#REVIEW: “MICKEY 17”

By Mr. Will Wong

Academy Award winner Bong Joon Ho‘s ambitious eighth film MICKEY 17 continues to explore his knack for Dark Comedy and Satire, exploring recurring themes of class and humanity with a splash of violence.  While a bit chaotic, he manages to craft something meaningful with the talents of leading man Robert Pattinson who plays multiple iterations of the titular character.

Things are grim on earth with several people in debt. Looking to get off the planet, Mickey Barnes (Pattinson) without reading the fine print, signs himself up to be an Expendable on the human colony, Nilfheim. This means he is killed off and reprinted again some 16 times as a passive human guinea pig, undergoing some torturous experiments, before we meet the current version of him. Something is different this go though and he finds himself defying death with the help of creatures indigenous to the land, coined “Creepers” by tyrannical and powerful politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), as he plans to implement some horrific things with his equally unhinged wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette). Assumed dead, another version of him already is printed, turning Mickey 17‘s world upside down as he must go face to face with another version of himself, changing the dynamic with his love, Nasha (Naomi Ackie).

With Darius Kondji‘s spectacular Cinematography, Bong crafts a grand cinematic experience that reaches high and generally succeeds even though it takes a while to express itself. He explores the ethics of tampering with Mother Nature and its psychological implications. The more that Mickey is forced to endure, he gains a deeper and renewed appreciation of the value of life, finding his true purpose in these creatures who saved him, which Marshall wants annihilated. Bong previously explored mistreatment of animals in 2017’s OKJA and gives it another look here, but with humans alike being treated like commodities.

Pattinson truly shows his range here giving us multiple iterations of Mickey and leans heavily on some brilliant voice work and physicality to carve out their identities fo us, while still remaining the same person at the core. He repeatedly steps-up to the challenge and continues to thrive as a master of his craft who happens to have the unique ability of filling seats. Ruffalo continues to deliver superb work, following his Oscar-nominated performance in 2023’s POOR THINGS with this equally unlikeable yet magnetic character. The almost-EGOT winner channels some of Donald’s Trump‘s mannerisms and ennunciation to help us connect the dots between fiction and Bong‘s commentary of the world today.

This is a thoughtful and accomplished cinematic feat that covers a lot of ground. Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release MICKEY 17 in theatres March 7, 2025.

 

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