Mickey 17 may be an entertaining rollercoaster of action, comedy and expertly crafted science fiction, but it’s also a rallying cry from Bong Joon-ho for the world, and in particular, America, to wake up and embrace a different path, just like Mickey. Mickey 17 premiered at Berlinale 2025 and is scheduled for release in cinemas nationwide on March 7.
Space, the final frontier, these are the voyages of a spacecraft on a mission to colonise and screw up a whole new planet. Mickey 17 is a story of unchecked power, arrogance, “tech support” built on xenophobia and division, and a reluctant hero about to usher in a new age for humanity: a hero simply known as Mickey 17.
Anyone familiar with Bong Joon-ho’s work to date, from Parasite to Okja and Snowpiercer, among others, will know that he has a penchant for ruthlessly dissecting our capitalist society, highlighting the inequalities it breeds and the greed and segregation it thrives on. From a segregated train journey to hell to two families thrown into a dance of deceit and opportunism, Bong Joon-ho has offered us some of the most creative, cutting and fascinating movies of the past twenty years: films that, in many cases, have offered us a warning of what’s to come if we continue to walk down the road we have created. Mickey 17, for all its laughs and spectacle, is possibly his most prominent warning to humanity yet, as he takes aim at unchecked American imperialism in a way only he can do.
All Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) ever wanted to do was open a delicious macaroon shop with his best mate, Timo (Steven Yeun). However, Timo borrowed the money for the shop from a notorious gangster who now wants it back, and the boys have little option but to attempt escape, not just from their city, but from the planet itself.
As it happens, an opportunity is available due to a wealthy, failed ultra-right-wing politician named Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his twisted, smoothy-loving wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette). Marshall has had enough of the Earth now that his policies and ideas have brought it to its knees, and he is seeking a new planet to screw up. He has a small icy planet in his sights, which he calls Niflheim. There, among the stars, Marshall plans to create a genetic super-race of humans, free from irritating ideals such as compassion, equality or love. The trouble is, getting a place on his ship isn’t that easy!
Needing a quick escape, Mickey signs up for the trip as an “expendable” without reading the small print, but hey, what’s he got to lose? It seems logical to opt for Marshall’s ship when it’s a choice between escape or a chainsaw removing your legs. However, “expendables” are part of Marshall’s plan to colonise; they are crash test dummies that can be used for the most deadly missions because when they die, they are printed again, their memories transferred to a perfect replica of their physical form. Mickey Barnes no longer exists; instead, he is now Mickey 1, and it’s not long before he is Mickey 17. But at least Mickey has a girlfriend, security officer Nasha (Naomi Ackie), to keep him company through each death and rebirth.
Each death Mickey endures is designed to help Marshall’s floating lunatic asylum reach its destination safely, and once they arrive on Niflheim, Mickey 17’s mission is to explore the icy world and the risks posed by its native creatures. But things are about to take an unexpected turn as Mickey encounters the indigenous creatures: creatures Marshall has named “creepers”.
Adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel, Robert Pattinson shines as he portrays multiple versions of Mickey, each with their own quirks, despite the promise that he is reprinted the same every time, something Mickey only realises when he encounters another version of himself. Following Mickey 17 being saved from death by the creepers, he heads back to the ship only to find he has already been reprinted as 18. 17 and 18 shouldn’t exist in the same space, but it’s not long before they realise their only hope for survival is to work together alongside Nasha.
Equally strong is Mark Ruffalo’s delightfully observed portrayal of Marshall, his Machiavellian performance a cocktail of ruthless ambition, arrogance, and self-entitlement that echoes several of the people leading the current madness of our screwed-up world. Marshall spouts his right-wing racism and xenophobia with impunity, supported and steered by his equally malevolent wife. Marshall believes himself to be a god who can steer the destiny of humankind when, in fact, he is nothing more than a simple bigot with delusions of grandeur. And it’s here that Bong Joon-ho plays his ace card, as while his science fiction spectacle may take place on a world light-years away, its messages relate to events unfolding right here on Earth.
Marshall has no interest in humanity or the people who follow him; his only interest is in himself and his twisted ideology. In Marshall’s world, Mickey isn’t a person; he is an expendable toy designed to bring that ideology to life. In fact, everyone surrounding Marshall is expendable once they challenge his ideas or beliefs. If that sounds familiar, it should.
Alongside the perfectly timed comedy, engaging performances and stunning science fiction landscapes, Bong Joon Ho asks us to reflect on the current state of our own world and how we have allowed ourselves to be conned by people who ultimately see us as mere expendables if we dare challenge their delusions.
These people march toward power by trampling on anyone and anything that doesn’t fit their ideals, and they preach about freedom of speech while at the same time denying fundamental human rights to others, building their ivory towers where people say yes to everything that dribbles from their mouths, not out of respect but fear. Mickey 17 may be an entertaining rollercoaster of action, comedy and expertly crafted science fiction, but it’s also a rallying cry from Bong Joon-ho for the world, and in particular, America, to wake up and embrace a different path, just like Mickey.
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