Mickey 17
MICKEY 17 (15)
D: Bong Joon Ho
Warner Bros / Plan B / Offscreen / Kate Street Picture Company (Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bong Joon Ho & Dooho Choi)
US/South Korea 🇺🇸🇰🇷 2025
137 mins
Science Fiction/Comedy
W: Bong Joon Ho [based on the novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton]
DP: Dariusz Khondji
Ed: Yang Jin-mo
Mus: Jung Jae-il
PD: Fiona Crombie
Cos: Catherine George
Robert Pattinson (Mickey Barnes / Mickey 17 / Mickey 18), Mark Ruffalo (Kenneth Marshall), Naomi Ackie (Nasha Barridge), Toni Collette (Ylfa Marshall), Steven Yeun (Timo), Patsy Ferran (Dorothy)
Bong Joon Ho’s follow up to his 2019 Best Picture Oscar winner (Parasite) is a peculiar mix of alien invasion science fiction, black comedy, social commentary and satire that doesn’t really mix particularly well, but still makes for an interesting visual experience, thanks to the imaginative set design & visual effects.
Robert Pattinson plays Mickey 17, a clone of Mickey Barnes who was recruited as an ‘expendable’ to take on dangerous tasks while exploring new planets and is cloned every time he dies.
On an ice planet called Niflheim which is targeted for human colonisation, Mickey 17 is believed to have died and Mickey 18 is produced, resulting in two clones existing at the same time, which is strictly forbidden and could result in both versions of Mickey being exterminated.
Together, both clones attempt to uncover a sinister plot that a corrupt politician, Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), has for the planet and save the indigenous life that don’t pose the threat they were initially led to believe.
Aesthetically, the film is quite spectacular, and Robert Pattinson is fine in the lead as an everyman who reluctantly finds himself in the life he ends up living. Mark Ruffalo is completely over the top as the film’s main antagonist and comes close to detailing the entire thing. Quite a surprise considering he’s usually such a strong actor in his previous films, but he’s easily the weak link here, and it has to be said that this is Boon Jong Ho’s weakest movie, though, in fairness, that may be because the director’s past works have set the bar incredibly high.
6/10
