By Michael McKee
Correspondent
Six years ago, South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho released “Parasite,” a dark comedy that focused heavily on class divides and won several Oscar awards including Best Picture. Following the success of “Parasite,” many wondered what Joon-Ho would do next. This year, we finally received our answer.
Joon-Ho’s newest film is “Mickey 17,” a science fiction movie about Mickey Barnes, a beleaguered worker played by Robert Pattinson. Mickey joins a mission to colonize the snow planet Nifleheim, sponsored by a mysterious company and religious group and led by former Congressman Kenneth Marshall, played by Mark Ruffalo, to escape loan sharks on Earth. To join the mission, he becomes an expendable, which means that when he dies, the company can reprint his body, allowing him to work dangerous jobs and be a lab rat in lethal experiments.
Mickey, now on his 17th body, is left for dead by his so-called friend Timo, played by Steven Yeun, and is ready to accept his fate before he is saved by the planet’s creatures known as “Creepers.” Upon returning to the colony, he finds that the company has already printed out a new version of him: Mickey 18. Because duplicates of the same person are illegal and must be destroyed, 17 and 18 must find out how to survive.
In terms of performance, Pattinson does a great job at portraying the different personalities of Mickey 17 and 18. 17 is more timid and reserved while 18 is brash, quick tempered and a bit of a nutcase. Yeun plays Timo as an opportunistic, slippery wheel and dealer, which is very entertaining to watch, and it is a shame his role is not expanded upon. Naomi Ackie plays Nasha Barridge, Mickey’s spirited and capable love interest, while Toni Collette plays Marshall’s elitist wife who is obsessed with high-quality sauces. The film’s actors have excellent romantic and platonic chemistry, whether it be between Pattinson and Barridge, Ruffalo and Collette or Pattinson and himself.
However, the standout performance is Ruffalo as the film’s villain. Marshall is the maniacal and utterly narcissistic leader of the Niflheim colony, and in this role Ruffalo is able to capture the many sides of Marshall. Marshall has a codependent relationship with his wife, can express surprising amounts of unhinged cruelty and has a persistent superior smugness toward the colonists, which can be surprisingly paternalistic, making you wonder whether he is really putting on an act.
In the spirit of his previous films, Joon-Ho’s political messages are persistent throughout the film and far from subtle. Specifically when it comes to Marshall's character, his supporters occasionally wear red hats, Marshall himself at some points bears a resemblance to Benito Mussolini, and he and his wife often invoke God and religion. On top of that, there is a drug spreading through the ship called Oxy and the colony is incredibly disruptive to the native inhabitants of Niflheim, which creates conflict. However, the film’s most blatant political reference is when a woman asks Marshall “Am I just a uterus to you?” in reference to his plans for a breeding program on colonized planets.
The film also provides an interesting hypothetical when it explains why duplicates are banned. In a flashback, it is revealed that one of the duplicates' creators, Alan Malenkova, was a murderer who used his technology to get away with multiple murders, specifically being in two places at once for the sake of an alibi. Hypotheticals like this provide an interesting and reasonable justification for why such a technology would be banned.
Throughout the film, there is a consistent feeling of uneasiness that puts you on edge. The camera work is uncomfortable, there are heavy sexual themes, there’s vomiting, sweating and blood, and the food itself has a grotesque quality. While this is in all likelihood an intentional choice, it’s still important to note. There is also swearing throughout the film to a point where it is perhaps overused. The film is also surprisingly funny with several moments that can make you laugh, either from the awkwardness of the situations or campiness of the performances.
“Mickey 17” is a welcome addition to Joon-Ho’s filmography, with standout performances especially from Pattinson and Ruffalo as well as great comedic moments. The film certainly isn’t for everyone, but for movie goers who like science fiction with political overtones, “Mickey 17” is worth a watch.
