Bong Joon-ho has never been one to mask his social critiques, weaving them into some of the most exhilarating and genre-defying films of the past two decades. From the pitch-black satire of the Academy Award-winning Parasite to the class warfare allegory of Snowpiercer, his stories carry a biting awareness of power structures, human resilience, and the relentless, suffocating grip of capitalism. His latest, Mickey 17, is no exception. Adapted from Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7, the film is an audacious, wildly entertaining, and at times deeply unsettling exploration of significance, exploitation, and the terrifying ways in which people are dehumanized by those in control.
Set a mere thirty years into the future, Mickey 17 introduces us to the titular character (played by Robert Pattinson), a disposable worker known as a lowly “Expendable” on a space colonization mission. His job? To die. Over and over again. Every time Mickey perishes - whether being tossed into an irradiated zone, used as a biological test subject, or otherwise meeting some other gruesome fate - his memories are uploaded into a fresh clone of himself, spat out by a 3D printer-like machine. It’s a bleak existence, but one Mickey has morbidly gotten himself kinda used to. After all, it’s what he signed up for in exchange for a way off Earth, where, seemingly above all else, economic turmoil has made escaping to a new world an appealing option for many.
Of course, the cycle is thrown into chaos when the latest model, Mickey 17, accidentally refuses to go gently into that good night. After being left for dead in one of the icy caverns of the soon-to-be colonized world, Mickey 17 ends up miraculously surviving - leading to the unintended creation of Mickey 18 (also played by Pattinson) - a more defiant and rebellious version of himself. While Mickey 17 is passive, used to taking the hits, Mickey 18 bristles at the very idea of being disposable. This clash of personalities, despite being two versions of the same person, is one of the film’s most fascinating elements, illustrating the inner battle between weary resignation and fiery resistance.
Pattinson (The Lighthouse, Tenet, The Batman), a fearless performer who continues to make unexpected and often exhilarating choices, is perfect for the role. He balances Bong’s signature blend of cheeky humor and deep existential dread, giving both Mickeys distinct personalities while ensuring they remain two halves of the same abused and fractured whole. His expressive, often bewildered, and deeply empathetic performance grounds the film, even as its narrative spirals into increasingly strange and ambitious sci-fi territory.
Surrounding Pattinson is a stellar supporting cast, each bringing their own unique energy to Bong’s off-kilter universe. Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Minari, Nope) is hilarious as Mickey’s sleazy “friend” Timo, while Naomi Ackie (Star Wars, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Blink Twice) shines as Nasha, Mickey’s romantic interest and one of the only people who sees him as more than just an endlessly replaceable pawn. Her relationship with Mickey provides the film’s emotional core, serving as a reminder that even in the coldest, most utilitarian systems, true connection can still be found.
Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things, Avengers, Dark Waters), meanwhile, delivers a constantly scenery-chewing performance as Kenneth Marshall, the megalomaniacal leader of the colony. With his blinding veneers, artificial charm, and clear parallels to real-world billionaire-turned-wannabe-politicians, Marshall is a grotesquely fascinating figure - an evangelical zealot / moron masquerading as a visionary. Toni Collette (Hereditary, Knives Out, Juror #2), playing his equally polished and calculating wife Ylfa, adds another layer of comedically unsettling authority to the colony’s leadership.
Beyond its performances, Mickey 17 thrives on Bong’s playful yet razor-sharp direction. The film’s strong visual language bolstered by cinematographer Darius Kdondji (Okja, Uncut Gems, Bardo) constantly reinforces its themes, particularly through the use of cameras and surveillance. Whether it’s the colony leadership’s obsessive monitoring of its subjects every move or the way footage is weaponized for propaganda, the film highlights how those in power manipulate perception and truth. In a world where a person can be “replaced” with the press of a button, what does it even mean to be real?
The film’s alien world is brought to life with stunning detail as well, from the sterile interiors of the spaceship colony to the eerie, pill-bug-like native creatures who ultimately play a crucial role in the story. The score, composed by Jung Jae-il (Parasite, Broker, Squid Game), is a delightfully bouncy and offbeat accompaniment, emphasizing both the film’s inherent absurdity and its moments of genuine poignancy.
That’s not to say Mickey 17 is flawless. The film’s pacing occasionally struggles under the weight of its many ideas and tonal shifts, and while Bong’s storytelling is typically meticulous, some of the wilder swings don’t land as cleanly as in his past works. But even when it stumbles, it does so with ambition, unafraid to embrace its inherent weirdness and need to crack a joke or two at unexpected moments.
At its core, Mickey 17 is Bong’s biggest, boldest and silliest work yet, a film that is at once deeply cynical about systemic exploitation and defiantly hopeful about the individual’s capacity to break free of its chains. It’s a film about survival, about resistance, and about the terrifying realization that even in the far reaches of space, capitalism still finds a way to grind people down. And yet, it ends on a note of simple, hard-earned optimism. In a system designed to devalue and discard, choosing happiness - even fleetingly - becomes an act of rebellion in itself.
Mickey 17 may not be as surgically precise as Parasite or as relentlessly propulsive as Snowpiercer, but it is a thrilling, unpredictable, thought-provoking, and often wickedly funny addition to Bong Joon-ho’s body of work. With a stellar cast, a heady mix of existential dread and dark humor, and a story that genuinely lingers, it cements itself as yet another masterful chapter in the filmmaker’s already storied career.
‘Mickey 17’ is now playing in theaters.
