Set in a futuristic world in the span of nearly 5 years, the film is about a man who joins a space expedition towards a snowy planet that is to be colonized as he signs for a job that would kill him multiple times where his 17th variation makes a discovery about the planet they are colonizing. It is a film that does not play into a certain genre as it blends all sorts of genres from science fiction, satire, suspense, drama, and action as it explores a man who takes a job to escape from loan sharks as the ship is ruled by a politician who plans to rule the colony as he would also bring in a cloning device on his ship although the cloning device is deemed illegal on Earth. Bong Joon-Ho’s screenplay has a lot of layers in its narrative as it is largely told from the perspective of its titular character (Robert Pattinson) as he is a man that has endured a lot of bad luck from the death of his mother as a child as he blames himself for what happened and the trouble his childhood friend Timo (Steven Yeun) has put him in through involving loan sharks.
In taking on the job as an expendable, Mickey would endure a series of odd jobs in which he would be killed or become a lab rat for diseases and such as he would be cloned through a printing machine of sorts though it is a method that is illegal on Earth. The expedition is run by the politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette) in the hopes that he can bring hope to humanity on a new planet although he is revealed to be an idiotic narcissist while Ylfa is the smarter of the two but is also arrogant and obsessed with bad gourmet cooking. Mickey would find friends during his journey including a girlfriend in the security officer Nasha (Naomi Ackie) but becomes annoyed with people asking him what it is like to die. Even as they land on the planet where Mickey makes a discovery about its inhabitants after getting injured on the job and left for dead by Timo. Upon his return, Mickey, in his 17th variation, learns about something else that is happening that is considered forbidden as it explains why Earth is not fond of the idea of cloning. All of this leads to revelations about what Marshall wants to do and the trouble he is creating on the planet he wants to colonize.
Bong’s direction is grand in not just its unique setting and blend of genres but also in its approach to satire. Shot at the Leavesden Studio in Britain, Bong’s creates a world that is chaotic where much of the action takes place inside a spaceship. The usage of close-ups and medium shots in these cramped and claustrophobic rooms that Mickey, Nasha, and others live in do play into this idea of class as the Marshalls live in a spacious and lavish room with the finest food and decors that represents this disconnect that the Marshalls have with everyone else in the ship. Bong also uses wide shots to get a look into the Marshalls’ room as well as the dining hall and scenes on the snowy planet known as Niflheim as it is a key element in the film’s second half as well as the first scene of the film where Mickey 17 is left on a ravine injured where Timo leaves him for dead. It is also the moment where Mickey would discover the original inhabitants of these creatures that look like bugs but something different in their interiors as they were designed by Bong and creature designer Jang Hee-chul.
Bong’s direction also play into this sense of absurdity in the many ways Mickey would die as well as the atmosphere of the spaceship as it has an offbeat presentation of how bureaucracy works as there are also odd things that happen in the film. Even as there is a guy in a pigeon suit (Tim Key) who would come in to be a reporter as a mascot for Marshall. The film does take a serious tone in its third function as it relates to the inhabitants of Niflheim and what Marshall wants to do although Mickey is in a far more complicated situation as it relates to why Earth banned cloning and re-printing humans. Even as he becomes a bigger liability where it leads to Marshall waging war with the inhabitants of Niflheim although they have no issues with humanity. Still, Bong plays into the many fallacies of politics as well as what happened when people put their faith in someone who is an imbecile forcing a regular person to do what he can to save humanity from themselves. Overall, Bong crafts a witty and riveting film about a man who dies constantly on the job during a four-year expedition to colonize a planet for an imbecilic politician.
Cinematographer Darius Khondji does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its stylish usage of lighting for the interior scenes inside the spaceship with low-key lighting for the rooms that Mickey and others live in to the artificial look of the Marshalls’ suite. Editor Yang Jin-mo does excellent work with the editing with its usage of rhythmic cuts and jump-cuts to play into the action and suspense along with some stylish cuts for some of the humor. Production designer Fiona Crombie, with set decorator Alice Felton plus supervising art director Jason Knox-Johnston and senior art director Darren Tubby, does amazing work with the look of the interiors of the spaceship including the rooms, dining hall, lab, and garage as well as the caves at Niflheim. Costume designer Catherine George does fantastic work with the costumes from the ordinary jumpsuits many of the people at the spaceship wear to the posher clothing that the Marshalls wear.
