Mickey 17 is the latest film by Bong Joon-Ho. After several delays, it was presented as a Berlinale Special Gala presentation at this year’s festival in Berlin. Robert Pattinson plays Mickey Barnes, an “expendable” on a mission to colonize the icy planet Niflheim. He’s cloned each time he dies—17 times so far—retaining most memories. After surviving a suicide mission, Mickey 17 returns to find Mickey 18 already created, leading to a chaotic clash of identities. The two must navigate a harsh regime led by the ruthless leader Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his cunning wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette), who see expendables as disposable. Facing erasure, the Mickeys grapple with survival, loyalty, and their own existence during harsh circumstances.
This is Bong’s third film in English, and to say that the first two were among his more significant achievements would be an exaggeration. Even though I watched Snowpiercer (2013) under ideal circumstances (alone in a huge cinema), it didn’t manage to grip me. The less said about Okja (2017), the better. My expectations for the new Bong film were not high, but at least I knew that this year’s Honorary Golden Bear laureate, Tilda Swinton, would not be in the film. It turned out that her part1The two parts were virtually indistinguishable. in the previous two films was basically split into the aforementioned couple.
Mark Ruffalo hams it up in the most egregious sense, nowhere near enjoying himself as much as in Poor Things. In contrast, Collette, who is constantly better than the films she appears in, manages to elevate a part marred by seriously lax writing. Pattinson succeeds in creating two different Mickeys. It could be discussed how distinctive the differences are supposed to be, considering the fact that each iteration is manufactured on a 3-D printer fed with far from first-rate material. The printer could have been a perfect metaphor for the film if not all the characters had been two-dimensional. I haven’t read the novel Mickey 7 By Edward Ashton, so I don’t know where the cartoonish characters derive from.
The substance of Mickey 17
The film is an inartful mixture of Snowpiercer and some Terry Gilliam themes, with a fair amount of Arrival (2016) thrown in. The latter is because of some creatures on Niflheim called creepers. The rulers see them as dangerous entities that have to be killed. It was during such a mission that Mickey 17 was erroneously reported dead. Will it turn out that those creatures are actually dignified, verging on sentient? Anyone who is surprised by the answer might find value in Mickey 17, but most people would be advised to skip this. Is there any reward for the spectator who makes it through the whole thing? That might be Naomie Ackie in the role of Nasha.
I have been told that Nasha’s part has changed compared to the source novel. As the film stands, she is the most attractive character whose urges seem to come from sincere impulses, however conflicted they may be. Ackie throws herself into the part and delivers the film’s best performance, even though Pattinson does well on his double duty as well. Mickey 17 is Bong’s first film since the award-winning Parasite (2019). The inclusion at the Berlinale was not obvious; it wasn’t even the European premiere since it had been screened in London two days before. Still, the buzz around the film may have been enough for Tricia Tuttle to consider the inclusion of the film a feather in her hat.
The attempts at satire are a dictionary definition of the term blatant and are not worth commenting upon. The Berlinale crowd should be the perfect audience for this kind of political punching, but not even The Guardian critic was convinced. I doubt that many other spectators will be either. At the press conference, the cast mostly spoke about how much fun they had on the set rather than approaching the film. That is a warning sign if there ever was one.