Daisy
When Bong Joon Ho returns off the back of his 3 Oscar win with a satirical Sci-Fi featuring not one but multiple Robert Pattinsons – you bet you’re bottom dollar that I am sat.
Bong Joon Ho is a master at tonal shifts and sociopolitical commentary. I was first introduced to him through studying The Host at university. But I truly fell in love with his work through watching Okja.
Like Bong Joon Ho’s other English-speaking films, I had a feeling this movie was going to be incredibly zany and unexpected.
And that it was.
Mickey 17 follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), a down-on-his-luck nobody, struggling on an overpopulated earth. With loan sharks on his heels, he signs up to be an ‘expendable’ on a spaceship heading to a new planet.
An expandable is what it says on the tin. A person who can be killed over and over, thanks to the problematic science of cloning. When Mickey 17 is believed to be dead, Mickey 18 is printed and now you’ve got two Mickeys – an offence punishable by death.
We get a solid exposition dump on the world’s political climate and scientific advancements before the title card finally flashes 20 minutes into the film. But by that point you’re already so enamoured by the charming absurdness of the film that you feel ready for anything to be thrown at you.
But what gets thrown at you for the next two hours is a jumble of ideas that don’t quite land.
This quirky Sci-Fi leans heavily on its characters to deliver its message.
Mark Ruffalo does his best Donald Trump impression as Kenneth Marshall, the expedition leader and egomaniacal politician. Instead of Bong Joon Ho’s go-to Tilda Swinton, we get a delightful performance from Toni Colette as Ylfa, Marshall’s wife. The couple are over-the-top cartoony villians, and literal colonisers.
As the antagonists of the film, they are set on building a ‘pure’ new world and must eradicate the existing creatures on the planet. But these big fluffy armadillo creatures aren’t cruel or stupid. In fact, they’re the sole reason Mickey 17 even survived.
Now, let’s talk about Mickey. Robert Pattinson is one of the actors I will defend with my dying breath – and I won’t accept any Twilight slander. Mickey feels fitting for an actor who has spent the past decade proving his range across blockbusters and indie films alike.
Each iteration of Mickey is slightly different, allowing Pattinson to give multiple outstanding performances. He pulls off playing Mickey 17 and 18 with ease. It genuinely had me wondering if someone could win an Oscar for Best Lead and Best Supporting Actor in the same film.
Having two Mickey’s at once might be a serious problem – but it’s great for Mickey’s girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie). But there’s a slight love triangle introduced here that did nothing but muddle the plot.
And this wasn’t the only thing that felt a bit under-developed.
I’m a big Steven Yeun fan, and I was expecting to see something great from him in this film, considering he was third in billing. But sadly, he doesn’t get enough screentime. He’s a jerk in this film, and the reason Mickey is in so much trouble, yet this movie isn’t big enough for another villain. He has his own minor side plot but then gets left behind while the film wraps up without him.
This film gets a bit lost in its own absurdity. Its core message might be loud and clear, but the story itself has too many loose ends and unexplored points.
It’s a love or hate kinda movie. A potential future cult classic. Someone on Letterboxd perfectly dubbed it a ‘Lemony Snicket Sci-Fi’.
This movie has too much going on to fit into its 2 hour and 17 minute runtime. But even with its pitfalls, I still commend Bong Joon Ho for creating cinema that feels totally unique.
It’s a delightfully funny, chaotically messy sci-fi with a wilhelm scream cherry on top. What more could you want?
Year: 2025
Rating: R
Running Time: 137 MIN
Genre: SciFi
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo
Production Studio: Plan B Entertainment
Distributor: Warner Bros.