It’s been a long six years since Bong Joon-ho last had a new film hit theaters. With his last film, Parasite (2019) taking him to the peak success of his celebrated career, winning both the Palme d’Or at Cannes as well as Best Picture at the Academy Awards, people were interested in what he was going to do for a follow-up. Bong Joon-ho has been a filmmaker that has worked in two different worlds through his bod of work. He has made small scale thrillers in his native South Korea, of which Parasite is one of them. He also has worked in Hollywood, making ambitious high concept science fiction films like Snowpiercer (2014) and Okja (2017). After achieving the industry’s highest honor with Parasite, there was a lot of speculation about what his next move would be. Bong decided to jump on the capital he built through Parasite’s success and look to Hollywood once again for his follow-up project. And indeed, he was making the most of the opportunity by getting a big studio like Warner Brothers on board. For his new film, Bong found his project in the science fiction novel Mickey 7, about a space explorer who gets re-cloned every time he dies on an expedition. No doubt he saw potential there in the idea of a man being re-carnated over and over again for the sake of science and exploration, as well a areas in which to inject some social and political satire into the story, which is another trait that his films all share. It’s quite the shift for him given how Parasite was a far more scaled down production compared to what he had been making. Would it be the right choice after winning over so much universal praise for his Oscar winner? A lot of that would certainly ride upon the execution and whether he could hit the right tone and message with his story.
One thing to Bong’s benefit is that this movie put him on a collision course with actor Robert Pattinson. The British actor who became a household name due to his work on the divisive Twilight movie series, has been spending the last decade trying to shake off the glittery vampire aura of that popular franchise and show the world what kind of actor he really wants to be. Pattison in reality is a character actor who just also happens to have movie star good looks. He could easily be the next Brad Pitt, but instead he wants to be the next Gary Oldman; an actor who prefers to disappear into a performance and even make some strange choices along the way. He has been able to prove that through some bold choices in his roles, whether it’s playing a paranoid lighthouse keeper in Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse (2019) or a strung out bank robber in the Safdie Brothers’ Good Time (2017). Even still, Pattison will occasionally use his star power to work in a big Hollywood film once and a while, like appearing as the caped crusader in Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022). But in general, he has done a great job at redefining who he is as an actor to audiences, and I’m sure that he’s very happy that he’s no longer looked at as the “Twilight” actor anymore. At this point in his career, it makes sense that he would want to work with Bong Joon-ho, because he’s a filmmaker who values actors giving unconventional performances in his movies. Bong’s not afraid to let his actors go big and broad in their performances, and that seemed like the ideal parameters that Pattinson was looking for. And with a movie like this that allows for him to play the same character in a multitude of different ways, the pairing of actor and director was a natural fit. The only question is, does Mickey 17 manage to bring out the best in both the filmmaker and actor, or do their artistic instincts end up spoiling the potential of this movie?
The movie takes place a couple hundred years into the future. Earth’s climate has been thrown into chaos by pollution and neglect, and human beings are looking to flee to other across the galaxy. Meanwhile, the governments of Earth are also dealing with the ethical questions about human cloning as the science behind that has advance to the point that a human being can be 3D printed out like new. Disgraced politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) proposes a solution for both problems. He will command an expedition to another livable planet far beyond Earth and use human clones to do some of the more dangerous work on the expedition since the practice is not illegal in space. He dubs the human clones that will be a part of the mission Expendables, and seeks willing volunteers for the mission. Enter Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) who signs up for the Expendables program as a means of getting off the planet due to him and his business partner Timo (Steven Yeun) being hounded by a ruthless loan shark. Mickey quickly learns that being an Expendable means that he’ll have to get used to dying. By the time the expedition reaches the new, icy planet they’ve dubbed Nifelheim, Mickey has been re-printed a total of 16 times, after previous versions were killed due to solar radiation, temperature extremes, and air borne viruses. But, even as the expedition advances, and is increasingly ruled over by Marshall and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette) like a monarch through cult of personality, Mickey has found companionship with a fellow crew member named Nasha (Naomi Ackie) who becomes his girlfriend. But, on one scouting expedition, Mickey 17 has come across the native creatures of the planet, giant pill bug looking beings they’ve dubbed Creepers. He falls into their cave, but surprisingly doesn’t die. In fact the Creepers help him out of the cave. Mickey 17 does finally find a way back to base, but when he reaches his quarters, he finds a shocking surprise, that another version of him, Mickey 18 (also Pattinson) is already there. Now both Mickeys have to deal with the dilemma of being “multiples” which is forbidden even in space. The only question is, which one will get to live and who will get erased?
