Darkly comic fare, with enthralling world building and a social commentary that is just a little too on the nose
Six years after Parasite made Oscar history, Bong Joon-ho returns with Mickey 17, a dark but disjointed sci-fi satire adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7. The film sees Bong blending dystopian space opera with black comedy and a pointed social critique. But while Parasite sliced through class warfare with surgical precision, Mickey 17 lacks the finesse needed to make its point,
Robert Pattinson stars as Mickey Barnes, an endearing screw-up with a debt problem. After taking out a loan from the local mob alongside his best friend Timo (Steven Yeun) they find themselves unable to pay if back and with time running out face the very real threat of a slow dismemberment. Their solution, get the hell off of Earth. In this dystopic future, colonial missions are setting out into the stars and one is about to get underway led by a Trumpian strongman named Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), who believes in purity, destiny, and the superiority of himself and his followers.
A registration mishap marks Mickey as an “Expendable”, a role that entails performing the ship’s most dangerous tasks, which almost always end in death. But thanks to technology that backs up his consciousness and reprints a new body. As the space-faring mission unfolds, Mickey doesn’t just give up his life (repeatedly) but also his heart, to fellow crew member Nasha (Naomi Ackie). Making landfall at the distant world of Nilfheim, Mickey 17 is left for dead after an accident, but helped back to the ship by some native creatures. Upon arrival he finds a new surly version of himself already having been activated. “Multiples” are an egregious violation of the law and their combined presence coincides with the climax of the mission and Kenneth Marshall’s efforts to instill his vision of society on this new planet.
The film’s first half is a stylish, blackly comedic, and undeniably engaging. The world building is enthralling, Bong’s signature deadpan wit and sense of foreboding infuse well into proceedings. But somewhere along the way, Mickey 17 begins to buckle. Exposition piles up (the voice-overs get a bit much), characters spew competing ideologies, and a subplot involving intelligent native alien lifeforms (the very ones who saved Mickey 17) gets lost in the noise.
There are flashes of brilliance throughout. Visually, the film is gorgeously grubby, blending futuristic advancements with an industrial vibe. Pattinson’s performance is kooky and charming, his physicality shifting just enough between Mickey’s incarnations to make them distinct and offer the audience a character in Mickey 18 to channel some of the palpable outrage the film provokes. His accent and delivery toe the line between goofy and oddly affecting and anchors the film emotionally. Aiding this is Ackie, who brings warmth and depth to a role that serves as a contract to the other blinkered crew members, but crucially humanizes Mickey all the more with her acts. A scene when she cradles Mickey after he’s been used as a guinea pig in a vaccine trial being a standout
Mickey 17 is also messy. The satire can be heavy-handed , especially when Ruffalo’s character starts spewing fascist-lite rhetoric that feels like an on-the-nose Musk/Trump pastiche. There are jokes that drag far past their expiration date, a bit about sauce from Marshall’s wife Ylfa (Toni Colette, also hamming it up) is stretched way too thin. Even with these flaws, Mickey 17 is always energized and interesting. The film takes some big swings at themes of mortality and morality, greed and values, and our gloomy lurch to putting profit over people. It hammers it’s points home a little too hard, but in this day and age, maybe that’s necessary.
The Package
Mickey 17 presents with a really top quality transfer. Detail is superb, showing off the creativity of the production design, from panels to ships to costumes, to creature design. Depth of image is a standout, with an excellent range of color and contrast, deep blacks, and no artifacts or issues, just clean and precise from start to finish. Extra features feel a little lacking considering the source material, current day context, and technical aspects of the production, but they do provide some coverage in the key areas of interest:
- Behind the Lens: Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17: writer-director Bong Joon Ho, author Edward Ashton, and key cast members, including actors Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, and Toni Colette, chat about the film’s story, thees, and their own characters. Just over 10 minutes, but solid enough
- Mickey 17: A World Reimagined: Another 10 minute featurette which focuses on the world-building and overall aesthetic of the film
- The Faces of Niflheim: Just over 8 minutes, it covers the casting process for Mickey, as well as Pattison’s approach to the character(s)
- Trailers:
The Bottom Line
Mickey 17 is an ambitious, satirical space odyssey impresses with its look and feel (aided by one of the best looking 4K releases I’ve seen this year), as well as the turn(s) from Robert Pattison. The messaging is timely, and occasionally effective, but lacks the deftness to really entwine it with the story in a successful way. Bong Joon Ho’s latest is messy and muddled, but undeniably evocative and interesting.
Mickey 17 is available on 4K-UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment now
