Despite taking the Oscars by storm with Parasite, Hollywood seemed unlikely to tap Bong Joon Ho for a $100 million+ studio production. When Warner Bros. enlisted Bong to adapt Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, cinemagoers were instantly intrigued. That enthusiasm climaxed with the announcement that Bong would receive final cut. Even in the hands of geniuses, creative control can occasionally backfire. Thankfully, Bong doesn’t disappoint with Mickey 17, a humorous, surreal, and inventive sci-fi satire that has its director’s signature all over it. There are little traces of studio meddling in a film that’s all about the individual… or individual(s).
Like fellow Harry Potter alumni Daniel Radcliffe, Robert Pattinson is letting his freak flag fly like there’s no tomorrow. Where Radcliffe played a farting corpse, Pattinson plays another dead guy in Mickey 17. Set sometime in the future, Mickey Barnes (Pattinson) has nothing to contribute on Earth. Even when he boards a spaceship headed for a distant ice planet, Mickey is only good for one thing: dying. He unwittingly signs up as an “expendable,” which is less like Sylvester Stallone and more like Kenny from South Park. Mickey is given dangerous tasks that are sometimes guaranteed to kill him. With his memories uploaded, they can simply reprint Mickey. As routine as dying becomes, it’s always painful for him. The only thing worse is when people ask what it’s like dying.
As Mickey, Pattinson’s accent sounds like Steve Buscemi with maybe a hint of Joe Pesci. Pattinson rose to fame playing heartthrobs, but he’s surprisingly convincing as a meek loser who lets others walk all over him. Even his best friend Timo (Steven Yeun) leaves him to die because – hey – they have backups. Since Mickey still looks like Robert Pattinson, though, he finds himself in a love triangle with girlfriend Nasha Barridge (Naomi Ackie) and her rival (Anamaria Vartolomei). The triangle becomes a square when another Mickey is prematurely printed. Although Mickey 17 and 18 are identical, you can always tell them apart with the latter being more prone to violence. Despite clashing at first, the Mickeys soon join forces against their oppressors.
Mark Ruffalo is in his SOB Poor Things mode as Kenneth Marshall, a failed politician who seeks to colonize his own planet. He’s like Elon Musk if he became a cult leader… so, pretty much Elon Musk now. By Kenneth’s side is his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette), who values her rug more than a human life. Like Parasite and many of Bong’s other films, class is at the forefront of Mickey 17’s commentary. The film runs the risk of repeating itself, taking place on a vehicle similar to the one in Snowpiercer and introducing aliens that look like the pig from Okja. At the same time, Bong hasn’t made a film quite like Mickey 17, leaning more into absurd black comedy, almost calling Terry Gilliam to mind. The physicality of Pattinson’s duel performance is worthy of comparison to Buster Keaton, and the blending of the two Mickeys is seamless.
As entertaining as Mickey 17 is, the film begins to overstay its welcome in the third act. Our heroes and villains engage in a standoff with an alien caught in the middle. While this paves the way for some interesting conversations, the sequence goes on for too long. It doesn’t help that the spaceship and ice planet aren’t the most visually stimulating locales. There are elements of the story that could’ve used further exploration, such as a subplot about a murderer who multiplies himself. For a film overflowing with ideas, though, Mickey 17 lives up to its potential while Pattinson elevates the material each step of the way. In an age where so many blockbusters copy and paste, Mickey 17 stands out as a true original.