The Snapshot: A funny ensemble leads a dark, wacky adventure through new planets to inspire mankind and make outer space a little nicer.
Mickey 17
8 out of 10
14A, 2hrs 17mins. Sci-Fi Comedy Adventure.
Written and Directed by Bong Joon-Ho.
Starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, Steven Yeun, Anamaria Vartolomei and Toni Colette.
Now Playing at Midland Galaxy Cinemas.
Kooky, kinetic and kind of sweet, the new space adventure Mickey 17 is “out of this world” both in concept and thematically. It’s a bleak and funny blockbuster that makes you feel really bad for Robert Pattinson having to die in outer space a dozen and a half times.
Based on Edward Ashton’s book Mickey 7, the story tells of a mission to space to colonize a peaceful planet where the less-than-peaceful humans and their stupid leaders cause mayhem in the cosmos.
Among the crew is poor Mickey (Pattinson), an entry-level helper whose job is to take on the most dangerous, expendable tasks and…well, die repeatedly, before a new version oh him is printed in a human body printer and his memories re-uploaded.
The whole premise sounds more outlandish and grisly than the movie actually is. Mickey’s mission to bring peace among the crew, his friends, Earth politics and his new alien friends is actually quite endearing and surprisingly sweet.
Director Bong Joon-Ho is a sensation first from his native South Korea and now in Hollywood, especially since his 2019 Best Picture winning Parasite took the world by storm. This is his first film in the six years since, and after the bleakness of Parasite, it’s clear this is a palate cleanser where he gets to have more fun.
Read more here: Review - Parasite plays with poverty and power
But his skill as a director comes from mixing genres in unique ways, and making dark ideas and themes palatable to audiences in a way they can laugh and think. That same balance works wonders in Mickey 17, even if the subtext is less nuanced and more aggressive than normal.
Fans of his other movies like Okja and 2013’s excellent Snowpiercer may find this new film less politically savvy and more rough, but the characters (especially Mark Ruffalo’s Trump-like leader Kenneth) still expose great faults of human greed and corruption.
That hopefulness that Mickey can selflessly inspire others to do the right thing is the ingredient that makes the whole movie stick together - it counter balances the story’s weirdness effectively.
The weakest point of the story is an overuse of Mickey’s voice-over narration that feels pulled from the source novel, and the exposition at the start to explain how everything works is far too long.
But once Mickey and his human duplicates start working together to save the day, the movie ramps up the pace and stakes to a brilliant conclusion that will make you feel hopeful for the future of human co-operation.
In these divided times both at home and with other countries, Mickey 17 is a wacky reminder that working together and putting others first really is the pathway to peace and sustainability for all.
Maybe Mr. Pattinson, however, shouldn’t need to die 17 times to make that point.