With a budget ranging around $120 million, this is Bong Joon-ho’s biggest budgeted film to date. But the large scale of the production was not the only factor that accounted for the long gap between this and Parasite‘s release. No doubt Covid delayed much of the development of this film, but even after cameras stopped rolling, it still took a while for his movie to make it to the big screen. The first teaser for this film was release in early 2023, a full two years before it would actually hit theaters. The change in management at the Warner Brothers studios no doubt also contributed to it’s delay, with the new regime under David Zaslev not quite sure what to do with this film, but also having it too far down the production pipeline to change course. So, it kept getting pushed back as the studio kept re-shuffling their release calendar. It went from a Spring 2024 release to getting delayed a full year to Spring 2025, but thankfully one final move actually moved it ahead a month to March instead of April, with it swapping places wit Ryan Coogler’s upcoming Sinners, which is the first sign of confidence that Warner Brothers has shown in this film. And with all of those delays, one has to wonder if it did the movie any harm or good. At least the film finally is getting the chance to be seen. The only thing is that those unfamiliar with Bong Joon-ho’s style of filmmaking may find the experience to be a little jarring. This movie has very little in common with Parasite, which while it had it’s bizarre and comical moments, was for the most part a thriller with social commentary behind it. Mickey 17 is a far broader and less restrained film that harkens back a bit more to his earlier movies like The Host (2006) or Okja (2017), and like those films, Mickey 17 is heavy on the social commentary and broad when it comes to it’s sense of humor. The only difference is he’s got a significantly larger budget to work with. Sometimes a director may lose a bit of their sense of style when playing around with more resources at his disposal, but for the most part Mickey 17 still feels true to Bong’s sensibilities as a filmmaker. Unfortunately, the bigger production also elevates his shortcomings as a director as well.
If Mickey 17 has a major flaw at it’s core, it’s that Bong Joon-ho can’t quite resolve the tone of the film. The movie swings wildly from broad comedy to tense action thriller, and it doesn’t give you much time to connect with either side. In it’s individual parts, it has really inspired moments, but puzzle just doesn’t have all the right pieces to full come together. In general, the movie works best as a slapstick comedy, with Bong Joon-ho really unafraid to make the violence feel gratuitous to the point where you just have to laugh at it in how extreme it goes. The social commentary, while a tad bit on the nose, also gets plenty of laughs as well, and I do appreciate just how much Bong is willing to mine the situations in the movie to the point of absurdity. The way Nasha takes advantage of having two Mickeys in her company adds a hilarious wrinkle to her character, and yes the movie goes where you think it will with that aspect of their relationship. The problem with the movie is that Bong kind of gets stuck within these scenes and makes them go longer than they should. The film is nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes long, which is pretty lengthy for a film like this. The fact that the scenes go longer than they should leads to the disjointed feeling that the movie has as a whole. The transitions from the comedic to the thrilling don’t quite sync up and the movie as a result feels to be at war with itself. The best was I would describe the film is that it’s Snowpiercer with Okja’s comedic tone, and it’s not a perfect marriage between those type of movies. At the same time, you don’t get the sense that Bong Joon-ho is phoning it in. He’s trying to make this movie work as best as he can, but the project just seems to have slipped out of his grasp and the result ends up being a bit messy. The ambition is there, but the production just couldn’t quite come together.
