After Parasite won Best Picture at the 2019 Oscars, director Bong Joon Ho got a blank check for his next project. So what did he make? Mickey 17: a $120 million sci-fi epic black comedy that is one of the most incendiary films in a career that is full of provocative work. Although it isn’t one of Bong’s best movies, it’s still very funny and very smart.
Mickey 17 Review
Mickey 17 tells the story of an “expendable” on an interplanetary voyage — a man who has volunteered to die over and over again and have his body “reprinted.” It’s a very cool high-concept premise based on a novel by Edward Ashton, who created a perfect canvas for Bong to paint his commentary.
For years, those in the cinephile community have been praising Robert Pattinson as an incredibly versatile actor, and Mickey 17 gives him a chance to show off this broad range in a single project. Although he is playing different versions of the same character, Pattinson makes each one feel like a separate performance with a unique personality and characteristics. The film is at its best when two versions of Pattinson are on screen at the same time, as the actor knows how to play brilliantly well off of himself.
What is surprising about Mickey 17’s characterization is how well it invests us in the story. Mickey’s backstory is a pretty conventional one — debt caused him to take on a risky job, and now he finds himself in a pickle — but it’s hard not to fall in love with Mickey in all his (typically oafish) charm, thanks in large part to Pattinson’s own charisma.
And while you might expect a movie like this to lend itself to a solo showcase for Pattinson, it also gives the very talented Mark Ruffalo the opportunity to give one of the funniest performances of his career. Although Ruffalo is essentially playing a caricature of a particular American politician, he does so in a way that’s consistently hilarious and never so over-the-top that it feels ridiculous.
Granted, Bong’s films have rarely been subtle, but the level that the filmmaker takes his anti-Trump satire to are pretty surprising. The allegorical parallels get as specific as Ruffalo’s followers donning red caps. Bong makes it very clear who this movie is about and, more importantly, where he thinks the United States (and world) is heading if we continue to allow certain leaders to exert their influence in dangerous ways.
Beyond Pattinson and Ruffalo, the rest of the ensemble is also very stacked and full of recognizable faces, including Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), Toni Colette (Hereditary), Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), and Anamaria Vartolomei (Happening). None of them gives a performance that is as memorable or unique as Pattinson or Ruffalo’s, but they each get a few moments where they can shine.
Admittedly, Mickey 17 does suffer from bloated pacing at times. It’s the rare adaptation of a book where it feels like it’s actually in need of a narrower focus. Although the first act is entertaining, it takes a bit too long to set up its world before it gets to the heart of the conflict. It gains steam heading into the second act, but the third act feels somewhat anticlimactic — albeit more action-packed — than the smart, edgy satire of the middle portion.
However, even when its story drags, Mickey 17 is always very funny. There’s a ton of situational humor from putting the characters in absurd situations, but again, the funniest parts of the movie come from Bong’s willingness to push the envelope when it comes to lampooning the political figures that so clearly inspire its commentary.
Is Mickey 17 worth watching?
Indeed, even if you can feel the near 140-minute runtime, Bong’s Mickey 17 is still an entertaining, audacious work of sci-fi satire. As usual, it’s shocking just how far Bong was willing to go with his anti-capitalist (and, in this case, anti-Republican satire), but what is even more surprising is that a studio gave him $120 million to do it. And as a cinephile, we must rejoice that big, ambitious, biting films like this are allowed to exist, despite their flaws.
Mickey 17 opens in theaters on March 7.
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