Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 is a hilarious, cautionary tale of what happens when politicians and billionaires go unchecked. Based on Edward Ashton‘s Mickey7 novel, the story follows a clone in his space adventures, but it’s really not all that farfetched. If humanity lives on Earth or elsewhere, one thing will always remain true: poor people are not welcome. They’re expendable.
When humans deplete Earth of its natural resources, space exploration becomes a necessity. However, there’s only one way to find out if a planet is habitable, and you’d have to be a fool to sign up for a job like that.
In comes Mickey Barnes, a desperate silly goose who doesn’t read the fine print before signing. His accent suggests the American Midwest, but you see the likes of him all around the world—an uneducated, orphaned, low-class citizen in heaps of debt still convinced the elite will be saving him a seat at the table.
It’s Mickey 17’s job to die, and he usually isn’t one to complain. After all, it is for the good of humankind. He can always come back the next day to a perfectly new body with all memories intact, and he’s already done it 16 times beforehand. But when this false immortality is threatened by his organic successor, Mickey 18, Mickey starts living for his own good.
Robert Pattinson (Twilight, Good Time) has proven once again that he is a generational talent and a force to be reckoned with in the film industry. He positively shines under Joon-ho’s direction. He gives 18 different performances in this project, and each one is a hoot. He dedicates a unique approach to each Mickey, going from dominant and vengeful to softspoken and mild. The polar differences between Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 put his range on full display to reveal parts of himself even the most dedicated fans have yet to see.
His physical performance is also praiseworthy. The rapid takedowns and swift combo hits are very reminiscent of his intensive stunt work in The Batman, and you can tell that he still trains. His physical comedy, however, is completely new. Mickey dies and is reborn a lot in this movie, and each time is goofier than the last. Pattinson cited Jackass and Tom and Jerry as some of his inspirationsfor this, and it shows. He wipes out like a champ and talks it off like a doofus. Hopefully, this film sets a foundation for more comedic roles in his career. Either way, he’s taking awards home for this one.
Pattinson’s talent is only enabled by his screen partners. Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice, The End of the F***ing World) can go shot for shot with him as Nasha. She effortlessly complements his manic energy, regardless of which Mickey he is, but her skills remain poised for when it’s time for her to steal the scene. And she does steal the scene often. Nasha serves as the more confident counterpart to the Mickeys, a stand in for the human conscience that one of them seems to lack. If there’s an ethical dilemma or a concern Mickey is too kind to bring up, she speaks on it.
Another dynamic duo in this film is the team of Toni Collette (Hereditary, Little Miss Sunshine) and Mark Ruffalo (13 Going on 30, Avengers: Endgame). Their take on the out-of-touch billionaire couple is a guaranteed laugh and very much on par with what we see in billionaires today. Collette expertly plays the overbearing housewife who needs a hobby, and Ruffalo slips into the role of the emasculated husband with just as much dignity.
Steven Yeun (Nope, Invincible) is commendable in his own right alongside Pattinson, though we don’t get to see him as much as we do the others. When we do see him, he confidently navigates the role of the clueless friend of someone who has died 16 times prior.
The visuals in Mickey 17 are as astounding as the performances. Director Bong Joon-ho, cinematographer Darius Khondji, and production designer Fiona Crombie all worked together to make the unknown feel natural without sacrificing the element of surprise. The fictional planet Niflheim feels foreign and familiar at the same time with its icy gray terrain and gray slug-like native inhabitants. The spaceship is just as void of color and balances contradictions as well. Its design feels advanced in some areas but crudely outdated in others, automated in one place and prone to human error in the next. It looks like a factory before labor laws were a thing.
Despite the space travel, cloning, and weird alien creatures—Mickey 17 is hardly a sci-fi movie. It is a tasteful parody of humanity that happens to take place in space. Bong Joon-ho’s writing points and laughs at society while demanding sympathy for its unassuming participants. The tongue-in-cheek humor responsibly shifts from morbid and crude locker room jokes to straight up mockery. Sometimes you’re laughing at the situation; other times the situation is laughing at you. It’s those haunting moments that remind you that we need to do better.
It’s no coincidence that condemned politician Kenneth Marshall, the colonizer demanding Mickey’s many deaths, is remarkably similar to Trump. Bong Joon-ho has the politician down to a T, from his constantly open mouth to the empty buzzwords that leave it. He eats like a king while his citizens starve and believes he has a right to take land away from native inhabitants, even if it means exterminating all of them. His supporters wear these obnoxious red hats though he already won, and he governs via staged news coverage. This overt critique is nothing new for the Oscar-winning director, but it’s needed now more than ever.
Perhaps that’s why filming began the same year the book was released. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, natural resources are dwindling, and now there’s this backwards push to colonize Mars. The message is urgent and clear: respect the sanctity of all life before we leave Earth.
Rating: 10/10