Mickey 17

Summary

“Sauce is the true litmus test of civilization.”

South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho had been successful stateside with his films The Host, Mother, and Snowpiercer, but his 2019 film Parasite was a true breakthrough moment for the Director. It wasn’t just a breakthrough moment for him, but a true breakthrough moment for Asian cinema. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards and it won Best Director, Best Screenplay, and, most importantly, Best Picture. It was the first Korean film to take home the big prize. It has been more than a half decade since that awards telecast. Since then, Netflix and other streaming providers have also helped to spread Asian cinema into homes, particularly during the lockdown period of 2020. For example, Squid Games was a shocking crossover success. It has been six years since Parasite was released, and Warner took a sizable gamble on Bong Joon-Ho’s next picture, Mickey 17. Starring Robert Pattinson, the film is an offbeat dark comedy science-fiction film that takes place in the near future. Despite Warner putting a huge budget behind the picture ($118 million,) the film only performed lukewarm at the box office ($131.8 million.) It is estimated that due to advertising costs, the picture may have lost Warner Bros. nearly $80 million during its theatrical run. It is a good example of the difficulty that theatrical showings are facing for films that do not come from established intellectual property. Critical reception was overall positive, but even the critical reception seemed somewhat restrained. I love when the studios swing for the fences for original ideas and I love science fiction, so I was very happy to check out the picture the other night on Warner’s beautiful 4K UHD presentation.

As the film begins, in year 2054, Mickey 17 (Robert Pattinson) lies in the snow, waking from falling unexpectedly into a cave on the ice planet Niflheim. His former friend from earth, now a shuttle pilot, Timo (Steven Yuen) ropes down. He retrieves Mickey’s flamethrower, but doesn’t bother to retrieve Mickey, because Mickey 17 is an “expendable.” Mickey has already died sixteen times, hence the name Mickey 17. Before the film flashes back, some of the Niflheim creatures  come towards Mickey, and he assumes that he will be eaten. In 2050, Mickey Barnes (Mickey 1) and Timo had gotten into debt with a notoriously violent and deadly loan shark named Darius Blank (Ian Hanmore.) In order to escape a violent end, both men had applied to join the expedition to the planet Niflheim led by controversial politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Yifa (Toni Collette.) Mickey does not pay attention to the paperwork, and signs up to be an expendable, whereas Timo lands a plush job as a shuttle pilot. Basically, there has been scientific progress in terms of creating clones. These clones were seen as advantageous to society because they could be used to perform dangerous work, and if they pass away, their memories could basically be uploaded into the new version of themselves and continue on. The benefit of these clones came into question when people began making multiple versions of themselves. These multiples were strictly outlawed once a serial killer made a few copies of himself. Kenneth Marshall has been given permission to experiment with expendables to help on his space expedition, but any case of multiples would lead to ultimate termination (including the destruction of the base copy held in a “brick.”) Mickey performs numerous actions to help the scientists aboard the ship deal with the harsh and radioactive climates, which leads to him sacrificing himself numerous times. The bright spot to the four and a half years of trial and error, is that Mickey falls in love with the beautiful and tough Nasha (Naomi Ackie,) who loves him as every different version of him. So, lying on his back in the ice, Mickey assumes he will be eaten. Instead, the creatures that approach him, dubbed “creepers” by Kenneth Marshall, lift Mickey up and carry him out of their caves. Mickey assumes they are considering him “bad meat,” and thinks nothing of it. He doesn’t consider the idea that they might be peaceful creatures or that they had attempted to communicate with him. He makes his way back to the ship, and is shocked to find that Mickey 18 has been created already. Considering that being caught would lead to death for both 17 and 18, the Mickeys (who are very different) face a number of darkly comedic situations that involve romance, rivalry, and the colonial nature of the ship’s mission.

Mickey 17 is a lot of fun and very strange. While the film was destined from the beginning to be more of a cult film than a full blown crowd pleaser (science-fiction dark comedy?  Those types of films can only make profit on smaller budgets because of their niche nature,) Mickey 17 is a charming and enjoyable film. Many have pointed out that this film finds Bong Joon-Ho operating on a less cynical or melancholy level than some of his prior works. The craftsman quality that has marked his prior pictures is fully on display here, with the film being meticulously conceived and created. Bong Joon-Ho spent years conceiving every shot on storyboards before they began principal filming. It is safe to say that the resulting film is exactly the way he wanted it to be. I love when filmmakers are given carte blanche to make what they want. Warner’s decision to hand over the amount of money that they did to finance this production will end up hurting their balance sheet, but as an audience member we certainly benefit. This is science fiction filmmaking on an epic scale.

