Mickey 17

I consider Bong Joon Ho's Parasite to be the best movie of the 21st century. When it won Best Picture that year, it was like "Oh, finally. The Academy chose the actual best movie of the year to win". I think I actually placed Promising Young Woman ahead of it in my "best of the year" list in 2020 and I take it back! It was a confusing time! The pandemic! 

In any case, after seeing an expertly crafted film like Parasite, I had high hopes for Bong Joon Ho's most recent film, Mickey 17. Although I wouldn't consider it to be a "bad" film...it simply did not live up to those hopes. 

Mickey 17 is a sci-fi comedy that takes place in 2054. Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) sign up to leave earth as part of a mission to populate the planet Niflheim. Mickey, having no skills, signs up to be an "expendable". Basically, they collect his DNA and memories and then use him for scientific experimentations (or dangerous chores) and when he dies, they just reprint his body and upload his memories. So, you know, pros and cons: he gets to essentially live forever, but he has to experience death over and over and over.

When they land on Niflheim, Mickey is sent out to explore and, after an accident, is presumed dead. However, the native creatures (who look like a cross between pillbugs, elephants, and dogs) help Mickey (in his 17th life, hence "Mickey 17") survive and get back to the ship. too bad they've already printed out Mickey 18! And Mickey 18 is kind of a jerk, quite frankly.

You might think this is no big deal: two Mickeys for the price of one! Except according to the law established with the human printing tech became a thing, in the case of "multiples" being printed, all multiples have to be...put down. Which seems kind of stupid and wasteful, but what do I know? So, we now have two Mickeys battling to be the surviving Mickey and trying to hide from everyone.

That plot in and of itself would have made for a great film. It's funny, it's interesting, there are a lot of questions it brings up about exploitation of labor and also the concept of a soul. But Bong had to cram about a million more plotlines into this damn movie, making it feel overstuffed.

In addition to the Two Mickeys plot, there is a plot about the creatures on the planet Niflheim, which are seen by the people in charge as menaces and they want to kill them all. Speaking of "the people in charge", Mark Ruffalo plays Kenneth Marshall, a politician in charge of the expedition to Niflheim who is clearly a Trump-like character (at least Ruffalo plays him that way). His wife, Ylfa, is played by Toni Collette. I love both Ruffalo and Collette and I was deeply unimpressed with them in this film. They felt over-the-top, which isn't unusual for a Bong film, but I guess I just wasn't feeling it this time. It felt too pointed, almost groan-worthy, such as when Marshall discusses his vision for "a pure, white planet" (referring to the snow on Niflheim). 

So, the overall feelings I got from this movie were: too much; all over the place; satire done with a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel; poorly written; too long; jokes not landing.

I still have to give Mickey 17 some credit for really interesting ideas (specifically, the concept of an "expendable") and a great lead performance by Robert Pattinson. Pattinson is hilarious as Mickey(s), especially when 17 meets 18, because 17 is kind of wimpy and pathetic while 18 is braver and more aggressive--but they're literally the same person. I LOVED how the movie shows that we all contain multitudes. We all have different personalities in one body. Late in the movie, Mickey 17 says something along the lines of "when I'm feeling unsure, I just think 'what would 18 do?'" I love this idea that you can be inspired by not just other people, but by your own better self. 

If there's one thing that Bong nails consistently, it's the contradictions of humanity. And how beautiful those contradictions can be.

So, yeah, Mickey 17 is just ok. I think if Bong could have stuck to one main plot and really put all his energy into that, it could have been an A-level film. As it stands, I have to give it...

Grade: B