Some five years after he made history with Parasite (the first international feature to win best picture at the Oscars), Bong Joon Ho has returned with his third English language feature, Mickey 17. It’s interesting to note that Bong’s Western films have all erred towards the fantastical – sci-fis with high concepts and zany performances. Whereas his South Korean output are, for the most part, domestic thrillers exploring an aspect of South Korea’s culture. And you can guess where Mickey 17 lands, a high concept sci-fi following a space worker who is an expandable – meaning he can keep dying and being printed again, a new version retaining the memories and personality of what has come before.
That’s not to deny a potent anger in Mickey 17, with a view of our future brimming with pessimism (perhaps rightfully so). This is a far sadder work then the marketing would have you believe, with an air of desperation to Robert Pattinson’s Mickey that makes the viewer pause. Even when it feels like the film is on the brink of embracing a more caper-like tone, Bong pulls the film back to the grim reality our protagonist lives in.
And Pattinson’s turn is the heart and soul of this work. With multiple versions to play, the actor does a good job of distinguishing them. The titular Mickey is a rather awkward figure, Pattinson adopting a Buscemi-esque lilt to his voice. Other versions of this character are brasher, more arrogant. It’s an interesting idea that doesn’t quite feel fully explored, getting lost as the film pings between different ideas. At times it’s a romance, aided by a stellar turn from Naomi Ackie’s Nasha, a fiercely compelling foil to Pattinson. Other times it’s an all-too on the nose metaphor for the state of the Western world. Our antagonists are Mark Ruffalo (in Poor Things’ smarm mode) and Toni Colette, and they’re more of a mixed bag, never quite landing the orange monstrosity they’re chasing. With this and the recent Captain America, one can’t help but think
And really Mickey 17’s problem is it is a tale of two halves – there’s the dour, grounded exploration of Mickey, and then there’s the brash, obvious satire. It means the likes of Steven Yeun, Patsy Ferran and Holliday Granger all get a bit lost, brimming with potential but lacking the room to make an impact.
And yet Bong Joon Ho is a director incapable of making a bad film. The craft here is exemplary with Jung Jae-il and Darius Khobdji giving the film a distinctively look and sound, whilst the design work from Fiona Crombie and Catherine George means this is a tactile, evocative environment to spend over two hours in.
When it works Mickey 17 is a rich, compelling vision of a future that feels all too real. And even when it doesn’t quite land, Bong creates an evocative world that we’re happy to spend a little bit longer in. Here’s hoping it’s not another five years before we see this auteur’s work on the big screen.