THE STORY – The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes, has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job…to die, for a living.
THE CAST – Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette & Mark Ruffalo
THE TEAM – Bong Joon-ho (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 132 Minutes
South Korea’s cinematic superstar, Bong Joon-ho, has never been a particularly low-key director. The art of subtlety is often lost in his stories, but that’s precisely what makes them so engaging; audiences rarely have to dig too deep into his works to understand what his socially charged films are trying to say about the world around us. Thankfully, “Mickey 17” is no different. From the moment Robert Pattinson’s dazed protagonist gets eaten by an alien creature in the film’s opening minutes, just to be churned out by a mechanical human printer just seconds later, it’s immediately clear that Bong Joon-ho’s biting commentary on greed, classism, and social equality in the modern era hasn’t distilled over the years.
“Mickey 17” is based on the 2022 science fiction novel Mickey7 by Ashton Edward and follows a civilian named Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) who agrees to take up employment as an Expendable in order to escape his murky debts. The job requires him to travel with a group of human colonists to a faraway world of snow and ice, where it’s his responsibility to carry out the missions deemed too dangerous for the regular crew. The catch? As he’s repeatedly killed in the name of scientific progress, Mickey is reborn time and time again through an advanced human printer. However, when Mickey is accidentally cloned prematurely, two versions of his personality are forced to work together to protect the colonists from outside threats.
Though it’s been almost six years since the release of Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning masterpiece “Parasite,” the director has somehow managed to meet audiences’ sky-high expectations with “Mickey 17”. The project is bursting at the seams with energy and personality; it’s never afraid to follow paths that other filmmakers would simply deem too weird or goofy. And yet, it manages to execute all this silly storytelling with a mature heart, offering thoughtful commentary that effectively speaks to many different poignant ideas. It has the heartwarming animal rights discussions of “Okja,” the witty allegories of classism found in “Snowpiercer,” and the gritty realism of poverty explored in “Parasite.”
But the most interesting of “Mickey 17’s” key themes is one that’s always been present in Joon-ho’s filmography but never taken center stage as it does here. Through the movie’s ambiguous corporations, charismatic leaders, and colonial undertones, “Mickey 17” is a very obvious commentary on the disappearance of populism and the emergence of radical politics on the world stage. Much of this is explored through Mark Ruffalo’s tyrannical villain, Kenneth Marshall, the wealthy CEO whose company uses impoverished workers like Mickey to fuel the project with their suffering. Ruffalo’s performance is undoubtedly the loudest and most audacious in “Mickey 17”, following the actor’s recent trend of gravitating towards projects like “Poor Things” that allow him to fully lean into a maximalist, slapstick method of acting. He meshes perfectly with Bong Joon-ho’s often cartoonish style of filmmaking, and it’s his performance that people will be discussing all year.
And yet Robert Pattinson and Naomi Ackie truly steal “Mickey 17” in a different way with their brave and versatile performances, forging an emotional touchstone in this otherwise wacky and brash story. The extent to which they make the audience care about their relationship when there are such grander aspects to the narrative is truly magnificent, and it helps ground the film in a way that prevents it from ever feeling too off the wall. But admittedly, there are moments when Bong Joon-ho’s penchant for wackiness can feel a little overwhelming or jarring – most notably through Pattinson’s waggish narration that pops up throughout the film. The actor’s voice work is thoroughly impressive, but the film would have benefitted from a little less hand-holding in this regard. There’s enough substance in the dialogue that it’s not always necessary to state exactly what the character is always thinking.
Additionally, the first act of “Mickey 17” often crumbles under the weight of the script’s heavy exposition, even if it’s perhaps necessary to achieve the level of world-building that Joon-ho is clearly striving for. The universe that he manages to create in this project is staggering, from the gorgeous locations to the subtle backstories that neatly foreshadow events to come, but it does take a while before “Mickey 17” overcomes that initial hurdle of getting the audience invested in this world. But once we’re there, the film doesn’t let go for a single moment. The second half of this story is non-stop action and drama, featuring some of the director’s sharpest writing to date.
The way Joon-ho manages to weave such potent themes into a film about giant aliens and human clones is truly impressive, but it shouldn’t be surprising, given the way he’s managed it before. “Mickey 17” is very similar to the director’s work on “Okja” in the way that it seems bright and playful from the outside, but beneath the plastic veneer of the visuals and comedic performances, there’s something much darker and more important lurking in the narrative. Every single member of the cast understands this, and they manage to fine-tune their performances to match exactly that. It’s a real crowd-pleaser that brings forth every emotion possible throughout its lengthy runtime; the movie played excellently at the Berlinale, with Mark Ruffalo’s hilarious line readings summoning constant waves of laughter, while one ferocious monologue from Ackie’s character had audiences breaking out in applause.
Ultimately, “Mickey 17” is a fascinating and comforting evolution for Bong Joon-ho as a filmmaker. While it may not be as razor-sharp as something like “Parasite,” there’s a real passion to the project that’s impossible not to enjoy. Every single member of the cast is having fun in their quirky roles, and Darius Khondji’s sweeping cinematography is equally entertaining as it builds a tangible portrait of this alien planet. “Mickey 17” feels like a true blockbuster that doesn’t merely strive for action or cheap thrills but rather understands the innate drama and social awareness that audiences genuinely care about in their cinema.
