What is it like to die? That is the question Bong Joon-Ho’s 2025 film “Mickey 17” asks time and time again.
Loosely based on Ashton Edward’s novel Mickey 7, released in 2022, “Mickey 17” takes place in a dystopian futuristic society that has developed the technology necessary to recreate human bodies after dying and reimplant their memories into new bodies. This has been banned on planet Earth but is now being used to attempt to colonize the planet Niflheim.
The film follows Mickey, portrayed by Robert Pattinson, after he and his friend, Timo, are unable to pay back a loan shark. They escape on a space expedition, which is run by a failed politician. Mickey becomes an “expendable” whose only job is to do the dirty work of those in power in this society. After being experimented on and going on dangerous missions that lead to his death time and time again, he has reached his seventeenth time being reprinted. Mickey 17 is falsely presumed dead, creating an eighteenth Mickey. This society has a strict policy against the creation of multiples of the same person, which leads to these Mickeys becoming mortal enemies before they can unite to fight for a common cause.
In a film with two leads played by the same actor, those performances must be delivered with the attention to detail that Pattinson brings to these roles. While The Mickeys are technically the same person, they have very different personalities and mannerisms, which Pattinson portrays with such detail that they feel like two completely separate characters. When these men speak, two voices with different accents and dialects leave their mouths. When you look at their facial expressions and body language, they could not be more different. By the end of the film, these men have become entirely separate characters, and the face they share is barely noticeable. From the Twilight Saga to his portrayal of Batman, Robert Pattinson has spent his career showing outstanding acting skills. His performances in Mickey 17 are perfect examples of this.
While Pattinson as the Mickeys truly is a highlight of the film, the grand ensemble of characters makes the film the science fiction opera it is. Aside from Pattinson, the true standout is Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of the film’s villain, Kenneth Marshall. Marshall works as the greater antagonist who brings the Mickeys together. Ruffalo portrays Marshall as a deceitful, self-obsessed dictator with a devout cult following that works as an insightful commentary on political parties and the world leaders of the modern day and truly cements the themes of classism in the plot.
The film’s use of romance and the characters’ love lives helps to humanize the characters in a society that works to strip them of their humanity. Romance and physical intimacy are viewed as a privilege that Kenneth Marshall and his wife, Ylfa, express openly while encouraging those “lesser” than them to remain celibate for the time being.
The secondary lead of the film, Nasha, portrayed by Naomi Ackie, makes the romantic themes evident. The scenes portraying physical intimacy between Mickey and Nasha help represent the places that both the main characters and the entire colony are in the story. Their initial scene of physical intimacy is shown as a loving rebellion against Marshal and Ylfa’s rules, which brings out a new, more confident, and joyous side of Mickey. Contrasting this passionate, simple scene showing how Nasha and Mickey’s love for each other defy any rules, later in the film, once Mickey 18 has been created, Nasha shares an intimate experience with Mickey 18 off-screen, leading to a chaotic, drug-induced attempt at polyamory which represents the hectic turning point that the plot is arriving at.
Director Bong Joon-Ho, most well known for directing the 2020 best picture Parasite,” brings a unique approach to the film that is very uncommon in science fiction films of the modern day. He merges aspects of classic science fiction, military films, and unexpectedly, lots of elements carried over from workplace and high school stories, especially when it comes to the romance elements. The film evokes many elements from the film “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” such as Mickey 17’s narration throughout the entire film, which is used similarly in the way Charlie’s narration is used in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
The scene that highlights the elements implemented from these varying genres happens during the first act, where Mickey is searching for a place to sit in the cafeteria, another scene that is a character-defining moment in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and so many other high school stories. This is the scene where he meets Nasha.
While the film’s story is impeccably written, “Mickey 17” is much more than the plot; “Mickey 17” is a visual masterpiece.
The way director Bong Joon-Ho conveys so much emotion in every scene with the color and lighting alone. The bright white lights of the printer make the viewer feel as if they are being reborn along with Mickey. The light feels so empty and void of love and humanity that we are filled with the same fear and relief that Mickey has once he has come out the other side. The dim greens and yellows paired with the close-up long shots void of cuts that allow the characters in the scene to simply exist in one another’s presence make these scenes feel so human and down to earth in this film that spends a majority of its duration on a desolate alien planet.
The visuals and plot, paired with the score by Jung Jae-il, make the film seem grand in scale while remaining a very personal story.
While the audio, plot, and visuals are mostly fantastic, all films have flaws, and with “Mickey 17,” the third act is the most prominent flaw. The film’s main plot concludes with a war breaking out between the humans and the alien race native to Niflheim, Creepers. While this plot could have worked, it was a significant shift in tone from the smaller scale and grounded plot that a majority of the film followed to a space war plot akin to Star Wars. While this plot could have worked, it was not set up adequately throughout the rest of the film. An extra 15 minutes spread throughout the film to subtly set up the coming war would have improved the pacing of the film and the third act.
The third act is not all bad; it does wonders for Kenneth Marshall, allowing the viewer to get a deeper look into his mind and how he thinks of himself and others. He and his wife manage to turn the war into both an opportunity for publicity and a twisted game show type challenge, making the Mickey’s compete for their lives. The third act utilized the themes of classism in interesting ways that helped distract from its flaws.
“Mickey 17” is more than the average science fiction film; it’s both a space epic and a romance; it’s a war film as well as a coming-of-age story. At face value, “Mickey 17” seems like another dystopian science fiction film, but “Mickey 17” manages to use a science fiction plot and incorporate so many genres. “Mickey 17” is a story that has something for everyone and will stick in their minds long after the last line is uttered.
