Filmmaker Bong Joon Ho surprised moviegoers with the Oscar Best Picture winning Parasite back in 2019. He proved that he can excellently blend silly situations and smart commentary in a single, interesting story. Now, he’s attempted it again with Mickey 17, based on the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. Let’s see if Mickey 17 is worth the attention that Parasite received a handful of years ago.

The Good

The acting in this film is fantastic. It turns out that more Robert Pattinsons equals more fun, as the actor impresses with a dual role in which he performs phenomenally. He brings elements of comedy and emotion together while keeping the character feeling lifelike. Like with The Boy and the Heron, Pattinson surprises with some incredible voice work, even with this being a live action role. This performance has the potential to be Oscar-worthy. As for everyone else, from Naomi Ackie to Steven Yeun, did a fantastic job and proved how talented they are. What was especially entertaining was Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette giving intentionally cheesy performances and clearly having a blast doing so.

The visual effects in the movie are also top-notch. The adorable alien creatures, ships, and explosions all look completely real. Despite this story taking place entirely within a science fiction setting, it’s hard not to feel immersed in this world thanks to how great the special effects are.

There is a twisted sense of humor throughout the story. It’s delightfully dark and absolutely hilarious. There are times when the humor isn’t necessarily dark, but it remains funny. Jokes about death, drugs, and the like always lead to big laughs here, with instances of slapstick here and there. It leads to a wildly entertaining moviegoing experience. 

Intriguing sci-fi ideas and important political themes are present throughout the entire film. This means that it’s not just goofy fun, it does make one think in the best ways possible. Ideas that are used, like the moral dilemmas faced when forcing someone to be expendable since they can just be copied, are fascinating. There are political messages that speak to our current, real-world climate that are handled extremely well and welcome to see. They’re also surprisingly entertaining to see. It’s unfortunate that they’ll likely go over a lot of peoples’ heads.

The musical score is simply incredible. It sounds beautiful as it guides the story and the tone throughout the movie. There are moments when the music sounds a little silly or wacky, but it perfectly captures the scenes it’s playing during. It’s a unique score that’s worth listening to on its own.

Mickey undergoes the perfect amount of character development throughout the story. As he learns to be a bit more confident in himself, value his own life more, and become willing to stand up for something, it’s hard not to root for him. It’s satisfying to see his development come full circle, which even feels cheer-worthy at times. Bong Joo Ho and Robert Pattinson did a truly fantastic job bringing this character to life.

The Bad

This is a bit nitpicky, but each version of Mickey has a somewhat different personality. The plot also relies on this quite a bit. I don’t really have a problem with this, but it does make me wonder how. They’re made from the same DNA and keep the same memories, so how would they be different? Perhaps it’s explained in the book that I have yet to read or in a quick line in the movie I missed, but questioning this did distract me at certain moments.

The character Kai loses her girlfriend early in the movie. Her love for her is one of the few things we actually know about this character. She’s obviously devastated. However, she then finds interest in Mickey just a few days later. This shockingly fast recovery feels a little jarring. It could be because of the overall situation the characters are in forcing them to move on from death quickly, or that this is how the character grieves, so this doesn’t really take away from the movie much. It just felt a little out of place to see her suddenly throw herself at the lead character who already had a love interest.

Conclusion

Mickey 17 is a perfect mix of fun, exciting, and smart. It’s a creative sci-fi tale with terrific dark comedy, acting, and effects. The political commentary makes one think about our real world while being handled excellently. It’s one of the most entertaining moviegoing experiences I’ve had in quite some time. This is another win for Bong Joon Ho, and it’s a must-see in theaters.

Rating: 10/10

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