Mickey 17 Review

Hey everyone, as promised, we’re back with some diversified blog content. A couple weeks ago, I checked out Bong Joon Ho’s new Sci-fi release, Mickey 17. Being a Sci-fi writer, I wanted to pen some thoughts on the film!

Rating: 7.1/10: Worth your time if you enjoy Sci-fi, Robert Pattinson and OTT Trump impressions.

 Synopsis: Mickey 17 is a largely enjoyable Sci-Fi outing, held together by strong acting and some excellent concepts, but may have benefited from a little more subtlety.

Pros:

-I thought Robert Pattinson was absolutely phenomenal: his vocal range and physical acting is outstanding throughout the film. His two “Mickey” personalities are charming and likeable in contrasting yet complimentary ways, and at times it felt like two different, yet equally charismatic actors are on the screen. In support, Naomie Ackie gives a performance of passion, depth and range, Steve Yeun is understated but enjoyable, and Toni Collette gives a typically reliable turn of “dangerously unhinged”, although her character never quite reaches their – or Collette’s potential.

-I believe the first act of the movie makes for excellent sci-fi, introducing the fantastic “expendables” concept and encouraging us to ask “is enacting suffering on a human being ethical if a) there are no long-term consequences on the recipient’s body, and b) their suffering results in obvious societal gains?” Every scene where this idea explored is compelling, creative, multi-dimensional and emotive. I dearly wish the movie stuck to this premise rather than moving into a clumsier, more obvious anti-dictatorship focus.

-The creature design and animation is top notch, the “creepers” are simultaneously alien, realistic and adorable. The world building is a little cliché, but consistent and concise, and our focus is always on the characters and what they have to say.

Mixed:

-I liked seeing a bisexual character - Kai - represented without her sexuality being explicitly mentioned or amplified through clumsy dialogue. That said, her sudden infatuation towards Mickey, while grieving her recently-deceased partner Jennifer, felt tonally forced and emotionally disingenuous, especially given the powerful conversation they are having about mortality earlier in the same scene (which is great!). The film touched on some interesting ideas about sexuality and polyamory, but never committed to exploring them fully.

Cons:

-Despite his claims that he is impersonating an amalgamation of dictators, there is one well-known politician in particular who Ruffalo comes back to over and again in his portrayal of “Mickey 17’s” main villain, Kenneth Marshall. Admittedly, most of Ruffalo’s Trump impressions are spot on, but at other moments his performance seems over-acted and out of place. I get it, DT is an exaggerated persona, and a lot of the dark satire and commentary revolves around Marshall’s crowd-rousing antics, casual elitism, and vapid-yet-threatening imperialism, but I believe that basing a character’s mannerisms so closely on one person alone dates the message being delivered, distracting from and undermining the broader commentary. I also think this character had far more screen time than necessary, especially when there were far more interesting themes and plots (including some interesting explorations of drugs, sexuality and frontier law) that could have been further fleshed out.

-While I agreed with most of the anti-colonial, anti-propagandist and anti-capitalist messages of the film, I felt they were delivered with a total lack of subtlety and nuance. Each to their own, but I prefer a film that encourages me to ponder its themes through showing their consequences, rather than aggressively shouting them at me, which “Mickey 17” is often guilty of during the second and third acts. Given the director Bong Joon-Ho’s reputation for absurdism – a concept I have a lot of fondness for – I found that most of the messaging during Mickey 17’s later acts was squarely on the nose.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the review! If you’ve seen the movie, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

~With love, JSH