Mickey 17 – Film Review
Reviewed by Harris Dang on the 6th of March 2025
Universal Pictures Australia presents a film by Bong Joon-ho
Screenplay by Bong Joon-ho based on Mickey7 by Edward Ashton
Produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bong Joon-ho, and Dooho Choi
Starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo
Cinematography Darius Khondji
Edited by Yang Jin-mo
Music by Jung Jae-il
Rating: M
Running Time: 137 minutes
Release Date: the 6th of March 2025
Set in the distant future, Mickey 17 tells the story of Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), an unlucky bumpkin who makes a drastic decision to move out of the planet Earth. Driven by fear of death and bad business decisions by his impulsive best friend, Timo (Steven Yeun), the two decide to migrate to the colony Niflheim (populated by giant insects called Creepers) to hide from loan sharks under designated occupations. Unfortunately, Mickey signs up (under duress) for an occupation where his mortality is used as a means of experimentation.
Devised by the corrupt government led by the buffoonish Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his devious wife, Yifa (Toni Collette), Mickey is assigned to be an “expendable”. He undergoes a series of assignments where he must die repeatedly (through regenerating his body and mind) in order for his demise to produce data for government means under the guise of expanding science. As far as bad luck situations go, it is not all bad as he has found the love of his life in the form of Nasha (Naomi Ackie), a security agent who finds his naivety charming.
But things take a turn for the hapless Mickey when he is incorrectly assumed dead, which leads him to meet his cynical, brooding and possibly psychotic replacement Mickey 18 (also played by Robert Pattinson). The very existence of multiples causes waves, which causes a clash between the Mickeys and the oppressive government where every life in the colony, both human and creeper, is at stake.
Mickey 17 is the latest film from renowned filmmaker Bong Joon-ho. Best known for his sharp social critique, his masterful handling of tone and his intricate implementation of slapstick humour, Bong jumps back on the saddle after the accolades from his prior film Parasite (2019). Adapting the acclaimed science fiction novel ‘Mickey7’ by Edward Ashton, Bong has made his biggest budgeted film to date.
Being no stranger to science-fiction as both a filmmaker and a cinemagoer (much of the cinematic influences range from Dr. Strangelove to Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind), having no care for subtlety (one cinematic prop revolving around the human mind is literally a brick) and strict consistency in tone, Mickey 17 tackles vast themes including government corruption, animal cruelty, colonization, repopulation, indoctrination, existentialism through technological means and vivisection. With all that in the story, a normal filmmaker would go and tell his story in a bleak, despairing tone that affords no mirth whatsoever. But Bong is anything but a normal filmmaker as he creates what could be his joyous film yet.
Through a hapless underdog story where the lead Mickey learns to not only fight for himself but for something bigger, Bong conveys his themes through idiosyncratic human behaviour that is simultaneously endearing, heightened, and even frightening. It results in his masterful handling of tone where offbeat moments such as codewords for sex positions can be used as a callback to establish a love language that proves significant in the climax. Another example is when an ambush in the second act can change tones from pantomime absurdity to cartoony slapstick to crushing drama.
A lot of the credit goes to the shrewd editing from Yang Jin-mo (in which the scene transitions range from being brutally succinct to abruptly laugh-out-loud funny), the vivid yet scroungy cinematography by Darius Khondji (who is definitely no stranger to the depths of human behavioural putrescence and dystopian sci-fi), the fantastic production design, and the graceful yet tumultuous score by Jung Jae-il. But what clinches it all is the work from the cast.
With no grounded character in sight, the entire cast are free to let go of the shackles of human composure, and they go ape. Notable performances in the supporting cast include Mark Ruffalo (who literally leads with his best teeth like Liberace or Wayne Newton, as he embodies every single dictator with scenery-shredding fun), Toni Collette (devious and flighty), Steven Yeun (charming yet volatile). The one lone exception of the cast is Anamaria Vartolomei, whose grounded presence provides an engaging counterpart to Pattinson, both thematically and character interplay.
The real standouts of the film are Pattinson and Ackie. Pattinson works his vocal dexterity (which ranges from inspirations like Ren and Stimpy to Porky Pig) and physicality (his physical comedy chops are a wonder, particularly in single-shot scenes) in embodying two distinct characters and he does a marvellous job in engendering sympathy on both a buffoon and a brute. While Ackie is spirited and formidable as Nasha, in both the comedic and dramatic aspects of the film. In the case of the former, she keeps up with the boundless energy of Pattinson effortlessly, making their romance sweet and tender as the weight behind it comes to light later in the film.
As for its deficits, Mickey 17 is much like Bong’s English-language films in that it lacks the refinement as one expects in his Korean-language work. There will be audiences that will not be able to sanction the film’s buffoonery as the cast rarely hold back and the pacing of the story is much like how a Mickey becomes reborn – a slow drop and a sudden stop. However, with its stronger genre focus and the numerous plates spinning of the story, the scrappiness (much like Mickey himself) is part of the film’s charm.
Overall, Mickey 17 is an exhilaratingly boisterous piece of work that shows Bong at his most joyous and gleeful. It is a hilariously barbed and thought-provoking science-fiction underdog tale led by an excitingly unruly performance(s) by Robert Pattinson. Highly recommended.
Summary: This is an exhilaratingly boisterous piece of work that shows Bong at his most joyous and gleeful.
5
Impressive
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