“Mickey 17” Review
Starring Robert Pattinson as the titular clone, “Mickey 17” is the latest film from acclaimed director Bong Joon-Ho following the immense critical acclaim of “Parasite”.
After completely blowing everybody’s minds with his Palme d’Or and Best Picture-winning film “Parasite” back in 2019, director Bong Joon-Ho returns to cinemas with”Mickey 17”. Going into this film, I wasn’t too keen on comparing it to Bong’s previous film because I felt that would be a futile exercise. I’d rather look at this film on its own and see how it stacks up as part of the science-fiction genre as told by one of today’s most talented filmmakers. With a zany sense of humor, immense creativity and a playful sense to it all, “Mickey 17” is a fun trip from Bong that I am sure will enchant lovers of his style and those looking for a stranger trip through the stars.
In the not-too-distant-future, colonies of humans are being sent into space to flee the responsibility humanity has for its damage to the Earth’s climate. While these crews all have their own unique functions, one dangerous and ethically questionable job is that of the expendable. As an expendable, these people are sent on dangerous missions and, should they die, can be reproduced with their body and memories intact. One such man is Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), who is an expendable on a ship led by the egotistical failed politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette). Now on his seventeenth life and helping Marshall’s crew, which includes his security agent girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie), Mickey is put in a perilous situation and is once again killed in action or so the scientists on the ship thought. When it turns out that Mickey 17 survived, he finds himself having to deal with Mickey 18 and together the pair have to find a way to avoid total destruction while dealing with the idiocy of their superiors.
Full of exciting possibilities, Bong’s direction of “Mickey 17” has such a vivacious sense of fun to it as he explores the comedic and dramatic depths a man in Mickey's position might contemplate. Bong brings the same levels of creativity to this film that he had when making “Snowpiercer” a decade ago with this world of the future feeling so tangible. While dystopia comes in many forms throughout science fiction, I am especially fond of films like “Brazil” were not only is the future a look at how humanity’s selfishness has come home to roost but also how the people in charge of what's left of our infrastructure are bumbling morons. Despite such mind-blowing technology being used to print new versions of Mickey with an enhanced ability to insert the memories of the previous Mickeys into this new copy, the people in charge of this program are odd at best and cripplingly incompetent at worst. Either way, it makes for great comedy.
Robert Pattinson takes full advantage of being able to play both the same guy but many versions of this man at the same time. While each copy may be the same person, each Mickey is slightly different after each printing when it comes to personality. This is especially evident in the film when Mickey 17 returns and meets his new counterpart. While Mickey 17 is more cowardly and struggles to stand up for himself, Mickey 18 is borderline psychotic and wants to take on the whole establishment that governs this mission of space colonization. But all of Pattinson’s performances understand the humanity of the situation, especially when he ponders the ethics of having himself being used as a human lab rat. Naomi Ackie is also a strong part of this equation as she’s the only thing of value that Mickey has in his life and the chemistry they share is very sweet.
I also found myself quite taken with Mark Ruffalo and his over-the-top performance that still feels subtle compared to all of the power-hungry oligarchs and elites existing in our modern society. His feeling of superiority and always being correct are really funny to watch just because of how sure Ruffalo is with himself. You want this guy to get his comeuppance from the two Mickeys but, at the same time, he’s having so much fun being a prick that it’s kind of infectious.
After landing on the planet this mission is supposed to colonize, the colonists come across an alien species and it’s pretty easy to guess where this will go based on other allegories in science-fiction where humanity feels it must needlessly conquer. But unlike “Avatar”, which took itself very seriously, “Mickey 17” doesn’t feel the need to be a subtle allegory. Instead, it’s just trying to be a crazy, fun time at the cinema with wonderful performances and the delightfully odd execution only Bong Joon-Ho could bring.
After making a film everyone heralds as a magnum opus (a fair take on “Parasite”), it would have been all too easy to become insanely hard on yourself with the next film. However, Bong never comes across as a man trying to prove himself to the world all over again. He’s just trying to make a goofy and endearing film about a clone dealing with his own multiple existences and Bong does so in a manner that feels fresh and distinctive. While modern big-budget science fiction can feel like it’s only dedicated to franchises, “Mickey 17” is a refreshing change of pace that satisfied me heavily as a lover of the zany and kooky.
