Mickey 17 is an absurdly entertaining spectacle from acclaimed director Bong Joon Ho thanks to the wickedly funny and pointed satirical screenplay brought to life by sensational performances from Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette.

 

How do you follow up your previous film which became an awards season juggernaut, taking the world by surprise when it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and gave a now iconic speech about the importance of international film? Well, if you are legendary director Bong Joon Ho, you make a complex science fiction blockbuster with a cast of A-list talent including Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Naomi Ackie, and Steven Yeun with the biggest budget of your career. Compared to his small and grounded previous film Parasite which shocked the world, Mickey 17 is unlike anything Ho has done as a director before: a massive studio, science fiction adaptation driven by special effects and marketed as a blockbuster experience. But staying true to himself as an artist, Bong Joon Ho’s signature offbeat humour and social and political commentary is never lost as he adapts Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, delivering a wild and out of this world experience that despite some slight pacing issues, is yet another impressive film from one of cinema’s most exciting directors.

 

Ashton’s novel has a very humorous tone as it explores death, oppressive social structures, religion and politics; and life, making it the perfect material for Bong Joon Ho to adapt. Like any good science fiction story, the story of Mickey 17 is more than just elements of the genre such as space exploration, scientific advancements in genetic research and aliens, but rooted in thematic exploration of existentialism, societal structure and oppressive political leaders. Never mincing his point of view at any point, Bong Joon Ho’s screenplay is very direct as his political and social satire rings loud and clear as he questions ands mocks the oppressive leadership of Nilfheim, the human colony that Mickey is an employee of, which given the political state of the world today, is sadly all to relevant. The exploration of cloning and death is less on the nose at times than the political and social satire, though adding an extra ten iterations of Mickey than featured in Ashton’s novel and showing how they all died on screen in a hilarious montage sequence makes that commentary fairly apparent. 

 

The narrative of the film itself is more straightforward, which allows Bong Joon Ho to play with his satirical themes throughout. After introducing audiences to the world of Mickey 17 in an extended opening before the title card appears, audiences are well versed in the futuristic world as the story begins to unfold and have a fairly clear idea of the direction the story is going to head. Mickey 17’s narration of the story captures the first person narrative point of view of the novel, allowing Mickey 17’s humour to ring loud and clear throughout the film, matching Bong Joon Ho’s quirky style as a storyteller. This leads to many laugh out loud moments over the course of the film, especially with Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall and Collette’s Ylfa who always have an outrageous gag to deliver. The romantic subplot involving Naomi is surprisingly heartfelt in an otherwise cold and at times cynical tale, but makes for a welcomed element of this wacky, out of this world adventure and helps to set the tone for where the story concludes. As wild and entertaining the film is, with a run time that ventures past the two hour mark, you can start to feel its length at moments. Some scenes drag, causing some minor pacing issues in the film’s middle act as Bong Joon Ho juggles multiple narrative threads at once, though it’s not a major detriment to the film overall as everything comes together by the story’s conclusion in an entertaining and most absurd way imaginable.

 

Though, even if you do begin to feel the film’s length at times, the cast is absolutely sublime and makes Mickey 17 a must watch for the performances alone. Pattinson gives one of the best performances of his career in the dual leading roles of Mickey 17 and Mickey 18. Developing a unique persona for both iterations of Mickey Barnes, with his own voice, posture and personality for each clone, Pattinson excels in the role. He lets loose as Mickey 17, with a more timid and humorous performance that captures the more simple minded and sweet individual, while bravado and masculine strength informs his entire portrayal of Mickey 18. Playing off yourself is no easy task, but the lightning in a bottle chemistry Pattinson makes between Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 is terrific, ensuring that the film’s premise never for a second falters. Ackie, hot off two great performances in I Wanna Dance With Somebody and last year’s Blink Twice, continues to prove herself as one formidable actress and constantly steals the show with the spitfire energy she brings to the role of Nasha. Both her romantic and comedic chemistry with Pattinson is excellent, energizing every scene that they share together, while never letting her star power fade whenever she is on screen. 

 

Ruffalo thickly lays on the sleaze and cheese as Kenneth Marshall, the egomaniacal politician with a cult-like religious following who is in charge of the Nilfheim colony. It’s an over the top comedic performance where Ruffalo seems to blend the personas of two controversial political figures that are prevalent in today’s world, but one that never fails to draw great laughter as his character spews the most outrageous lines throughout the film. Sharing her scenes with Ruffalo, Colette brings her wicked comedic timing to the film and makes for a dynamite screen partner for Ruffalo. She never fails to make the audience laugh, while at the same time driving home the absurdity of the story and Bong Joon Ho’s sharp commentary. And while he is in a smaller role, Steven Yeun is great every single moment that he is on screen.