Mickey 17 review

 

From the Director of Parasite Bong Joon-Ho comes Mickey 17 about life, colonisation and a real strive for supreme power in a movie that is as bonkers as it is profoundly fascinating. Robert Pattinson stars as Mickey's 1 through 17 (and 18) a man on Earth who along with his best friend are forced to flee after they fail to pay back money to a loan shark that is not to be messed with. Mickey becomes something called an 'expendable' which essestinally means he becomes a guinea pig for a giant corporation who are attempting to colonise an ice like planet filled with creatures called creepers. He is used as a testing tube for various viruses to help create vaccines and make the planet breathable. Each death becoming more and more erratic and quite visceral. 

Right off the bat Mickey 17 proves it's uniqueness in Robert Pattinson's voice alone as it is so weird yet so comforting to listen to. The first act is basically a tutorial of how the whole situation works as we see 16 different versions of Mickey with each time he does he is re-printed by a machine with his memories and personality traits all installed post printing. It's really, really out there when it comes to being a sci-fi and at times it's more of a black comedy as Bong Joon-Ho's screenplay which is based on a book is both quirky and enlightening. 

Mickey 17 is a wild ride that's for sure. It's filled with amazing performances from Robert Pattinson who is effortlessly charming as Mickey Barnes and Mark Ruffalo who plays the leader of the corportation. His performance is so beyond absurd that it is honestly quite brilliant. He really brings the comedy and the interactions between characters whenever he is on screen are a hoot. Mickey 17 isn't the master class of filmmaking that Parasite was nor will it's impact be as long but man is this a throughly enjoyable movie from beginning to end. You'll come for Robert Pattinson but you'll be staying for the wild and silly antics that follow. Brilliant!

★★★★