Robert Pattinson stars, twice, in the futuristic sci-fi tale “Mickey 17,” written and directed by Bong Joon Ho. Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures via TNS
South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho has never been known for his subtlety.
Among his many accolades, Bong’s primary claim to fame is the success of his 2019 film “Parasite,” which won Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars, with critics lauding the film’s criticism of wealth disparity and capitalist systems.
Bong’s other movies, including “Okja” and “The Host,” tackle similar social themes with little discretion. “Mickey 17,” adapted from Ashton Edward’s 2022 novel “Mickey 7,” is no different — once again holding its audience’s hand to ensure Bong’s point is gotten across.
“Mickey 17” feels the most distinctly sci-fi and otherworldly out of Joon-Ho’s movies and this is one of its more exciting features. Robert Pattinson (“The Batman”) stars as the titular character, a blue-collar worker in a futuristic world who agrees to become an “Expandable” — a person who is cloned each time they die, perpetually creating new versions of themselves — for an intergalactic colonization mission.
The expedition is led by a sleazy politician with a cult-like following named Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), a caricature-esque figure that feels all too familiar in contemporary politics.
Pattinson is undeniably the highlight of the movie. He completely transforms himself into a distinct character rather than simply imbuing Mickey with his own personality, as is often seen in roles taken on by A-list actors. Pattinson’s voice acting and charisma are spectacular in “Mickey 17,” and he continues to cement himself as not just a movie star but one of the great actors working today, fading the scars left by his type-cast roles as Edward in “Twilight” and Cedric Diggory in “Harry Potter.”
Though the star-studded cast puts in polished performances — including Ruffalo’s easily hateable politician and Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) as his equally hateable wife – the other elements of the movie feel clumsy and rushed.
“Mickey 17’s” biggest flaw is its overreliance on dialogue, always choosing to tell when it would be better suited to show. A lot of the backstory and worldbuilding that could have been used to truly flesh out these futuristic, alien universes are overexplained by the characters, rather than letting the audience truly live in them.
As is usual with Bong’s films, the political commentary is heavy-handed, though “Mickey 17” might be his brashest yet. The film feels like it doesn’t trust the intelligence of its viewers, not letting them draw out their own allusions and themes and instead forcefully spoon-feeding social commentary without allowing time to take a breath.
Even though Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall isn’t necessarily a one-to-one copy of any specific politician, Bong makes sure to throw out enough characteristics of controversial political figures that the message can’t be missed by anyone, regardless of the country they reside in.
“Mickey 17” feels like a well-intentioned attempt at continuing Bong’s track record of sticking up against the suffocating capitalist structure of both South Korea and the Western hemisphere, this time with an anti-imperialist emphasis.
However, Bong can’t seem to loosen the reins a little bit and let audiences think for themselves, and the result is a movie that feels bloated to the brim in both its runtime and social commentary.
Rating: 2.5/5
