Bong Joon Ho steps back into American cinema with the story of an NPC on a spaceship in Mickey 17. Robert Pattinson plays the titular Mickey 0 through 18. While on earth, Mickey and his buddy, Timo (Steven Yuen), are being hunted by a loan shark, who would rather cut them up into pieces than collect his money. Mickey and Timo are forced to flee the planet on a spaceship led by the psychotic Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife, Yifa (Toni Collette).
Timo was lucky enough to be recruited as a pilot. On the other hand, Mickey’s only option was to be an “expendable”—the ultimate NPC. Someone who could die for the crew’s sake, be reprinted, upload memories, and die all over again. At first, Mickey’s job was to subject himself to a deadly virus in hopes of finding a cure. Then, he would be placed in harm’s way on the alien planet.
The complication comes when Mickey 17 supposedly died on an expedition, and Mickey 18 was created as a result. Because of the moral problems surrounding the replication process, one or both of the Mickeys must die. A Squid Games-type solution involves the destruction of the alien creatures.
“Mickey’s only option was to be an ‘expendable’—the ultimate NPC…”
Running at 2 hours and 17 minutes, Mickey 17 is and feels long—very long. Like good science fiction, Bong Joon Ho explores the interesting concepts of death and resurrection. Mickey will live forever but has to die to do so. Everyone asks him what dying is like, and Mickey says he is not fond of the process.
The most exciting part is the beginning when we see the sci-fi gimmick in action. But that only covers the first twenty minutes. The second act sets up the conflict between the two Mickeys as they figure out a solution that allows both to stay alive and how to pull off a threesome with their girlfriend, Nasha (Naomi Ackie).
It’s nice to see stars come out for Bong Joon Ho, but it’s not enough to make this film enjoyable. Everything leads to a very long third act, which is incredibly predictable and makes it feel much longer. The evil people are evil, and the cute/ugly aliens may or may not want to kill them. It all becomes a race for humanity’s survival. Unlike good sci-fi, the message about humanity is not all that interesting or compelling. Being nice and doing the right thing is good, but I wanted this story to end long ago.
Mickey 17 has all the makings of a thought-provoking sci-fi epic, but the film loses momentum somewhere between its intriguing premise and its bloated runtime. While Bong Joon Ho delivers his signature visual flair and Robert Pattinson fully commits to the existential dread of his endlessly disposable character, the film struggles to keep its high-concept ideas fresh past the first act. By the time the predictable finale rolls around, you may find yourself wishing for your own reset button.
"…has all the makings of a thought-provoking sci-fi epic..."