If there is one thing that does help this movie rise above it’s failings, it’s Robert Pattinson’s outstanding performance. He instantly makes Mickey a uniquely original character, putting on a showcase for his talents as a character driven actor. You would hardly believe that this is the same actor who has recently donned the cape and cowl as Batman. In both voice and physicality, Pattinson disappears into the character, and on top of that he even gets to play that character twice with distinct personalities that make them feel like different people. The film of course follows it’s title, and makes Mickey 17 the main protagonist of the story. Mickey 18 is identical in body and voice, but as we learn he is far more assertive and aggressive in his persona compared to Mickey 17’s shy and good-natured behavior. This dynamic between the two really helps to fuel the best parts of the movie, and Pattison brilliantly makes each Mickey not only their own character, but also fully rounded and engaging as well. It really mattered that Bong Joon-ho needed the right actor for this part, and he certainly landed on the perfect guy with Pattinson. It’s the subtleties that really make the performance shine; from the different postures that the Mickeys have to the Steve Buscemi-like high pitched voice he uses and making two variations on that as well. Pattison definitely carries the movie and helps to smooth out the short comings of the script. He’s also supported by a strong supporting cast as well, all of whom are also delivering on the broad, screwball comedy aspect of the film. Mark Ruffalo is also a standout as Kenneth Marshall. He’s an obvious allegory for real life cult of personality demagogues we’ve seen in politics recently, and Ruffalo clearly knew the assignment well and makes Marshall as hilariously repulsive as possible. Toni Colette, whose great in just about everything she’s in, also does a great send-up of the vapid politician’s wife. A lot of the minor characters also are wonderful to watch in this movie, particularly in the way they show how amateurish this space expedition is to it’s core with the actors hilariously playing up the ineptitude they display in their daily roles. But overall, it’s Robert Pattinson’s movie and this film is the best showcase yet for displaying his talents as a chameleon like actor.
When making a science fiction adventure, there inevitably needs to be some inspired, imaginative ideas on display in the story you are telling. Mickey 17 I would say is half inspired. There are some really fun sci-fi concepts found in this movie, but they are mostly centered around the space station setting where most of the film takes place. It’s when they land on the planet Nifelheim that the movie starts to lose it’s creative spark. The most creative moments involve the day to day atmosphere of the Marshall expedition’s home base, because you can just tell the half-assed nature of the entire operation just through the visual story-telling of the way that the base looks. The space station looks very much like a hastily assembled factory where things are just duct taped together enough to keep from falling down completely. And meanwhile, the Marshall’s living quarters are furnished with lavish furniture and bright colors, clearly showing the obvious class divide between management and the workers. It is nice to see much of the movie relying on fully built sets rather than filling out the ship with green screen. It works better for the message of the movie when the space ship is claustrophobic and full of cold, ugly steel. The movie’s imagination unfortunately runs out once you leave the spaceship. The planet Nifelheim is about as generic and unimaginative as you can imagine. We’ve seen ice planets before in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Interstellar (2014), and they were far more visually interesting than what we see in this film. Pretty much all we see is barren open tundra with no interesting features, and it’s all blurred out by an omnipresent snow storm. Maybe this was to save on the budget with the visuals, but it just comes across as dull in the end. Even the Creeper’s cave feels boring, with no visually imaginative touches to be seen. The Creepers themselves are animated well, but the fact that they are just essentially giant versions of a bug we are all familiar with on Earth is another missed opportunity to show a little imagination with this science fiction concept. So, the movie is half inspired as a science fiction fantasy, but there are so many missed opportunities that you can tell would have helped to make the movie better if they had gone a different way.
It’s hard to follow-up an Oscar winning film with something that can equally perform on the same level; even for some of the best filmmakers. One cannot blame Bong Joon-ho for striking while the iron is hot and getting a major studio on board for his next, ambitious project. And it certainly was not a wasted opportunity either. You can definitely see that Bong put the money up on that screen and delivered a film that not only is ambitious, but also satisfies his tastes as a filmmaker. It’s just unfortunate that all the pieces don’t quite come together despite all of his well-meaning efforts. A lot of the elements in the movie, the screwball comedy, the high concept science fiction, and the social commentary just feel like they were done better in some of his other movies like Snowpiercer. But, there are things about the movie that really do shine too. The movie is definitely worth seeing for Robert Pattison’s performance alone. He really did create a true original character that I’m sure is going to be endearing to most audiences who see this movie. Even if the film gets mixed reviews, I feel like you’ll see almost universal praise for Pattison’s performance, and I hope it opens the door more for him to continue to play these kinds of oddball characters in future films. And while the satirical elements are a bit on the nose they are still nevertheless funny and for the most part earn their laughs. I just wish the overall movie had a tighter edit and a more imaginative setting on the alien planet that they ultimately land on. In general, it’s a slightly above average movie mainly due to the performances, and especially because of it’s main character. For Bong Joon-ho, it’s not easy getting a movie like this made and as it turned out it was a struggle getting it released as well. But, I hope the experience doesn’t deter him from being a risk taker either. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here; either staying in Hollywood or returning to his roots in Korean cinema. Either way, Mickey 17 may be a flawed but still worthwhile experiment on his part and hopefully it’s a stepping stone to something even better for him as a filmmaker in the future.
Rating: 7/10