It’s been nearly six years since director Bong Joon-ho made waves in Hollywood with Parasite. The Korean thriller/black comedy film won all the awards and left us clamouring for his next theatrical work. And now, after several delays and release date shuffles, Mickey 17 is finally here. This film has been long awaited by many, with fellow contributor Lily K putting it on her list of most anticipated films of the year. But after all this time, does the film live up to the hype? Does it match the quality seen in Parasite? It’s finally time to find out.
Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) can’t catch a break. His macaron business with his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) has failed horribly, and he’s in debt to a loan shark obsessed with killing people. To escape the loan shark signs up to be an “expendable” on an interstellar expedition to Niflheim. What was supposed to be a way to escape death has become a voyage of death for Mickey because, as an expendable, he’s sent out on dangerous missions each day. If he dies, they reprint his body so he’s ready to die all over again. His relationship with Nasha (Naomi Ackie) keeps him going through all the deaths, but the expedition’s commander, Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), is making sure his lives are hell. But when Mickey survives a mission that everyone assumes he died on, Mickey’s problems are about to double.
Mickey 17 was an enjoyable experience, but I think that had less to do with the story itself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s entertaining and is filled with memorable moments, but it has more to do with character interactions and overall themes. The film dealt with themes of mortality, classism, fanaticism, and even touched on colonisation and the human race’s desire to constantly expand. All of these elevate the film to a higher level, but it just means that the overall plot didn’t get that much time in the oven. The biggest example is the 30-minute prologue that sets up the film. I see what they were going for, but in execution, it just missed the mark. But that’s my only real complaint about the film: the rest was incredible.
Without a doubt, the standout part of Mickey 17 is the characters. Each and every one of them is interesting in their own way, and by the end, you’ll love or hate each one (hate in a good way, though). Robert Pattinson as Mickey is the best and I loved every second of his performance. The way he subtly changed the performance for each version of Mickey added more layers to the character, which I very much appreciated. Between this performance and his other recent roles like Batman in The Batman, the Heron in The Boy and the Heron, and Neil in Tenet, I think he may be in my top 10 favourite current working actors. Side note, the voice he used for Mickey kept reminding me of Johnny Yong Bosch, which was kinda odd (but also a lil funny)
Naomi Ackie as Nasha and Steven Yeun as Timo were both interesting side characters that Mickey bounced off really well throughout the film. Nasha was the support system that Mickey needed and it was refreshing to have a love interest in this type of film that doesn’t betray the main character halfway through. And Timo is someone who you know is a shitty person (he is the reason Mickey is in this situation), but you do feel like there is a tiny bit of good in there (mainly due to Steven’s performance).
The antagonist Kenneth Marshall is 100% a caricature of Donald Trump and you can’t change my mind. Everything from the mannerisms, the way he talks, his want to take over new land, and even his supporters wearing red hats. They aren’t subtle about it and Mark Ruffalo gives it his all to make sure you despise the deplorable bastard by the end. But he doesn’t hold a candle to his wife Yifa Marshall who is played by Toni Collette. She has a major influence on what her husband does, and a specific moment towards the end of the film made me want to punt her to the Moon and back (so a job well done, Toni).
Mickey 17 is a gorgeous film to look at in both set design and cinematography. Not many locations are visited throughout the film, but each has a distinct look and feel that will stick in your mind long after you’ve left the cinema. The dimly lit trash disposal room where all the dead Mickey’s get incinerated, the lavish living quarters of the Marshalls, and the frozen landscape of Niflheim all look outstanding. The cinematography further emphasises the style of the film with tons of unique shots and edits that make every scene special. One of my favourite parts is when they montage through a chunk of different Mickey’s being printed. The camera angle changes almost every time and the edits make this section hilarious.
Aside from the sets and cinematography being top notch, the creature design is also fantastic. On Nifheim, there are creatures that the humans call Creepers and, at first, I thought they were gross things that were probs evil. But then the babies made cute noises and playfully bit Mickey’s finger and I was sold on the lil guys. They just lil bug friends that have a gross looking abdomen. Honestly, once you get over the gross-looking tentacles, you’ll realise that they’re all just friends and that nothing bad should happen to them ever. And anyone who does harm one (especially a baby), deserves to be punted to the Moon and back.
Mickey 17 is the best film I’ve seen this year so far. Besides a slight pacing issue in the beginning, I had little to no other complaints. I loved the characters, the performances, the sets, the cinematography, and creature designs. This film is fantastic and I would highly recommend going out and seeing it the first chance you get.
Have you seen Mickey 17? What did you think? Would you sign up to be an expendable? Let us know in the comments where we can agree that the baby Creepers are pretty cute.