Working with acclaimed cinematographer Darius Khondji, and an ingenious team of production designers, Bong Joon-Ho made a film that is as impressive visually as we are likely to see this year. The visual effects work is intricate and completely brings to life the world of Niflheim and the confusing future of our world. The picture intentionally used color layering for the costuming with the primary tone of gray in order to craft a less vibrant future. I really beleive that all the decisions made on shot compositions, costuming, and production were achieved at the highest level. Darius Khondji has been one of my most revered cinematographers since I saw his work on David Fincher’s Se7en, and his work on Mickey 17 is phenomenal. Watching the film on 4K it was obvious that no cost was spared in terms of the equipment they used.

The acting in the picture is of very high quality. Robert Pattinson at one point was branded as a teeny bopper icon by his performance in the Twilight films. Since that time, he has proven himself to be one of the most daring mainstream performers of his generation. If you have seen his turns in The Lighthouse, Good Time, or even his spin on The Batman, it should be obvious that Pattinson makes very deliberate decisions about the roles he takes and how he plays those roles. This is one of his best performances yet, with him taking on the daunting task of occasionally performing onscreen as two versions of the same character which need to be performed distinctly. He kills it. He is very good in the picture. Steven Yeun is a very good actor and I thought his recent role in Nope showed off his solid comedic timing. He is very funny in Mickey 17 as Mickey’s selfish partner in crime. Naomi Ackie is given the second most heavy lifting in the film as Mickey’s devoted girlfriend. She excels in the role, alternating between badass female warrior and sympathetic devoted girlfriend. Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette steal every scene in which they appear as the deranged leaders of the expedition. Every comic instinct that they rely on proves to be correct. Their onscreen chemistry together leads to some of the film’s best moments.

Overall, Mickey 17 is a strange and enjoyable film. While it may struggle to find an ideal audience due to its niche nature, I definitely enjoyed the picture and could easily see myself revisiting it again in the future.

Video

Warner Bros. presents Mickey 17 on 4K UHD with both HDR and Dolby Vision. Darius Khondji is a truly brilliant cinematographer, and Bong Joon-Ho is a meticulous director whom storyboards out everything in advance. The meeting of these minds leads to one of the most visually enticing pictures I have seen this year. Shooting the film on 8K digital film on Arri Alexa 65s and Mini LFs, it was quite obvious that no expenses were spared by Warner to bring to life Bong Joon-Ho’s vision. The fine detail is some of the best I have experienced on the 4K format. Truly remarkable. The HDR and Dolby Vision bring the finest out of the 4K elements. The production design and visual effects are stunning. This 4K earns a perfect score visually. Easily.

Audio

Like the visual aspects, Mickey 17 features a truly amazing Dolby Atmos surround track that uses every part of the Atmos directionality to its benefit. All I can say is, wow. Another perfect score here.

Supplements:

• Behind the Lens: Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17
• Mickey 17: A World Reimagined
• The Faces of Niflheim
• Trailers

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 1.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Mickey 17 is absolutely destined to gain cult status. The fact that Warner sank so much money into a quirky science fiction dark comedy while giving director Bong Joon-Ho carte blanche to craft his vision is honestly crazy, but the audience gains from their loss. Working with cinematographer Darius Khondji, Bong Joon-Ho has meticulously crafted a film that feels like a cross between films by Terry Gilliam and Denis Villeneuve. While watching the picture, I could not tell if I was going to enjoy the film or not for a little while, but by the end of it I was enthusiastically a fan. Robert Pattinson is fantastic in the picture, especially in the sequences that involve playing two very different versions of Mickey Barnes. I appreciate that Warner took such a big risk on making this film, and I hope that over time they can make back their investment, because I want more original films like this to be made. I imagine the status and prestige of this film will grow over time. I enjoyed it enough that I have actually started reading the novel on which the film was based. The Warner 4K is truly incredible technically. The supplements are brief but enjoyable. While the film will probably not appeal to everyone, this release comes highly recommended.