Mickey 17 - Review 

Rating: 3 out of 5

HOPES were high for Mickey 17 given that it marks the first film in six years from Korean director Bong Joon-ho, following the Oscar-winning success of Parasite and past hits such as Snowpiercer and Okja.

Yet while certainly brimming with ideas and boasting a top drawer cast (including Robert Pattinson, Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette), this science-fiction blockbuster doesn’t quite measure up to the sun of its parts.

A satire that takes aim at everything from big tech’s fascination with space travel to dictator-style politicians and their disregard for everyday human life, the film certainly feels relevant and of-the-moment.

But its lack of subtlety and wild eccentricities negate some of the more deeper elements of the story, negating the film’s overall impact and rendering it something of a blunt instrument.

Pattinson takes the lead role of the titular Mickey Barnes, a hapless loser who owes money to terrifying loan sharks, along with his equally rackety business partner Timo (Steven Yeun).

To escape a chainsaw death fate, Mickey and Timo sign on for a dangerous interplanetary expedition masterminded by a creepy populist-plutocrat with over-sized shiny teeth and slicked-back hair: Kenneth Marshall (Ruffalo) and his lady wife, the sauce obsessed Ylfa (Collette).

But while Timo somehow manages to swing a position as a pilot, Mickey ‘opts’ to become an ‘expendable’: someone who has to do all the suicidally dangerous jobs. Death is therefore inevitable but when he does, his body is disposed of and a new one is bio-printed with all memories and personality reinstalled.

Mickey agrees, ignoring the small print, and finds himself forever at the whim of Marshall’s experiments and missions… until his 17th incarnation is spared from being killed by the ‘creeper’ inhabitants of the distant planet Marshall is seeking to colonise (woodlice-style bugs that have tentacled mouths), forcing him to co-exist with Mickey 18.

Initially, this compromises his affair with fellow crew member Nasha (Naomi Ackie), but as his ‘duplicate’ status is revealed, it soon becomes a race for survival as Marshall seeks to wipe them both out.

Taken at face value, Mickey 17 exists to confront the importance of individuality and life, while showcasing mankind’s disdain for it (as primarily evidenced in the need to find an alternative to the now trashed Earth).

But it also serves as a warning against blindly following the new world powers, whether in tech giants such as Elon Musk or US Presidents such as Donald Trump (real-life threats that Ruffalo, in particular, enjoys skewering in his performance).

And, on another level, it offers the potential to analyse life and death, what it feels like to die and what it means to be alive.

But while there are undoubtedly big themes and ideas at play, Mickey 17 is neither as profound or as intelligent as it really ought to be. It has something of a tongue in cheek vibe that opts for optimism over pessimism. And it’s wildly eccentric in a vulgar kind of way.

Hence, while the premise is evocative of past sci-fi classics such as Moon or maybe even Gattaca, Mickey 17 feels a little more juvenile by comparison - you could even call it playful.

This is evident in Pattinson’s accent, which has a happy-go-lucky quality to it, as well as in Ruffalo’s super-sized performance (and teeth). It’s also to be found in the frivolous nature of some of Mickey’s deaths, several of which have a comic edge. And even the alien ‘creeper’ creatures flirt with being more cute than menacing, despite their tentacles.

There are quiet moments, when characters ask the occasionally probing question about death. But they are too easily interrupted by the next action sequence, before they even have the chance to get deep.

What results is a film that floats big ideas (in keeping with its big budget), but which ultimately feels superficial. It’s kind of fun while it lasts, but it drifts far too easily from the memory once it’s over.

Certificate: 15

Running time: 2hrs 19mins