Welcome abroad, fellow earthlings. We’re about to embark on a mission to colonise a distant planet because a failed politician with authoritarian views messed up the elections and lost. In this journey, lasting almost five years, and subsequent landing, we’ll experience corruption, love stories, violence, acceptance, and the latest tech inventions. Are you up for a ride? If the answer is yes, let’s take a deep dive into Bong Joon-ho’s latest film, Mikey 17, starring the brilliant Robert Pattinson.
One goes to the theatre with high expectations to watch a movie by the Korean director. Not only because of his Oscar-winning picture Parasite (2019), but because of all of his previous work, which has gained him a cult following: Okja (2017), Snowpiercer (2013), Mother (2009), or Memories of Murder (2003), to name a few. And when you leave the theatre this time around… you do it disappointed, honestly. It’s heartbreaking to say, but it’s the truth.
The premise of Mickey 17 is that Mickey Barnes, the main character, and played exquisitely by Pattinson, needs to leave the Earth asap because he’s in trouble with a moneylender — he owes him more money than he could ever earn. So he signs up for an intergalactic mission organised by a right-wing politician, Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), and his wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette), to colonise a far-away planet — which is, in reality, a way for the political leader to reunite his cult-like following and live his dictator-like fantasy elsewhere. But when he signs up, Mickey does so as an ‘expendable,’ a being ‘below’ human level that is strictly aimed to perform the most dangerous activities because he can be re-printed (scientists have his DNA information and memory stored in different devices, so that’s not a problem).
Even if the plot sounds serious (colonistation, expendnable humans without basic rights, right-wing politicians à la MAGA), Bong Joon-ho treats this like a sci-fi comedy, which is a good point. We’re used to very dark, twisted stories coming out of his wild and boundless imagination, so seeing him tap into awkwardness is a breath of fresh air. However, in this comedic exercise, the characters are cartoonish that they fall flat; there isn’t much of an evolution, of an arc, for anybody. They remain the same throughout the story (unbelievably so), and don’t really bring anything new to the table. When you’re halfway of the movie, you already know they have nothing else to offer, which is a shame.
Yes, the cast includes major stars that are incredible at what they do, so they sort of ‘save’ the day: Robert Pattinson (who should be awarded as Best Actor for Mickey 17 and Best Supporting Actor for Mickey 18), Mark Ruffallo, and Toni Collette are like the Holy Trinity here. However, their characters are so extremely caricature-like that they become unrelatable — and even a bit exhausting. If you understand it as camp, as an exercise in creating over-the-top characters , then you might buy it. But I personally didn’t.
Mark Ruffallo’s character, for example, is clearly inspired by the MAGA movement and, of course, its leader, Donald Trump. The mannerisms, the way he talks, the way he’s so out of touch, the childishness… But even Donald Trump has shown his lights and shadows. Tony Collette’s depiction of the wife, which is as dictator-like and prone to manipulation as his husband, gets lost in the repetitiveness of her obsession with creating unique (and disgusting) sauces.
Robert Pattinson has a better chance because he plays two different characters. After the team of scientists thinks that Mickey 17 is dead (he isn’t) and re-prints him for an eighteenth time, the two must coexist under secrecy because it’s against the law. With every new iteration, the Mickey that comes out has a different personality. Number 17 is kind, softhearted, vulnerable, sweet, while the 18 is bold, violent, arrogant, and impulsive. But again, that’s all they are.
Bong Joon-ho has over two decades of experience directing some of the most interesting movies to come out, so of course, Mickey 17 has really positive aspects: the photography, the music, the special effects, the path of the story… It also poses several questions on the viewer about contemporary topics: what makes us human? What makes each of us unique? Can it be replicated or not? Should it be replicated or not? 
It also tackles issues like climate change, animal abuse and violence towards non-human species (or even between us), the fandom and cult-like mentality that some politicians get to grow, and sustainability. All of these, we’ve seen previously in Bong’s work. But Okja’s approach is way more poignant, Snowpiercer’s message comes across much more bluntly, and Mother’s reflection on human rights and people who’re considered ‘below’ standard are much more complex and nuanced. So Mickey 17, in that aspect, also falls flat compared to the director’s previous works.