Mickey 17 is a weird movie. Even though it’s a wacky sci-fi dark comedy on the surface, director Bong Joon Ho’s first film following the Oscar-winning success of Parasite is an ambitious Russian nesting doll of ideas and tones blended together in one offbeat package. The end result is something fun and wholly unique, even if it lacks the razor-sharp precision of his previous work.
Set in the year 2054, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) is a nebbish, down-on-his-luck loser who, due to a failed business venture with frenemy Timo (Steven Yeun), finds himself on the run from a violent loan shark. With no other options, the pair decide to flee the planet entirely by joining a colonial spaceship set on a four-year journey to the distant ice planet of Nifelheim.
The problem is that Mickey signed up to be the ship’s “Expendable”—a low-level crew member tasked with dangerous missions that practically guarantee his death, after which he is immediately resurrected thanks to a state-of-the-art cloning device. During one of these missions, the 17th version of Mickey falls into a dark ice cave and is presumed dead. He survives thanks to a friendly (and frankly adorable) alien species dubbed “creepers” and returns to the colony, only to find that an 18th version has prematurely been cloned. The two are now dubbed Multiples—something that is deemed highly illegal by the government and can lead to permanent execution.
“Bong’s films always make his social commentary clear, but Mickey 17 is as on-the-nose as it gets.”
The government, in this case, is the ship’s captains: twice-failed politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette). The Marshalls are egomaniacal, cruel, delusional, constantly spray-tanned and have a rabid fanbase consisting of people wearing red hats. You can probably guess who the characters are taking aim at.
Bong’s films always make his social commentary clear, but Mickey 17 is as on-the-nose as it gets. Adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, Bong tackles multiple topics at once, most of which he has explored before. It’s as if he combined the class struggle of Parasite and Snowpiercer with the environmental themes of The Host and Okja, along with a personal story of self-assurance and finding community.
Where I think the film struggled was in how it all mixed together. For a time, it is a focused satirical look at colonialism, with Mickey quite literally thrown into a furnace over and over as a disposable body getting paid in peanuts. However, that theme gets pushed aside when the creepers start playing a bigger role in the third act.
While Bong’s previous films seamlessly blended his ideas with genre tropes, Mickey 17’s broader scope makes it feel as though one idea is abruptly dropped rather than smoothly transitioning into the next. That being said, there’s a lot more to Mickey 17 that did work for me. The film has a broader sense of humour than Bong’s past films, but his knack for great character work shines thanks to the incredible cast.
“Robert Pattinson has shown that he excels whenever he gets to play weird little freaks, and Mickey 17 is Pattinson at his absolute weirdest.”
Robert Pattinson has shown that he excels whenever he gets to play weird little freaks, and Mickey 17 is Pattinson at his absolute weirdest. He fully inhabits the dual role, giving each clone their own distinct personality traits. As Mickey 17, Pattinson is meek, squeaky-voiced and a complete pushover. His passive reactions to dying again oddly reminded me of Droopy, both in his body language and general facial expressions. Mickey 18, on the other hand, is cool, callous and prone to violence. Even when sharing the screen with himself, Pattinson manages to make the two feel fully realized as individuals.
I was just as impressed by Naomi Ackie, who plays Mickey’s girlfriend, Nasha. Some of the film’s biggest laughs come from Nasha’s slightly unhinged protectiveness toward both Mickeys. Ruffalo and Collette are also clearly having the time of their lives, with Ruffalo’s line deliveries made even funnier by a ridiculous set of veneers he wears throughout the film. Steven Yeun is also delightfully smarmy in his brief screen time.
I think anyone coming into Mickey 17 expecting another Parasite will be disappointed, but if you approach it as its own unique beast, it’s still a great time. Robert Pattinson proves once again why he’s one of the most dynamic actors in the business today, and while it’s not on the level of Bong’s Korean films, the craftsmanship on display confirms that he remains one of the most interesting filmmakers working today.
