The title hero of the film experiences this “Mickey 17” – Mickey Barnes. A slightly blackened and clearly disappointed with his earthly life, a man reported to a lost mission. Its purpose is to invent the vaccine for the mysterious virus that he enveloped one of the planets. The term “loss”, however, does not matter here, because Mickey in his new role, the so -called “unnecessary” (from English “Expendable”), He has more live than a cat or even a few cats. At least seventeen. Even the most risky task during the mission is not a problem, because even if he dies and it happened to him sixteen times, very quickly, using technology, it arises from the dead. Only that enriched with the experience of earlier incarnation. The road to progress and capitalism rushing to break the neck apparently require victims. C’Est la Vie.
Mickey, like the entire crew of the space ferry, works for someone like Hieronymous Marshall. A man not too wise, not very brilliant and completely devoid of a sense of humor. The only thing it can impress is perfectly white teeth and lush hair. Marshall, whom he faithfully accompanies, suggesting him the missing words of his wife (played Toni Collette) He is a typical populist. A man who will do absolutely everything to achieve a goal and accumulate in his hand all available power. Sounds familiar? Even if the South Korean director does not directly admit that this is the caricature of Donald Trump, it seems obvious. Elon Musk also has his counterpart in the person of a crazy scientist, but this character is definitely less important for the plot of the film.
It is worth stopping at Marshall for a moment, primarily because of the actor playing her. It is Mark Ruffalowhich again, after “Poor beings” by Yorgos Lanthimos creates a creation worth at least Oscar nomination. Apparently a supporting, but at the same time so expressive that a separate story could be built around it.
The show, however, steals here Robert Pattinsonwho after the roles of David Cronenberg, Christopher Nolan or Robert Eggers, adds to his acting CV cooperation with another excellent author of modern cinema. This time, even in a double role, i.e. two subsequent versions of Mickey – 17 and 18. It so happened that as a result of a system error A new version of the hero was printed before the old man was killed. This is an important moment of the film, reminiscent of the whole discussion related to the subject of cloning people returning from time to time.
Two Pattinsons are quite pleasant to watchbut to the whole issue, especially from the ethical side, Bong Joon-Ho approaches very critically. The topics taken in the two director’s films mentioned above are also coming back. Therefore, from social issues of unevenness in outstanding “Umbrella”for a strong pro -ecological message from “Okjy”. Interestingly, this time the forces of nature are represented by strange, difficult to name creatures, which in “Mickey 17” resemble a lot of overgrown and, contrary to appearances, not so dangerous, earthworms.
It may be liked that the director from South Korea, on American land (his second film in English), did not allow that neither the great label, which is Warner Bros., nor before Netflix had his claws. The large budget and Hollywood stars in the cast are obviously not without significance, but all this is subordinated to a higher purpose, i.e. Bong’s artistic vision. Not the other way around, and we know the cases of creators from almost every continent who were lost in Hollywood and completely lost their own voice.
And even if there is too much of everything for me in “Mickey 17” (except Pattinsons), as a result, which is difficult to focus my attention on the essence of this story, I definitely prefer this creative chaos than a safe and efficient cinema.
7/10
“Mickey 17”dir. Bong Joon-Ho, USA 2024, distributor: Warner Bros., Cinema premiere: March 14, 2025.