-driven Billy Mitchell and the underdog Steve Wiebe. Here, we don’t get the same kind of rich worldbuilding. A glimpse into the Swedish gamer community at large and how it fostered Kim’s love of classic arcade could have added another nice layer to this documentary. Worst of all, we don’t really get to know the characters very well especially Kim Cannon. Cannon is a bit of a mystery in fact. A better filmmaker could have made an enigma like Kim a benefit but here it just feels hard to know and therefore to root for him on his quest. I wanted to enjoy this movie. Hell, I love nerdy stuff and also a good underdog story but this was just frankly boring.

Even being the target audience, I was disinterested well before the end credits. Again, the films framework about a loveable group of outsiders is the strongest aspect of the film. However, the weak narrative (yes, even documentaries need a narrative flow) and lack of connection to the main subject not to mention the aimless nature, just make it a slog to get through. Again, this is a good 50–60-minute movie made overly long. It’s a shame because I was hoping that this would be a nice breezy, fun point in the festival, kind of like Alien on Stage was for this year’s Fantasia Fest. Cannon Arm and the Arcade Quest is charming but a wasted opportunity.

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Mike Vaughn

Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.