From Bong Joon-ho, director of 2020 Academy Award Best Picture winner “Parasite,” comes “Mickey 17,” a wacky science fiction action film starring Hollywood jack of all trades Robert Pattinson. Based on Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey 7,” the film is an enjoyable romp that takes a look at government control as well as what it means to be human.
Set in the near future, “Mickey 17” presents the audience with expendable human Mickey Barnes, a government employee paid to die on missions for the betterment of mankind. He lives on, however, through a futuristic cloning process and, as the title suggests, he has been killed 16 times prior to the start of the main plot.
Though far from groundbreaking, Bong Joon-ho’s latest film proves to be wildly entertaining. With Pattinson portraying a number of different iterations of Mickey, all slightly unique in their own ways, there is scarcely a dull moment to be found.
The rest of the cast provides gripping performances throughout. From Naomi Ackie as Mickey’s loving but reckless partner Nasha to the delightfully devious duo of Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette, every performer present gives it their all and acts with clear passion and talent.
The central theme of “Mickey 17” begs the question of what makes somebody human. In a world where a person can be perfectly replicated by a machine, the nature of the soul and what it inhabits is pivotal to the story’s development. The value of life, human or otherwise, is examined very closely and deeply.
Despite the heights of the movie as a whole, it takes a bit of time to get to the meat of the story. The opening act features a lot of expository narration on the behalf of Mickey, arguably necessary in a film with such a complex premise, but still not very engaging.
Some of the supporting characters are also not given the development they deserve. At one point Mickey remarks that Nasha is acting strange, but this strangeness is not clear to the audience because she has appeared so little in the film up to that point. Plenty of characters who end up pivotal to the plot are given minimal screen time, making their place in the story feel underdeveloped.
Even though these flaws do hold the film back from perfection, “Mickey 17” remains a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking piece. By blending thrilling science fiction with essential existential questions, Bong Joon-ho has crafted another film that deserves to be experienced and adored by a wide audience.
