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Movie Review: Mickey 17

<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741155596441Copy of C8D-FP-004r_High_Res_JPEG_custom-proxy.jpeg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes in <em>Mickey 17</em> | Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p><em>Mickey 17</em> is thought-provoking with just the right amount of “unreal” science, mixed with a few tiny globs of K-film emotionality, and the perfect number of Robert Pattinsons to make it a must-watch for art-house and sci-fi movie lovers.</p><p>Whether you’re keeping up with the world’s current political issues or not, South Korean filmmaker <strong>Bong Joon Ho</strong>’s <strong><em>Mickey 17</em></strong> is so in-your-face with its social commentary that you’d have to be living in a different timeline not to see the parallels between his fictional world and our so-called real world.</p><p>And mind you, that’s not a bad thing and this is not really a political movie.</p><p>Mickey Barnes (<strong>Robert Pattinson</strong>) is your run-of-the-mill loser who’s on the run from loan sharks because his business is not doing so well. As the deadline for the payment looms closer and closer, Mickey and his business partner Timo (<strong>Steven Yeun</strong>) conclude that since there’s no safe hiding place left on Earth, they must get off-planet and start fresh in a new human colony.</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741155790903Copy of C8D-11572_High_Res_JPEG_custom-proxy.jpeg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false">Mark Ruffalo as Kenneth Marshall alongside Toni Collette as Ylfa (Marshall&#x27;s wife) in <em>Mickey 17</em> | Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>Unfortunately, Mickey is not as charismatic as his so-called friend Timo, who was able to secure a technical position for the expedition. Mickey, on the other hand, has no choice but to sign up as an expendable, which is basically a disposable worker who gets cloned/reprinted as many times as needed.</p><p>And because there’s no such thing as death for an expendable, Mickey gets subjected to all sorts of hazardous conditions even before they reach the new planet. Every time he dies, he just gets reprinted because the science team or Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), the leader/political head of the expedition, deem it to be necessary for the expedition.</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741155880863Copy of C8D-CCTRL-006_High_Res_JPEG_custom-proxy.jpeg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures</span></span></span></div><div> </div><p>But thanks to Nasha (<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people/2025/3/2/naomi-ackie-talks-about-why-nasha-in-mickey-17-was-a-dream-role-0717" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Naomi Ackie</strong></a>), Mickey gets used to the grind (literally) despite being constantly treated as a second-class citizen aboard the ship. Something changes, though, once they reach the new planet and encounter the native inhabitants. Mickey is ordered by Marshall to capture one but as his luck would have it, he gets stuck and is seemingly left to be eaten by the “creepers.”  </p><p>Robert Pattinson delivers an amazing performance as Mickey. Just by his voice acting alone, he is unrecognizable, adding subtle changes to his voice each and every time he gets reprinted. He adds just the right amount of loser charm to keep the film limber without becoming too hard sci-fi, especially considering the amount of gruesome death in it.</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-18" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGEPCfzxbyR/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A18%2C%22os%22%3A17739001.600000024%2C%22ls%22%3A392980.10000002384%2C%22le%22%3A393388.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-18" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1741156400922unnamed (6).jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Director  Bong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson at the Berlin Film Festival | Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>Mark Ruffalo is also a very convincing megalomaniac. His performance as Marshall is so over-the-top, complete with subtle Elvis tics and yet, AND YET!, his character is basically a reprint of one of the most divisive world leaders today. Watch the film and you’ll immediately understand.</p><p>The design for the creepers is also unsettlingly good, leaving goosebumps if you stare at their skins for too long.</p><p>If you’ve ever wondered what a commercial US film from Oscar-award winning director Bong would look like, <em>Mickey 17 i</em>s probably the closest you will ever get to something made for the box-office without the renowned director <em></em><em></em>losing his best qualities as a film auteur. </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="925" height="525" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tA1s65o_kYM?si=MtOfEuqzyKTVEiAO" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Written and directed by Bong Joon Ho (based on the 2022 novel <em><strong>Mickey7</strong></em> by <strong>Edward Ashton</strong>), his return to the silver screen after the award-winning <em>Parasite</em> does not disappoint. <em>Mickey 17</em> delivers a poignant statement about colonization so skillfully that it doesn’t feel too cloying even if the characters are screaming it at our faces. Or maybe we just half-expect that some people won’t get the point if they don’t get a bludgeoning of reality (with extra sauce) in the face.</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-20" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGy7CbkpHDA/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A20%2C%22os%22%3A17941080.600000024%2C%22ls%22%3A392980.10000002384%2C%22le%22%3A393388.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="857" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-20" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div><em><strong>Mickey 17 is now showing in cinemas.</strong></em></div><div style="text-align:left"> </div>

<p>"Mickey 17" is a thought-provoking masterpiece that's funny yet layered with social commentary. </p>

"Mickey 17" is a thought-provoking masterpiece that's funny yet layered with social commentary.

Bong Joon Ho Makes a Not-So-Subtle Statement With Sci-Fi/Black Comedy 'Mickey 17'

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Bong Joon Ho Makes a Not-So-Subtle Statement With Sci-Fi/Black Comedy 'Mickey 17'

Alex Cruz

Published Mar 05, 2025 04:00 PM PHT

|

Updated Mar 06, 2025 07:31 PM PHT

Read More:

Culture

Mickey 17

Rober Pattinson

Bong Joon Ho

Naomi Ackie

Mark Ruffalo

Steven Yeun

Toni Collette

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