REVIEW #436 Mickey 17 (2025)

Mickey 17

Synopsis

Mickey signs up to a space mission as an expendable, so that he can escape his problems on earth, but now controlled by his employer, every time he dies, a replacement body is printed.

My Review

Bong Joon-Ho’s Mickey 17 is a wonderfully fun film that has plenty of political and societal commentary, explored in a comical, yet approachable way, poking fun at the world in service of the films overarching narrative. This is particularly the case in the first two acts which I thought were brilliant! The movie takes itself seriously in the case of its environment, the motives of its characters, and the subject matter it’s exploring, but utilises its talented cast to create hilariously fun characters that make it an extremely funny comedy flick. Robert Pattinson continues to prove why he is one of the best working actors today, showcasing yet another new voice and from a physicality perspective, gives each iteration of Mickey a distinctive presence on screen. All of the above gave the character a subtle humour that had me laughing out loud at many points throughout the film. The supporting cast followed suit, particularly Mark Ruffalo who looked like he was having so much fun portraying Kenneth Marshall, taking inspiration from the Donald Trump and Elon Musks of the world to create a hilarious outtake of a modern politician.

I mentioned earlier how much I enjoyed the first two acts, they really dived into the social commentary and used the idea of body printing employees to illustrate just how replaceable the average Joe is to large corporations. You then throw in the ‘on the nose’ portrayals of modern politicians and you had a sci-fi that felt like a perfect reflection of our current society. That being said, I do believe the third act wasn’t quite up to that quality, focusing on that big conclusion with the alien species and bringing the film to its final climax. This was the moment I felt like it lost that accurate reflection and become a bit too outlandish and silly for me, which was the first point at which I felt the film start to drag slightly. I still enjoyed the ending, sure, but my personal taste just prefers the subtlety of the first two acts. All in all, Mickey 17 felt like a unique sci-fi comedy that actually had impressive cinematography at times too, something I can see myself rewatching quite frequently given how successful the humour landed. I’d definitely recommend getting out to see it if you can!

My Rating; 7.8 out of 10

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Film Review Club