Within Bong Joon Ho, there seems to be two different filmmakers. With his Korean language films, Bong is more restrained, quiet, and methodical, with outstanding films like Memories of Murder, Mother, and his Oscar-winning masterpiece Parasite. His English-language films, however, are far broader, with goofy, over-the-top characters, and a much wilder approach, whether it’s focusing on a train that has to keep moving around the world in Snowpiercer, or the relationship between a girl and her giant animal friend in Okja. Bong Joon Ho’s films often have similar themes, like class inequality, rebellion, and our relationship with nature, but these two sides handle them in vastly different ways.
A little over five years after Parasite became the first international film to win Best Picture, Bong Joon Ho returns with Mickey 17, his third English-language film, and arguably his most ambitious project to date. And yet, after all the success that Bong found in the wake of Parasite’s massive popularity, that same strangeness that characterized his English films is still very prominent in Mickey 17. It’s just on a much bigger level, as he heads to space, explores new planets, and gives us more than one Robert Pattinson. But while the unusual, borderline quirky nature of some of his previous English-language efforts could be a bit overwhelming, Mickey 17 has the writer-director pulling back just enough to make his best English-language film so far.
What Is ‘Mickey 17’ About?

Set in the year 2054, Mickey 17 finds many people trying to leave Earth via different expeditions into space. While we don’t see much of our world, we know that the economy has only worsened and there are frequent sandstorm warnings. However, Mickey Barnes (Pattinson) is leaving because he made a bad investment in a macaron store with his scummy friend Timo (Steven Yeun), and now, they’re heading into space to escape the loan sharks that are out to get them. Desperate to get into space, Mickey signs up to be an “expendable” employee on a ship led by Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), a twice-failed election loser who, along with his wife, Yifa (Toni Collette), wants to colonize an ice planet known as Niflheim, alongside his crew of red hat-wearing sycophantic followers.
Since Mickey didn’t read what his job entails, he doesn’t realize that being “expendable” means he can be used for all sorts of horrible experiments, testing, and cruel and unusual treatment for the sake of the ship. When Mickey dies, all the crew needs to do is print out a new version of Mickey, before finding a new way to kill this latest iteration. Despite this terrible treatment, early on in this four-year trip to Niflheim, Mickey met the love of his life (lives), Nasha (Naomi Ackie), and the two have been inseparable since.
However, upon arriving at Niflheim, things get far more complicated, as the planet is teeming with creatures named Creepers and Kenneth’s plans are even more disturbing than originally thought. But Mickey’s biggest problem comes when he accidentally survives his latest outing, then returns to find another Mickey has been printed out — a major problem for an expendable, which means the destruction of the original and any copies.
‘Mickey 17’ Is Tighter Than Bong Joon Ho’s Previous English Efforts

Mickey 17 wears its larger themes right on its sleeve, from the clear importance of company over the workers, to the obvious Trumpian allusions in Ruffalo’s Marshall that weren’t present in Edward Ashton’s book, Mickey7. While Snowpiercer and Okja showed the evil in the corporate world, then let the true darkness seep out through the film, Mickey 17 starts at the level of deplorable behavior, and is better for it. By putting the agenda of these monstrous companies right in the beginning, Mickey 17 has the opportunity to have more fun with this concept and the world building, and it’s a smart choice for a story that has this much going on in it. It’s also just exciting to see Bong Joon Ho working at this level and on this scale, as his grand vision can seemingly come to life how he sees fit. Clearly, after making Parasite, Bong has some cache to make whatever he wants, and he uses this freedom to build a wild and intriguing world that is both humorous and politically charged.

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‘Mickey 17’ arrives in theaters in just a few short days.

This is also the first English-language film Bong Joon Ho has written on his own, and Mickey 17 does have a stronger focus that feels more reminiscent of his tighter Korean dramas. Mickey 17 allows Bong to play in the weirder circles of this story. However, the narrative always remains grounded in the experience of Mickey and the larger implications of mankind coming to a foreign world. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time for Nasha and Mickey to joke about sex positions, or for Yifa to embrace her passion for finding new sauces for food out in space. This is undeniably bizarre in the way only Bong can do, but it never feels like the film is meandering or getting too far away from the story at hand to explore the more eccentric angles of the story.
Robert Pattinson Gets to Show Off His Comedic Side Through His Dual Performances

Image via Warner Bros.

While Robert Pattinson has certainly been humorous in other roles, Mickey 17 is the most overtly comedic role the actor has ever taken on, and it’s a tone that suits him well. As the 17th Mickey, he gets to be ridiculous, timid, awkward, and with plenty of opportunity for borderline slapstick moments. For those uncertain about the voice, it genuinely feels essential to the character, as this Mickey is sort of a shy guy who will go along with anything that is thrown his way. He’s resigned to the idea that he’s stuck in a cycle of death, and the voice reflects that. Just as impressive is that once we’re introduced to the 18th Mickey, simply by the way Pattinson carries himself, we can tell the difference between the two clones without any dialogue. This double performance shows a great new side of Pattinson that we’ll hopefully see more of in the future.
In the vein of Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer and Jake Gyllenhaal in Okja, Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall is another brilliantly ludicrous antagonist from Bong, who is also a very pointed parody in some ways. Especially with his recent performance in Poor Things, Ruffalo has proven he’s hilarious when he can go big, and he does just that here. As does Collette, who is both Kenneth’s wife and the devil on his shoulder, and it’s great to see her also in a wild role like this. Also, between this, Blink Twice, and this year’s Sundance hit, Sorry, Baby, Naomi Ackie is proving to be a delight whenever she’s on screen, as Nasha is a wonderful balance to both Mickeys.
Bong Joon Ho’s English-language films have by no means ever been subtle, and Mickey 17 continues that trend, yet with a tighter grasp on the narrative at hand. Even when the film gets big and strange, it’s doing so with a direct purpose and criticism that makes it work. It’s also just wonderful to watch Bong work on this scale, create the vision he wants post-Parasite, and in doing so, make an absurd comedy that hits on his favorite issues and topics, and with one of his best casts to date. Bong’s English films have always felt slightly a step behind from the quality of his Korean films, but with Mickey 17, that gap is starting to narrow considerably.
Mickey 17 comes to theaters on March 7.

Mickey 17

Mickey 17 is Bong Joon Ho’s best English-language film to date, a weird and wonderful sci-fi film with a hilarious Robert Pattinson.

Release Date

March 25, 2025

Director

Bong Joon-ho

Writers

Bong Joon-ho

Pros & Cons

Mickey 17 gives Bong Joon Ho his best work English language film so far.
Robert Pattinson does a fantastic job in his most comedic role to date.
It’s great to see Bong Joon Ho playing in films with this level of scale and scope.

As fun as Mickey 17 is, it’s still not quite at the level of Bong’s Korean works.