Mickey 17 (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Mickey 17, known as an “expendable,” goes on a dangerous journey to colonize an ice planet.

My Take – With recent science fiction features bringing in dismissal numbers at the box office, I guess it was somewhat understandable that Warner Bros. decided to push this one a whole year from its original release date to keep it away from established and popular IP. A disappointing sight, indeed, to see original stories, particularly those without any franchise misgivings, to go through such a unrelenting phase.

Nevertheless, there is no denying that cinema enthusiasts (like myself) were eager and ready to wait to see what South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho had cooked up next, following his epic 2020 Oscar sweep with the comparatively dramatic Parasite (2019), which became the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

And, though no one expected him go bigger, not just in scale and scope, but in concept as well, for his third English language outing, the resulting film succeeds in being both a surprising, hilarious and poignant addition to the sci-fi genre.

Based on the 2022 novel ‘Mickey7‘ by Edward Ashton, undoubtedly, the film doesn’t quite reach the heights of his earlier works, yet, it still does enough to be termed as a solid science fiction blockbuster.

Sure, some sequences could have been trimmed, and a few moments felt repetitive (apparently intentionally so), however, its performances, satirical humor, social commentary and visual flair ensures that we remain glued throughout for this entertaining and thought-provoking experience.

Unfortunately, despite the release shift and critical acclaim, the film still ended up being box office bomb, raking in just $127 million globally on its $118 million budget, pretty much guaranteeing that it will be a long while before we see another sci fi thinker be handed this kind of big budget shine.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Joon-ho will continue to remain an essential voice in modern cinema, and though he failed to reach the super high bar set for him this time around, his each new work will/should be considered a valuable addition to the canon.

Set in the year 2054, the story follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), a failed entrepreneur, who along with friend/business partner Timo (Steven Yeun), decides to join a four-year long journey on a colonization mission, led by failed politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his doting but similarly morally bankrupt wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette), to inhabit an ice-planet called Niflheim, all in order to escape a murderous loan shark.

Though, Timo quickly becomes a shuttle pilot, but Mickey, without fully understanding the role, signs up to become an “expendable”. An illegal process on Earth that will see Mickey take on a bunch of lethal tasks and simply have his memories uploaded to a newly printed body after each inevitable death.

And while his job is as terrible as it sounds, and sees Mickey face some of the worst ends possible, his romance with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie) becomes the biggest upside of his life.

However, things get insanely complicated when the explorers reach the planet and a series of events lead to the presumption that Mickey’s 17 iteration is dead. Which enables the printing of Mickey 18. Something which becomes a massive problem since the rules clear state that in the case of “multiples” both individuals have to be erased.

Yes, the narrative has a lot going on as this is not writer-director Bong Joon-Ho in his intricate sketching mode as seen in his previous ventures. Instead, this is him cashing in on his last massive success on a bold, big brush strokes sci fi concept flick and sees him make the most of the budget with a grimy, industrial future setting and an atmospherically chilly alien world.

Here, the setup is superficially reminiscent of the premise of filmmaker Duncan Jones’s Moon (2009), but with the melancholy and angst replaced by violence, pharmaceuticals, sex and satire. His writing is sharp and funny, while taking every turn possible to inject depth into the story.

With the clone idea at the heart of his script and he asks interesting questions about accountability and cheapening of life. Though the general idea behind cloning has been to achieve a form of immortality, director Joon-Ho flips it on itself by revealing how death is simply the end, and the shared memories don’t make up for it.

With that in mind, the whole endeavor becomes fairly horrific and the indifferent attitude to Mickey’s various lives from other crew members is also quite chilling. That the narrative is able to keep the laughs coming in such a bleak scenario is testament to the talent on display. Along with that, his script takes swipes at Trump, ethnic cleansing, the elite’s response to airborne pathogens, human commodification and white people’s obsession with sauces.

Yet, despite its overt themes, the film remarkably never feels cloying thanks to director Bong’s inimitable knack for character writing. Making it more of a direct continuation of some of his earlier films, fusing the futuristic utilitarian environments of Snowpiercer (2013) with the cuddly animal rights mascot of Okja (2017).

Visually too, the film is a marvel. Director Bong has excelled at making well-shot films despite the smaller budgets before. It’s only natural that with a bigger one, he maintains this stanch attention to design. Every shot is marvelously framed and well-lit. With the biggest highlight being the said insectoid alien creatures aka the creepers, the indigenous population of Niflheim. They’re large, hairy grubs with squishy stomachs that look like packs of bread rolls, and somehow manage to be adorable.

Performances wise, Robert Pattinson brings in yet another solid and well-rounded turn, proving his versatility even in a film that leans more towards comedy, something outside his usual genre. Holding his movie star charisma hostage in order to pursue lovable weirdos in all kinds of shades. He’s fully liberated here, consistently finding the most unexpected and delightful ways to deliver his dialogue. Most importantly, he ensures that both his Mickeys feel like different individuals.

Mark Ruffalo is excellent too and lends his character enough peculiarities that works both as a satire and a diabolical creation in his own right. The same can be said of Toni Collette’s sauce-obsessed wife, who matches him with as an almost menacing comedic relief.

Naomi Ackie manages to be a standout, ensuring her presence is both sexy and commanding. In supporting roles, Steven Yeun, Anamaria Vartolomei, Dniel Henshall, Patsy Ferran and Holliday Grainger manage to shine. On the whole, ‘Mickey 17‘ is an unique satirical sci-fi triumph that is throughout hilarious and filled with enough depth.