Bong Joon Ho is a first-rate philosopher of the dualities of man. The filmmaker has cultivated a dynamic brand of visually assertive, socially conscious works about the human experience. In his expansive adaptation of Edward Ashton’s 2022 sci-fi novel Mickey7, Bong Joon Ho makes something new out of clones. The text of the book and movie is about the “teleportation paradox,” if you produce a clone of yourself, and exist with it concurrently, is that clone still you, and how can we then determine what it is that defines you, and what defines the clone.
Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) is being put through the wringer. The wringer in this sense is a teleportation machine that ejects his body like paper out of a printer when he dies. It happens again and again. There have been so many Mickeys now. We’re up to 17 of them.
Mickey signed up for this. Reluctantly. A series of misfortunes made his path to becoming an “expendable” more appealing along with his aloof, carefree nature. Stationed on an icy planet, each iteration of Mickey is sent on the most undesirable and highest risk tasks suitable only for a readily reproducible clone.
So it goes that this 17th iteration of Mickey sparks a glitch in the system. Not only does he not die, as planned, but he comes back and gets in cahoots with Mickey 18 (also Robert Pattinson).
Robert Pattinson plays two distinctly different versions of the same clone. Nominate him for Best Ensemble if you must. He’s really something special in both roles. Whereas Mickey 17 is nasally in his whiny drone and nerdy sweet, Mickey 18 is more laissez-faire, taken with drugs and sex. As each clone takes on the prior version’s memories, the new edition of Mickey is sort of a sequel to the short-lived life experiences of the one who came before him.
The research colony has complicated politics about the nature of human cloning and especially a fear of doubles. This tech was banned on Earth for good reason. Well, Mickey 17 narrowly escapes death having fallen into an icy fissure while researching the native creepers, tardigrade-like creatures, roly-poly cuties that look like a croissant-shaped puppy dog wearing a sweater.
As the Mickeys integrate back into the system, they have several challenges ahead of them. How can their share their lover, the wild spirited security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who may just love them both? They have an even greater concern though, as the research station is run by political tyrant and Trump aspirant Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo). It may just be Ruffalo’s best performance.
This brings us back to Trump on Parasite. He said of its Academy Award for Best Picture: “What the hell was that all about? We’ve got enough problems with South Korea with trade. On top of that, they give them best movie of the year. Was it good? I don’t know.” It was good. We know. It was one of the best movies of our times. They say the character is not based on Trump. Try to watch it with a straight face while holding that thought.
So, in the wake of a global cinema defining work like Parasite, Mickey 17 is something else entirely. This is not awards bait of any sort but could be in play for below the line technical shouts. It’s something else we’ve been missing: a brainy and still fun sci-fi blockbuster that eludes direct comparisons with the franchises of our time.
Bong Joon Ho has an utter confidence that feels so brash and visually correct on-screen. His direction, down to the blocking, and what he retrieves from actors about the duality of their characters, is uniquely interesting. Bong Joon Ho brings out humanity and depth in his performers and films them with a certain kind of empathy that is not common in blockbusters.
That Mickey 17 feels far afield from what’s being produced by studios may be enough to convince anyone to see it. Tragically, it’s flailing at the box office and already due for on-demand release. You can replicate and clone any movie and watch it at home but this one deserves a larger screen.
Mickey 17, though, does not live up fully to the reputation of Bong Joon Ho’s masterworks — Memories of Murder (2004), Mother (2009), and Parasite (2019) make for an unmatched trifecta — but Mickey 17 has different aims and aspirations. Primarily, it’s entertainment. And while it’s strongly acted and directed and feels like an uncommon blockbuster, it’s also deeply uneven in its storytelling, struggling occasionally with its symbolic logic, and in not just having two Mickeys that are distinct and so don’t have a lot to say philosophically about the differences of their creation.
Still, it’s an awful lot of fun. Everyone is good in it. Bong Joon Ho still directs it like a learned expert. He will not sacrifice genre filmmaking or making the thing he wants. Once again, Bong Joon Ho has succeeded. It may not change the course of filmmaking, but you can mostly only do worse for contemporary big budget fare.