Warner Bros.
Filmmaker Bong Joon-ho made history with 2019’s Parasite, as his critically acclaimed and pitch black social satire became the first non-English language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards. Already well-established with an impressive filmography to his name, Joon-ho had long been revered by cinephiles and now, his success made him a household name in the West
With Mickey 17, the Korean filmmaker returns to English language cinema with an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7, which nestles itself quite comfortably in the vicinity of 2013’s Snowpiercer in terms of themes and style.
Robert Pattinson plays the chronically unlucky Mickey Barnes several times over in a dystopian near future that sees him sign up to a space colonization mission to the ice-planet of Niflheim as an “Expendable” – a special worker who is unceremoniously cloned any time his line of work results in his death.
The clones always seem to have a slightly different demeanor to their predecessor, so when the carefree Mickey 17 is presumed dead after failing to capture a native life form for the colony’s research team, complications arise when he eventually makes it back to the ship and realizes the sullen Mickey 18 has not only taken over his duties, but also his love life with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie).
Wryly detailing the two Mickeys’ gambit to trick the system, the reluctant camaraderie between conflicting sides of the same individual inevitably inspires the pair and their associates to hatch a plan to rebel against those in charge, and Mickey 17 makes no pretense about its humorous approach to its subject and themes, focusing on the inherently exploitative nature of capitalism, the hideousness of settler colonialism, and the baffling lack of scrutiny of inept leaders, all of which are juxtaposed against the empowerment that community, unity and resistance offers the oppressed.
Pattinson once again showcases his willingness to play around with his range, while Mark Ruffalo wears the inspiration for his megalomaniacally oafish politician Kenneth Marshall on his sleeve, sinking his teeth into a character not too dissimilar to his pathetic Duncan Wedderburn from Yorgos Lanthimos’ subversive crowd pleaser Poor Things.
The various supportive players also play their respective parts well, with the performances having an undercurrent of playfulness tinged with farce, be it Ackie’s manic yet powerful Nasha, Steven Yeun’s slimy Timo, or Toni Collette leisurely embodying Kenneth’s casually callous wife Ylfa, who seems to be cut from the same cloth as Tilda Swinton’s Mason from Snowpiercer.
The world of Mickey 17 is well-realized and tactile, the set design and visual effects effortlessly creating a world that simultaneously seems both innovative as well as retrospective, creating links back to other sci-fi satire classics such as Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
All that being said, however, while Mickey 17 manages to be a competently executed satirical romp, it is arguably still on the weaker end of Bong Joon-ho’s filmography, but considering how strong the Korean filmmakers résumé is, while his latest effort may not impress his devoted fans all that much, it is nonetheless a refreshing and cheeky entry as far as the grander scheme of Hollywood science fiction is concerned.
Extras include featurettes and trailers.
Verdict: 7 out of 10.
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