What does it feel like to die?
it is finally here: Bong Joon-ho’s highly anticipated Mickey 17.
Robert Pattinson’s Mickey is an expendable: meaning a worker sent on literal death missions in the name of science, only to be reprinted with his memories intact. horrifying but efficient and obviously one that goes wrong. Cause at one point mickey doesn’t die and meets his own replacement, Mickey 18.
As Bong’s first film since Parasite, the expectations were obviously incredibly high and personally: the wait was absolutely worth it. Mickey 17 is an audacious, visually stunning, and politically charged sci-fi film that blends the best elements of Bong’s past work: the class-conscious chaos of Snowpiercer (2013), satirical bite a la Okja (2017), and the palpable human intimacy of Parasite (2019).
robert pattinson delivers one of his most entertaining performances to date. his mickey is a blend of scrappy determination and existential dread. his decision to add an accent a la Steve Buscemi, makes this even better. to watch him interact with his surroundings and be utterly naive. however, he is also constantly raising questions on identity, survival and whether individuality even matters in a world that treats human life as endlessly replicable
Bong doesn’t do subtlety, and that’s exactly why his satire works so well. Mark Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall, the megalomaniac leader of the colony, is a pitch-perfect embodiment of a certain orange-tinted political figure, blending incompetence with dangerous levels of power. His scenes are some of the film’s funniest, but also the most unnerving—because (sadly) they hit so close to reality.
The film’s critique of corporate greed, colonization, and the disposability of workers is very clear. Humanity’s expansion into space isn’t framed as a grand adventure, but as another exercise in exploitation, with non-human life forms deemed obstacles to be exterminated. Bong creates an uncomfortably familiar portrait of a future where technology has advanced, but morality of course has not. was there anything else to expect from the human kind?
With a reported budget exceeding $100 million, Mickey 17 is Bong joon ho’s most visually ambitious film to date. The world of Niflheim is richly detailed, with production design that feels gritty and incredibly real. The creatures: they’re called creepers but essentially look like bugs with furry backs are beautifully rendered, and a particular face-sucking moment feels like a sly nod to Alien.
Darius Khondji’s cinematography brings an eerie grandeur to the colony, while Jung Jae-il’s score oscillates between the ethereal and the ominous, heightening the film’s tension.
While Mickey 17 was definitely worth the wait and its strengths far outweigh its flaws. this is one of the films that one can analyze for ages and may still not get bored from it. Bong Joon-ho remains one of the most interesting filmmakers of our time, and Mickey 17 proves he’s only getting bolder.
Rating: ★★★★★
Mickey-17 premieres march 7th in cinemas and had its grand premiere at the berlin film festival this week.