Plot Summary:
Mickey is an "expendable", sent on a near-certain-death mission to help colonise the ice world Niflheim. When one Mickey dies, another is cloned in his place with memories restored, effectively rendering him immortal.
Film Probe’s Review:
Mickey 17 tells the story of Mickey Barnes, a dutiful worker who dies for a living. On one exhibition Mickey miraculously survives and discovers the team have already printed the new version of him in the form of Mickey 18. Mickey then embarks on a genre defying adventure comedy to save himself from extermination and stop the megalomaniac leader behind the sinister colonisation mission.
From the wonderful mind of Bong Joon-ho Mickey 17 (2025) is easily the most lavish feature from the filmmaker. Extravagant in both story and execution, Mickey 17 is a rare film to see on the big screen and one I guarantee will gain miraculous cult status over any mainstream success.
Mickey 17 is unlike anything else, it is an amalgamation of genres, themes and social commentary embedded into the narrative. Although the trailer would have you think Mickey 17 is a laugh riot, this film is far more nuanced and only cracked a handful of whimsy. Mickey 17 is an science fiction, action adventure dystopian story that brings themes of capitalism and colonialism to the forefront. Mickey 17 paints in broadly satirical strokes and will have you in awe one second and scratching your head the next.
Story and Structure:
Mickey 17 is an uneven film, the narrative, plot and character development lacked consistency, with some parts being significantly stronger than others. The story execution was messy at times and chaotic which created an unbalanced feel to the overall film. When considering story, the structure of the film is overworked, this was due to the lack of character development and harsh editing. The editing of the film felt heavy handed and resulted in sacrificing depth and complexity of story and character.
The core of the story is engrossing and personally I loved the dark nature layered into this feature, the idea of clones, replicas and human nature is something I find fascinating. Mickey 17 questions the sanctity of life and the protection of identity and individuality; this message and theme was strong at the beginning but if anything got lost in the spectacle of the action towards the end.
Bong Joon-ho, The Director:
Bong Joon Ho is an undeniably captivating filmmaker, Bong’s work is never subtle and he often explores themes of social inequality and human nature which is no secret in Mickey 17. Bong’s maximalist style lends well to the absurdity of this feature, Bong returns to his genre-defying nature and blending of tones as he seamlessly weaves together elements from various genres, creating a story that easily defies categorisation.
As a filmmaker he embraces high drama, low comedy and sudden bursts of violence, when looking at Mickey 17 Bong likes to juggle a lot of moving parts. His talents are formidable, but they aren't always well served by the shift to a big Hollywood canvas.
Star Performances:
Robert Pattinson is absolutely incredible as the various printings of Mickey Barnes. Pattinson has a star quality and was able to distinctly bring to life the variations of Mickey but I particularly fell for Mickey 17. Pattinson delivered a semi-comic performance which displayed his commitment to voice and physicality. He injected his humour and pathos into the role which created a simple character with good intentions and a clear character journey and development, Mickey 17 is the core of this story and Pattinson was perfect.
Pattinson also delivered the perfect creation of contrast in the form of Mickey 18, who presented a much harder more aggressive exterior and inner intentions to the soft Mickey 17. Pattinson created two lovable, deep and memorable characters alongside one another and I think without his performances this film could have fallen apart. No matter how you see this film, Robert Pattinson is undeniable and makes the film memorable and enjoyable.
Characters:
Mickey 17 was full of camp performances, some that appeared to be more enjoyable for the actors performing them than the audience watching. Mark Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall was a mad with power, slapstick megalomaniac that without appeared to be a caricature of a familiar power hungry political figure. Despite any imitation attempts or commentary on current societal affairs Ruffalo’s performance was distracting from his fellow performers and almost tainted the integrity of the film. It was a daring and ambitious choice from Ruffalo to create such a clowning, foolish leader which was undoubtedly influenced by political context and the political atmosphere when creating the film. I appreciated the intention and at times funny it was mostly distracting.
Toni Collette delivered a stronger performance as his psychopathic, mastermind wife. She plays insane very well and although her obsession with curating the perfect sauce was beyond surreal and odd it did add some comedic moments alongside Ruffalo’s performance.
Steven Yeun is a loose character with barley any presence within the film, the character of Timo was a catalyst at the beginning and acted as a diabolical, selfish friend who dismissed Mickey but Timo never got his consequences and as a character he just floated through the story with little impact or impression.
Naomi Ackie acts as Mickey’s love interest but quickly developed into her own characters, strong and fun with shifts throughout. Nasha is controlling and measured and yet turns into a heroic warrior by the end of the film. Personally, I think Ackie is a magnetic actor who was able to keep up with Pattinson. She was a strong presence throughout the film but truly came into her own during the final stretch.
Cinematography:
Mickey 17 is a melting pot of all Bong Joon-ho’s greatest attributes as a filmmaker, most notably the cinematography and production design. Mickey 17 is visually stunning and reinforces Bong’s use of muted tones and earthy colours along with the bleak-as-hell landscape and futuristic elements. Mickey 17 is a science fiction haven washed with a grey colour palette that evokes themes of death, destruction, decay, disillusionment and neutrality.
The sets and landscapes were beyond memorable and visually arresting to behold on screen. A large part of the plot was the ‘conflict’ with the alien residents on the planet of Niflheim, dubbed creepers these creatures were insect like and made spine chilling sounds that made the hairs on the back on my neck stand to attention. The creepers were a huge portion of the film and although a little disturbing to the eye, the creepers were strangely adorable too?
Film Probe’s Final thoughts:
Overall, I am a little disappointed I didn’t love Mickey 17 as much as I predicted I would. I was planning on giving this film a perfect rating and having no notes but sadly that is not the case. Although I enjoyed this film, its story and its lead actors performance the film ever so slightly missed the mark for me. I was expected more comedy, I was expecting less action and more romance but Mickey 17 is an action packed, often political film that will have you every few moments trying to decipher whether is this film was mess or a masterpiece.
Some of the film is bleak and somber but some of it is masterful too, Mickey 17 is a memorable film and it is unlike anything else you’ll see.
Probe Points
★★★☆☆
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