I went into Mickey 17 with high expectations. Bong Joon-ho gave us Parasite, a masterpiece that had me glued to the screen, so I was hoping for something of the same caliber. And while I did enjoy the film, I left the cinema feeling like something was missing, as if the story didn't go as far as it could have.
The social commentary is there, and it's one of the film's strongest aspects. The idea that we are disposable, replaceable, just cogs in a system that exploits us to exhaustion without any regard for individuality, is unsettling-because we already live in a society that operates this way. Then there's the theme of neocolonization, which the film explores in a sharp way: if we ever discover a new, inhabited planet, we'll probably behave just as cruelly and disgracefully as we did centuries ago during the Age of Exploration, because, let's be honest, it's in the DNA of too many of us to be unscrupulous bastards.
However, Mickey 17 struggles with an inconsistent tone. It feels torn between being an existential sci-fi film and a comedy, but it never quite finds the right balance. Some of the humor works, but other times it completely undermines the impact of the film's deeper ideas.
And then there are the villains. Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette are fantastic actors, but their characters here are so cartoonish that they lose any sense of menace. Instead of being intimidating or manipulative figures of power, they just come across as ridiculous. This weakens the narrative, turning the central conflict into a joke and stripping away the potential for a much stronger ideological clash.
That being said, there are things to appreciate. Robert Pattinson continues to make bold choices, and his performance effectively conveys the character's existential crisis. Visually, the film is also captivating, with production design that creates an authentic sense of a dystopian reality within a spaceship setting.
In the end, Mickey 17 isn't a bad film, but it falls short of what it could have been. The ideas are there, the social critique is relevant, but the execution falters in key moments. Is it worth watching? Yes, especially for the thought-provoking themes. But anyone expecting something on the level of Parasite might walk away feeling a little disappointed.
The social commentary is there, and it's one of the film's strongest aspects. The idea that we are disposable, replaceable, just cogs in a system that exploits us to exhaustion without any regard for individuality, is unsettling-because we already live in a society that operates this way. Then there's the theme of neocolonization, which the film explores in a sharp way: if we ever discover a new, inhabited planet, we'll probably behave just as cruelly and disgracefully as we did centuries ago during the Age of Exploration, because, let's be honest, it's in the DNA of too many of us to be unscrupulous bastards.
However, Mickey 17 struggles with an inconsistent tone. It feels torn between being an existential sci-fi film and a comedy, but it never quite finds the right balance. Some of the humor works, but other times it completely undermines the impact of the film's deeper ideas.
And then there are the villains. Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette are fantastic actors, but their characters here are so cartoonish that they lose any sense of menace. Instead of being intimidating or manipulative figures of power, they just come across as ridiculous. This weakens the narrative, turning the central conflict into a joke and stripping away the potential for a much stronger ideological clash.
That being said, there are things to appreciate. Robert Pattinson continues to make bold choices, and his performance effectively conveys the character's existential crisis. Visually, the film is also captivating, with production design that creates an authentic sense of a dystopian reality within a spaceship setting.
In the end, Mickey 17 isn't a bad film, but it falls short of what it could have been. The ideas are there, the social critique is relevant, but the execution falters in key moments. Is it worth watching? Yes, especially for the thought-provoking themes. But anyone expecting something on the level of Parasite might walk away feeling a little disappointed.