First Take: Mickey 17 - live, die, repeat… wait, wrong film

SYNOPSIS: During a human expedition to colonize space, Mickey 17, a so-called “expendable” employee, is sent to explore an ice planet.

It was a film delayed by Covid, actors strikes, and studio quabbles about exactly when would be the right time to put it out - but at last, film Twitter’s hero is back, with his first major project since the iconic 2020 Oscar win for Parasite put him firmly on Hollywood’s map. With a Bong Joon Ho film you kinda know what you’re letting yourself in for - precise, rounded filmmaking that has a social edge to it, and Mickey 17 is no exception.

Bong’s direction and script are tight as ever, coming in at 2 hours 17 minutes this is one which is mostly all killer, no filler - based on 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, the film doesn’t necessarily go all in on sci fi, as ultimately this is also a black comedy at points. Much like Parasite, the humour is balanced with the more serious plot points, especially with some elements about the cloning process and certain characters in the film, but ultimately this could prove to be a bit much for some mainstream audiences. It is shot brilliantly by Darius Khondji, and returning for his third collaboration with Bong is composer Jung Jae-il, all of whom take full advantage of the significantly higher budgets available due to Warner bankrolling this project.

Performance wise, we have one natural place to begin - Robert Pattinson is rightly the focus here, with a very complex character that would bring spoilers if I discussed it more. Subtle, nuanced, with enough comedic effect to balance the lighter elements from the darker plot points later on in the film, he carries it all alongside Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo (who is continuing his post-Marvel resurgence in fine form after last year’s Poor Things), Toni Collette and Steven Yeun. Trying to describe this film without revealing much about the more sci-fi oriented elements of the plot (which aren’t in the trailers) is hard, but regardless of how it did in-cinema, this is a good attempt at a proper Hollywood film from the man who broke the barrier of subtitled cinema.

THE VERDICT

Mickey 17 is a movie built for premium large format. It’s not Bong’s finest work but for his first proper effort with a mainstream Hollywood studio… it is still distinctly one of his films at the end of the day. It’s a crying shame that Warner didn’t market it properly, one of the reasons why it bombed, because this is a film that comes alive in a good cinema screen.

RATING: 4/5