There is a whimsy to Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Mickey 17’ that feels closer to ‘Okja’ than his Academy Award winning masterpiece ‘Parasite.’ While the latter film is funny, it’s way more grounded than ‘Okja’ and it’s ‘Okja’s’ outrageousness that serves as dominant mode of Bong Joon-ho’s latest film. It’s a science fiction black comedy that tackles exploitation and delves into existential themes while exposing the way the ruling class holds dominion over society in an autocratic and fascistic ways. The film is over-the-top and holds true to Bong Joon-ho’s non-traditional, non-Western filmmaking style and aesthetic that the film’s language may be in English and there are recognizable Hollywood stars in the cast; make no mistake, this is not your typical, straight-up Hollywood mainstream big budget sci-fi movie. It’s a film working on its own terms, and it’s so enjoyable when taken that way.
Set on Earth in 2054, Mickey Barnes (Robert Patttinson) and his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) find themselves in big trouble with a loan shark when their business fails. Unable to pay back the loan, they are threatened with death, which prompts the two to join a colony ship to a distant galaxy for the planet Nilfheim. But while the charming Timo easily finds himself a spot, Mickey is unfortunately not a very bright person. He’s actually on the naïve and dumb side. Without any credentials or recommendations, he applies as an expendable to secure his slot. In the future, expendable technology allows people’s memories and personalities uploaded unto a hard drive while their genetic structure is recorded so their bodies can be reprinted and memories uploaded should they die. As an expendable, Mickey is used as an experiment and is tasked with jobs that are surely fatal, but he can continue returning to continue working due to the expendable technology. Despite his lack of self-esteem, his innocence charms Nasha (Naomi Ackie), a security agent on board the ship and they fall in love and become a couple.
Upon the arrival on arctic planet of Nilfheim, Mickey 17 (he is now identified by how many times he’s died) discovers that the planet has a life form and is left for dead when he falls into a crevice covered by snow. He discovers something about the alien species and when he returns to the colony, he is surprised to find Mickey 18 in his bed.
They reprinted him thinking he had perished. In this time, the use of expendable technology is a moral battleground, but it was allowed for use outside of earth on the strictest grounds that no multiples should occur – multiples being several copies of the same being existing at one time – and now Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are prime examples of multiples. The two must work together and figure out how to exist before they get caught are exterminated permanently.
In its 137-minute run time, ‘Mickey 17’ can feel like different movies all meshed. The first part allows us to understand the inner workings of that world, the colony ship, and who Mickey Barnes is. The second part is on the arrival on Nilfheim and the crisis of the multiples – Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 existing simultaneously – and the fact that Mickey 18 seems to be a tougher, meaner version and can be quite trigger happy. The third movie revolves around Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette), who run the colony ship without regard for ethics or sensitivities. While Bong Joon-ho has stated in an interview with the Korean Times that he had no intention of mirroring or reflecting any real-life people (or politicians) in this movie, there’s something about Ruffalo’s performances that seems reminiscent of the current US president, but Bong insists that the script was finished in 2021 and filming took place from August to December of 2022. Any resemblance to the theatricality and absurdity of Trump is, to Bong’s words, “a projection of our negative experiences” towards the character.
Like all Bong Joon-ho’s work, there is a strong exploration on social class dynamics and an examination on the act of exploitation; and in this case, the way by which the naive and not-so-bright Mickey Barnes would be so amenable to being exploited just to get out of sticky situation. The ramifications of that simple choice to become an expendable is the bulk of this movie but it also humanizes it in the way by which Nasha still sees him as a human being, even when nobody else doesn’t. The film operates like a satire, so the hyper-real world exaggerates the worst of humankind, which makes any moment of growth – whether it be from Mickey 17, Mickey 18, or Nasha – feel even more inspiring. And these moments flare up in a film that is loaded with gruesome, brutal scenes of death (mostly Mickey’s), a fascinating new alien species that is more than meets the eyes, and Ruffalo and Collette’s scenery-chewing performance that is so outrageous it sometimes steals the show entirely.
As enjoyable as it is, ‘Mickey 17’ is not the easiest of films to jump aboard as it meanders and takes it time to really make this world breathe and grow. It takes time to build Mickey Barnes and turn him in and out 17 times before Bong Joon-ho gets the story started. If you can let go of traditional Hollywood mainstream conventions of narrative, that this is going to be such a treat.
My Rating:
Mickey 17 is now showing in cinemas. Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.
