Mickey 17 Film Review: Satire Over Storytelling

Naomie Ackie and Robert Pattinson shine in Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, a film that’s more concerned with its surface-level satire of authoritarian regimes than with crafting a compelling sci-fi story.

If something went wrong and two of these “bodies” were to exist at the same time, would they still be the same person or would their different experiences alter their identities too? And who are we, really, underneath it all?

Though Mickey 17 does begin to explore some of these themes, writer-director Bong Joon-ho is more concerned with a different story: the fictional yet unmistakably familiar tale of a dictator who brings a bunch of people to space in order to create “a pure, white planet full of superior people.” Though fantastic acting and great comedic timing still make the film a compelling watch, Mickey 17 is ultimately too unfocused to really impress, feeling more like a surface-level analysis of colonisation, war, and authoritarian regimes than the kind of thought-provoking, philosophical sci-fi we’re used to seeing from the Parasite director.

At the center of this story, based on Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7” (2022), is the titular Mickey (Robert Pattinson, of The Batman). In the year 2050, a business venture with his friend Timo (Steven Yeun, if Okja) goes wrong and sees them both running from ruthless loan shark Darius Blank (Ian Hanmore, of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves). Both men take the idea of escaping to the extreme and apply for a colonization program that will allow them to flee Earth. Unlike Timo, Mickey doesn’t really have any skills, so he ends up applying for the only job he thinks he can get: he will become an “expendable”.

Which, it turns out, is a “pretty extreme” job, as scientist Dorothy (Patsy Ferran, of Living) puts it when he joins the program. Soon, Mickey finds out what she means. Since their self-centered, authoritarian leader Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo, of Poor Things) is taking them all toward the unknown, experiments will need to be made to ensure everyone’s survival. Mickey’s role consists of taking all these risks, from testing the air to contracting unknown viruses, subjecting himself to the harshest, most painful conditions and often dying as a result; but he doesn’t have to be permanently dead. Thanks to a machine created by the Colony, he will be reborn each time, his memories restored into a brand new body, made of human waste and “reprinted” each time he dies, creating new versions of himself.

Life in space is a miserable one; for Mickey, it mainly consists of submitting to painful deaths and eating meagre portions of tasteless food. One day, everything changes when he meets fellow traveler Nasha (Naomi Ackie, of Blink Twice); right away, the two fall in love and Mickey is not alone anymore. At first, the only threat to their relationship would seem to be another woman, Kai (Anamaria Vartolomei, of Medusa), not-so-subtly hitting on Mickey. Soon, our protagonists finds themselves dealing with something completely new: when the 17th version of Mickey is left to be eaten alive by the “creepers,” a newly discovered alien species that resembles a giant armadillo, Mickey 18 is created to replace him. But Mickey 17 doesn’t die, which means that both men exist at the same time. That “multiples” are illegal doesn’t make things any easier for both Mickeys, and neither does the fact that Mickey 18 is hellbent on murdering Kenneth Marshall.

Mickey 17‘s biggest strength lies in Naomie Ackie and Robert Pattinson, who are both superb as the movie’s protagonists. Ackie is undoubtedly the standout; even though she’s not in as many scenes as her co-star, she imbues Nasha with such raw emotion that we can’t take our eyes off her, and we are on her side at all times as we watch her react to many unexpected developments in relatable, often comedic ways. Pattinson had the difficult task of playing two characters, as Mickey 18 is a lot angrier and less patient than his predecessor, and it’s such a joy to watch them interact with one another. The Tenet star also excels at comedy, and his flawless line delivery and impressive body acting make for some genuinely funny scenarios that give both his characters and the film more charm.

Patsy Ferran and Anamaria Vartolomei shine too, playing two of the most well-rounded characters in the movie besides our protagonists. The world building is detailed and immersive, and the “creepers” in particular are really well-designed and animated. Both romance and comedy work and make for an overall enjoyable experience, even more so when we’re watching the two Mickeys interact with each other. The sound design (Eilam Hoffman, of Gravity) is also a highlight, fully immersing us into Mickey’s world and making the film a subtly sensorial experience too: we often don’t even realize that there’s any sound at all, yet it’s ever present and serves a specific purpose.

As for the other stars in the film, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, and Steven Yeun all do their best but are let down by the film’s screenplay. Ruffalo‘s character is quite clearly an analogy to Donald Trump, both for what he stands for and for the way he speaks, moves and even looks; yet this characterization is so obvious and surface-level – and his character so paradoxically irrelevant to the overall story – that Kenneth Marshall is not memorable in the slightest; on the contrary, he’s the most boring character in the movie.

Toni Collette‘s Ylfa, wife to Kenneth Marshall and obsessed with making weird sauces, is sadly just as uninteresting despite the star’s skills. From the first moment we see her, it’s quite obvious that she’s meant to be a sort of puppet master, whose role is to soothe and empower her husband. But the character never evolves beyond that role and keeps giving us more of the same throughout the movie, which makes most of hers and Marshall’s scenes irritating rather than amusing. As for Steven Yeun, his “Timo” is so painfully underdeveloped that he feels more like an accessory to the Mickeys than an actual human being, and despite Yeun’s best efforts, the gaps in the storytelling make Timo a forgettable character too.

Mickey 17 is movie that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. There are elements of political satire here, and as with most of Bong’s films, there’s a strong focus on the environment too, with the “creepers” assuming the role of harmless indigenous creatures colonized by an evil, narcissistic dictator. There is also some commentary on memory, identity, and death through the figure of Mickey himself. Yet, in the end, it’s all so surface level that the movie fails to tell us anything we didn’t already know about these subjects. On top of this, Mickey 17 is over two hours long yet feels like it ends before it begins, since the most interesting aspects of this story – Mickey’s identity once a final version of himself is born, and the community’s relationship with the “creepers” – are completely sidelined in favor of a rushed, underwhelming ending that leaves us wanting more.

In the end, the film is worth the watch for the premise, its performances, and its technical execution, which, combined, still make for a compelling, enjoyable story despite the lack of cohesion in its themes. Mickey 17 feels like one of the weakest entries in Bong Joon-ho’s filmography, but given the kind of storytelling the director has gotten us used to, it’s still a stronger movie than many other sci-fi films with similar premises.

Mickey 17 premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February 15, 2025. Read our Berlin Film Festival reviews and our list of 20 films to watch at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival!