Mickey 17 Review

A Sci-Fi Satire That Takes Icy Jabs To The Elites 

By Dylan Barbee

Courtesy of @mickey17 on Instagram

Released: March 7, 2025

Spoilers Ahead!!!

“What does death feel like?” This seems to be the burning question everyone is asking Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) after he has been forced to die sixteen times. For Mickey, death has become a form of abuse, as he is used as a real-life crash test dummy under the command of power-hungry colonial moron Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo). “I hate dying,” Mickey responds despite being a volunteer expendable, a job where he must die repeatedly. 

 

Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s strange new political satire sci-fi film, Mickey 17 serves as a fun watch despite taking place in the year 2054 on an apocalyptic snow planet named Niflheim. With captivating cinematography and storytelling, Joon-ho explores relevant themes surrounding authoritarianism and the importance of heroism during dark times. However, Joon-ho’s jabs at politics feel a bit muddled in a third act that falls short.

 

Mickey 17 opens by diving deep into the suffocating job Mickey signed up for on a whim to escape planet Earth and a chainsaw wielding mob boss with his fake friend Timo (Steven Yeun). Mickey’s day-to-day duties revolve around dying from lethal viruses, extreme radiation exposure and even the incubator he is supposed to be thrown in after he dies. He then repeats this cycle in 20 hours thanks to a printing machine that duplicates his body and memories. 

 

This soon changes when Mickey 17 escapes death from a nest of Creepers in the icy caves of Niflheim and returns to base where he soon realizes they printed out a double, Mickey 18. This is going to be a problem as Kenneth Marshall - who’s still licking his wounds from two lost elections - spews hateful rhetoric against doubles.

 

With a star-studded cast featuring Steven Yuen, Toni Colette (Marshall’s wife) and Mark Ruffalo, Robert Pattinson still finds a way to steal the show in Mickey 17. Pattinson’s impressive voice acting encapsulates Mickey’s dumbfounded demeanor to the point where you can’t help but feel bad for the guy. Even when there are two Mickey’s on screen at once, this caper persona of Mickey 17 coexists well with a more aggressive and rebellious personality of Mickey 18. Viewers can easily differentiate each one thanks to Pattinson’s body language and acting throughout his dual performance. 

 

Mark Ruffalo’s character was peculiar as he played a Trump-esque failing politician who is on a mission to colonize a “pure white planet,” and whose supporters wear red hats. It was clear what Joon-ho was going for with Ruffalo’s character. Perhaps this is why the director chose to delay the release of the film four times to seem politically relevant. It’s a direct jab to the political figure and his potentially destructive ambitions.

 

Stylistically, Mickey 17 shines as a dark comedy with a slow-motion montage of Mickey’s many deaths and its dull-witted diaristic approach from Mickey’s inner monologue. Mickey’s tragic existence on this capitalistic planet brightens up when he finds love with Nasha (Naomi Ackie) aboard the ship with. “Nasha, she’s always loved me,” Mickey says several times throughout the film. 

 

However, the film’s second act contains a romantic subplot that adds an unexpected twist to Mickey 17’s fate. Nasha falls for Mickey 18 too, not realizing that Mickey 17 is still alive. Other than some of the pathetic ways Mickey went out throughout the film, the absurd love triangle between Nasha, Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 might be the most comedic sequence in the film. This complicated love triangle turns into a jealousy filled square when a Marshall loyalist, Kai Katz (Anamaria Vartolomei) shares that she has a not-so-secret anymore crush on Mickey 17. 

 

In the third act, the film loses its rhythm and tempo. Transitioning from the ludicrous storylines that took place throughout the film to a slow-rolling confrontation between the ship and the planet’s natives seems jarring. It just seems Joon-ho loses sight of his message.

 

Although the film’s pacing falters, Mickey 17 delivers a sharp and pointy message on how certain systems can chew someone up and spit them out. It’s a film that contains Joon-ho’s typical concoction of political issues mixed with dark satire where the elites disregard the well-being of the little guys while simultaneously using them to achieve their personal goals. 

 

I feel like this story could be perceived in many ways. It’s a film about survival, exploitation and how to fight courageously against oppressors. Some may relate this film to the discussion around immigration, the goals behind a capitalistic nation or the current political climate. However, I think Joon-ho is taking jabs at too many things at once which ultimately causes him to lose focus in the film’s underwhelming third act.

 

Despite its flaws, Mickey 17 is a wacky but entertaining ride where Robert Pattinson’s greatest strengths as an actor are on full display until director Joon-ho loses sight of his vision. I will be revisiting this film again in the future as it provides some thought-provoking political commentary on how ordinary people can persevere through limitations set by authoritarians. 

 

Rating: 7.5/10