Was ‘Mickey 17’ Released at the Wrong Time?
Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17 | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
Mickey 17 is Bong Joon Ho’s latest film, in which Mickey 17 (Robert Pattinson), an expendable, is forced into dangerous situations as a group attempts to colonize an icy planet.
There’s so much in this film that’s very good. Bong Joon Ho is a fantastic director and writer and we see his talents displayed on the screen. Bong has made a name for himself in his ability to create these intricate and exciting worlds for us to inhabit for a couple of hours. Honestly, I just wanted to spend more time exploring this icy planet that the characters found themselves on.
Robert Pattinson is great in the titular role of Mickey 17. He’s so earnest and endearing that you want to root for the guy who keeps finding himself in difficult and dangerous situations. His role as an expendable is also fascinating and brings a lot of interesting color to this film.
What if the thing you were known for was dying over and over again? How would that affect how you live? Your relationships? Your sense of self? Pattinson does a great job of embodying these and more. Plus, he does it with a weird voice, which absolutely worked.
The unfortunate part of Mickey 17 is that it felt really unfocused to me. There are so many different ideas, themes, and tones in this film that it was a bit overwhelming at times. Bong Joon Ho has made a name for himself by being able to combine genres, themes, and tones in ways that feel really fresh and exciting. There’s an attempt at that in this film that didn’t quite work for me.
Mickey 17 is incredibly ambitious and really swings for the fences, which is exciting to see. However, it simply has too many storylines for us to go very deep in any of them. Just when I was getting interested in one aspect of this story, the film would move on to something else that I was less invested in. I think if the number of characters and storylines had been pared down, this could’ve been absolutely incredible.
Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17 | Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
While watching, I kept wondering how I would feel about Mickey 17 if this came out a year ago. This film’s release was delayed multiple times, a fact I was really aware of while watching.
One of the aspects of the film that I really struggled with was Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), the failed politician who is leading this expedition to this other planet. And it’s obvious the modern politician that this character is modeled after. Unfortunately, there’s nothing particularly new that the film is adding to the conversation. From the followers wearing red hats, to his speech patterns, to a little dance he does at one point, we understand what the film is doing. And I was not having it.
There’s so much chaos in the world today, particularly in our government. Every time Marshall entered the story, I was reminded of that fact.
I wish that Marshall’s character had been a little more generic; that I think would help this film age better going forward and would be easier for me to stomach in 2025.
Because of our political reality today, I think this film would’ve landed better in 2024. This year there is so much fear, chaos, and exhaustion, which I know impacted my viewing experience. I wanted to like this film, but the overwhelming number of storylines and the political aspects made it difficult for me to enjoy myself.
However, Nasha (Naomi Ackie) is the coolest character! I wish we had been able to spend more time with her. I would definitely watch a mini-series with her as the main character.