‘Mickey 17’ failed its own promises

By Ben Konuch

“Our entire life is a punishment.”

“Mickey 17” is the newest film from Bong Joon Ho, winner of Best Director and Best Picture for “Parasite” at the Oscars in 2020. His first project since “Parasite,” “Mickey 17” was announced in 2023 and confirmed to star Robert Pattinson as the titular Mickey, and I couldn’t wait to see these two creatives team up. Unfortunately, Warner Bros’ marketing team did such a good job selling the film that they ultimately sold an empty lie that masqueraded as an entirely different film.

The film follows Mickey, a man hunted by loan sharks and so desperate to escape them that he signs up to be an Expendable on an upcoming space colonization mission. Unbeknownst to him, that means that he’s signed himself up to be a glorified lab rat, dying again and again in gruesome ways only to be reprinted and have his consciousness pass from clone to clone. 

As the colony ship reaches its location and Mickey is sent to investigate and risk his life on the planet repeatedly, a routine suicide mission somehow results in Mickey actually surviving for once. But when he returns to the colony ship, he finds that he’s already been reprinted, and neither the 17th or the 18th Mickey has any intention of being purged.

Supporting Pattinson is a star-studded cast including Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collete as Kenneth and Ylfa Marshall, the leaders-turned-dictators of the colony project. Naomi Ackie plays Nasha, Mickey’s girlfriend and security agent and Steven Yeun plays Timo, Mickey’s only friend from Earth and a generally backstabbing schemer.

To start positively, the premise of the film of Mickey’s life as an Expendable is a fantastic setup. Pattinson excels here in a role unlike any I’ve never seen him in before. Mickey 17 is shy, reserved and awkward, the exact opposite of Pattinson’s physically intimidating or charismatic roles of recent years. He plays Mickey 17 with the genuine kindness and fear of someone far younger than his age, and is instantly likable. 

Pattinson also flexes his range as Mickey 18, the more aggressive, confident counterpart. Each Mickey is immediately recognizable simply by their body language and non-verbal physicality, something that Pattinson nails. Their voices, personalities and mannerisms are expertly differentiated, ensuring that watching either Mickey 17 or 18 is always a joy. You never feel like you’re watching two versions of the same character played by the same actor, but rather two completely different people played by what feels like different actors entirely.

Another positive is Bong Joon Ho’s expert technical directing, as the cinematography and vision for the film is fantastic. The camerawork is impressive and the visual effects make “Mickey 17” a visually pleasing watch, which serves as a natural evolution of his craft after “Parasite.” While not his first film made in collaboration with Hollywood, it’s impressive to see Joon Ho make the transition in filming styles and budget so effortlessly to complement his directorial vision.

Unfortunately, that’s almost all I can say positively about “Mickey 17.” The film is an overstuffed, sloppily handled mess that packs so many topics and issues into a two-hour film that it feels like it stretches on for four. 

I understand that “Mickey 17” is a black-comedy / satire, but the issue here is that it tries to juggle so many topics – climate change, political themes about ego-obsessed dictators, critiques on capitalism and the treatment of workers – that it can barely engage with any of them, and certainly with no subtly. Satire is best when handled with a scalpel, not a jackhammer, and this makes “Mickey 17” a massive step down from its predecessor “Parasite.”

The problem here is that the film barely ends up saying anything. It’s so busy pointing fingers and making sweeping jokes and generalizations about as many topics as it can, that it doesn’t have anything beneath the surface. Worse, the extremes of its satirical nature actively ruins its own narrative. Mark Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall is such an incompetent idiot, that he loses any intimidation or threat as an antagonist, and Ruffalo’s performance is insufferable in the worst possible ways. 

It crosses a line into absurdity to believe that Marshall could keep power for four years, and the other people of power in his inner circle aren’t any smarter. There are so many ways that “Mickey 17” could have played with the setup of a failed politician leading a colonization mission for his own ego and control instead of the benefit of humanity, but instead the film was satisfied with simply mocking without depth.

I don’t mind if a film tackles topics or themes in ways that I personally disagree with, as long as it’s done competently, and “Mickey 17” doesn’t. It would bring up themes or ideas and then almost immediately discard them to move on, consistently failing to engage with any theme, belief or message beyond a surface level. Simply mentioning an idea or pointing at a concept while laughing at it isn’t enough to make a compelling point or have meaningful satire. Consequently, “Mickey 17” felt horribly disjointed and awkwardly paced.

In perhaps its worst failing though, “Mickey 17” failed to explore the phenomenal premise that was marketed: a dark comedy that explored personhood and identity through a unique premise of cloning and danger. Preoccupied with taking the low-hanging fruit at every turn, nearly every character in the film besides Mickey 17 is insufferable or unbelievable, and every good idea is either immediately undone by a bad one or left behind as quickly as it’s introduced.

Ultimately, it’s hard to engage in a film whose story constantly crosses into absurdity or whose characters are unlikable. Badly paced, poorly written and crudely obnoxious, “Mickey 17” deserved so much better with its premise and the names it had attached.

I give “Mickey 17” a 4/10

“Mickey 17” is now showing in theaters.

Ben Konuch is a senior Strategic Communication student who serves as a writer for Cedars A&E and as their social media lead. He enjoys getting sucked into good stories, playing video games and swing dancing in the rain.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures