by Jack Engelhardt ‘25

Mickey 17 is written and directed by award winning director Bong Joon Ho, known for previous works such as the critically acclaimed Snowpiercer and academy award winning Parasite. Adapted from the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, the story follows Mickey, played by Robert Patterson, as an expendable, disposable crew member selected for a space mission to perform deadly tasks for the betterment of mankind. His body can be renewed after death, with his memories remaining intact. But after plans for the 17th Mickey go awry, his promise of renewal is challenged and dark political secrets begin to unfold.

This movie has a lot of positives to offer, first with its stellar performances. Patterson delivers a great performance unlike any other he’s done, rendering him unrecognizable from his previous roles. Another notable performance is Mark Ruffalo, as he offers an absurdly over the top look at an evil political villain, taking comically obvious jabs at real-life political figures along the way. While the comedy in this film can best be described as dry, and maybe not being an outloud laugh type of film, it does offer up clever and dark jokes to keep the film entertaining. Another gleaming positive is the beautiful cinematography.

Darius Khondji, whose expertise was seen on the likes of Se7en and Uncut Gems, makes the vibrant whites of the desolate snowy landscape of Niflheim pop against the characters inhabiting it, while also capturing life in the spaceship Mickey lives in with all the grimey, mechanical detail.

While the world these characters inhabit is beautiful, the story surrounding them gets a little convoluted. The narrative is negatively impacted by the sheer amount of creative ideas put into it. Mickey 17 feels like a mere glance into a vibrant and interesting world, leaving viewers disappointed at the end when these ideas were not fleshed out completely. Due to the complexity of this film, it rarely elaborates on the different details of the world it mentions, making it feel like audiences only got a taste of what this film had to offer before the credits began to roll. Another thing that takes away from this movie is the amount of explaining it has to do for its ideas. Instead of letting the beautiful world and character interactions do the explaining for the viewer, Ho opted for Patterson to voice over a good chunk of the film, telling his story rather than showing it to us. While Mickey 17 may have its issues, it was still very intriguing and left me entertained until the very end. Supported by fantastic actors and jaw-dropping setpieces, Ho should be proud to add this film to his impressive repertoire of movies.

Grade: B-