Hair & makeup artist Anita Burger does terrific work with some of the makeup that Kenneth Marshall has in his TV appearances including a somewhat-heightened tan on his face. Visual effects supervisors Dan Glass, Arudra Jaykar, and Kelvin McIlwain do incredible work in the look of the planet and the exterior of the spaceship as well as the movement of the body parts from the creatures at Niflheim. Sound designer Eilam Hoffman and sound editor Choi Tae-young do superb work with the sound in the way the creatures sound as well as layers of sound effects for scenes inside the ship as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Jung Jae-il is great in its piano orchestra presentation with elements of bouncy percussions and string arrangements that play into the film’s offbeat tone while its music soundtrack features pieces from Nino Rota, Elliot Smith, Georg Friedrich Handel, and a hilarious original from Jung and Sharon Sung Jae Choi that the Marshalls sing that is full-on camp.
The casting by Francine Maisler is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Milo James as a young Mickey, Ian Hanmore as a loan shark Timo and Mickey owes money to, Ellen Robertson as Kai’s girlfriend Jennifer, Tim Key as the man in a pigeon suit, Thomas Turgoose as a security officer who likes to carry a bazooka, Angus Irmie as a security officer known as Shrimp Eyes, Stephen Park as the head security officer Zeke who becomes concerned with what the Marshalls are doing and other activities involving drugs, Holliday Grainger as a Marshall representative whom Mickey meets early in the film about becoming an expendable, Cameron Britton as the science team leader Arkady who is a stooge for Marshall, Patsy Ferran as the scientist Dorothy who cares about Mickey’s well-being, Anna Mouglalis as the voice of the head creeper creature from Niflheim, and Edward Davis as a political figure who was part of the reprinting program who went too far in his studies as he is seen in a flashback.
Daniel Henshall is terrific as Marshall’s personal assistant Preston as this smarmy man who is willing to goad his boss into anything and film it to boost his boss’s ego. Anamaria Vartolomei is fantastic as the security officer Kai Katz as a woman who is one of Mickey’s friends as she would cope with events that shaped her while also making a discovery that makes her uneasy. Steven Yeun is excellent as Timo as a childhood friend of Mickey who would constantly put him in trouble as he would get a job as a pilot for the ship where he constantly finds a way to advance his position as well as taking part in illegal activities involving drugs. Naomi Ackie is brilliant as Nasha as a security agent who becomes Mickey’s girlfriend as she deals with his own issues while also becoming aware of Marshall’s idiocy where there is a great moment where she calls him out in front of his face into how stupid he is.
Toni Collette is incredible as Ylfa Marshall as Kenneth’s wife who is this woman that wants to create gourmet cooking that she can make money of as well as crave power where Collette has an element of camp that adds to her performance as she is monstrously hilarious. Mark Ruffalo is amazing as Kenneth Marshall, as this political figure who wants to colonize a planet in the belief that he will save humanity except for the fact that he is a narcissistic imbecile who craves attention while Ruffalo speaks in a way that is over-the-top as it adds a level of hilarity to his performance. Finally, there’s Robert Pattinson in a tremendous performance as Mickey Barnes and the many variations he would take including Mickey 17 as this ordinary man who takes the job where he makes himself expendable where he would be cloned and re-printed as a lab rat while doing odd jobs that are considered deadly. Pattinson’s performance is also full of joy in how shy he is as he speaks in an odd way while he would speak more menacingly as another variant as it is one of Pattinson’s finest performances of his career.
Mickey 17 is a spectacular film by Bong Joon-ho that features a phenomenal leading performance from Robert Pattinson. Along with its ensemble cast, grimy visuals, its satirical approach to social standings and political idealism, and a fun music score. The film is an engaging and witty genre-bending film that explores a man who dies constantly for someone’s own idea of power only to become a rebel and realize that man’s ignorance and stupidity over everything. In the end, Mickey 17 is a sensational film by Bong Joon-ho.
Bong Joon-ho Films: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Memories of Murder - The Host (2006 film) - Tokyo!-Shaking Tokyo - Mother (2009) - Snowpiercer - Okja - Parasite - The Auteurs #44: Bong Joon-ho
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