Year of Release: 2024
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Naomie Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Holliday Grainger, Cameron Britton, Patsy Ferran, Ian Hanmore, Tim Key
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review
Following the resounding success of "Parasite", writer/producer/director Bong Joon Ho has returned, with the adaptation of a novel by author Edward Ashton. The film follows the story of Mickey Barnes, who alongside his best friend Timo, find themselves signing up for an outer space adventure in order to escape the wrath and torture of a loan shark, whom they borrowed money from to pursue an unsuccessful business. Urgently looking to escape, Mickey doesn't look at the fine print of the contract he's signing up for, and ends up under a category labeled "Disposable". During the trip towards the planet Niflheim, which is the goal of the expedition, reaching it and colonizing it, Mickey does all sorts of the tasks, dying in various manners and always being reprinted with his personality and memories. By the time the ship reaches Niflheim, Mickey is on version 17. As he explores the surface of the planet, he falls through the ice and encounters a series of creatures he assumes will kill him. However and much to his surprise they save him, and upon his return to the ship, he's horrified to realize that another Mickey has been printed, and there are now multiple versions of himself, something that is prohibited. His partner, the intelligent and resourceful Nasha is delighted, but Mickey 17 not so much. In the meantime the leader of the expedition, Kenneth Marshall and his wife Ylfa, rule all the action occurring on the ship, and target Mickey 17 and 18 to be terminated since multiples are not allowed to exist. They also set their eyes on the extermination of the indigenous creatures of the planet. However, not all goes according to their plans.
"Mickey 17" much like "Okja" promises a lot more than it eventually delivers. Both films are plagued by concepts (and metaphors) that are meant to elicit reflection, in the case of "Mickey 17" the topic lands on the class struggles that continuously exist, the brutality of humans towards different species (and even their own), and as usual, the ineptitude of those in charge to comprehend and be sensical about the greater good, as opposed to their innate selfishness. All these topics are lofty and worth capturing on film, and gifted directors have approached these topics fairly successfully, including Terry Gilliam's "Brazil", however Bong Joon Ho can't quite find the right tone for this film in particular. The satire never really lands, and the over the top caricatures of some of the key players, while loud and brash, also feel very underdeveloped, independently of the quality of the cast and what they bring to the feature itself. Part of the problems lie with the fact that the villainy of the pseudo awful individuals is never truly fully explored, whereas Mickey as the simpleton lead character doesn't possess the dimension, humor, or for that matter insight, to make the narrative feel as if though it went through an arc where in the last chapter there is indeed a piercing epiphany. For all the technical wizardry on display, it's a film that ultimately feels not particularly inspired. The supporting cast is the winning aspect of this film, particularly the always fantastic Mark Ruffalo, who seems to be capturing a bit of the character he portrayed in Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things", Toni Collette playing an over the top character as the wife of a politician, Steven Yeun as the loser best friend, and Naomi Ackie as the smart and resourceful girlfriend. Robert Pattinson sadly doesn't add much to the film - perhaps it's time to realize he doesn't have the skillset to carry a film as a central performer. The technical team is impressive, including Darius Khondji's cinematography, Fiona Crombie's production design, and Catherine George's costume design. It's by no means a bad film, it's just a forgettable one.
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