Playing like a greatest hits for Bong Joon Ho, Mickey 17 pulls elements from several of the Oscar winning director’s most acclaimed projects. What it’s missing, however, is the focused narrative and thematic purpose Ho’s past films have all thrived on.
That’s not to say this movie doesn’t still provide a fun, strange and occasionally thought provoking experience. It’s just that there are a few too many ideas rattling around that get in each other’s way. The profound concept of one soul and consciousness shared simultaneously between two beings is fascinating, but it’s never explored further than a few lines of dialogue. This could have given the film the emotional weight it needed amongst the zaniness of the science fiction and political elements, but it couldn’t strike that balance. The sociopolitical commentary is not subtle, nor is it trying to be, but it’s a little too on the nose, straying from satire into full on parody at times.
This is undoubtedly one of Robert Pattinson’s best performances. He’s fully able to capture the nuances and quirks required for playing two versions of the same person. The two Mickey’s play brilliantly off one another, with hilariously stark differences in demeanour. Although we know it’s one actor, Pattinson injects so much life and personality into each of them, making it easy to believe they’re two separate, but similar characters. Naomi Acki nails her role as Mickey’s love interest, and has some great scene stealing moments of her own. Mark Ruffalo hams it up to the extreme as a corrupt, larger than life politician, and while the performance is a lot of fun, it’s a little too goofy, even in the context of an already silly movie. Toni Collette, on the other hand, finds a perfect balance in tone, delivering one of the most entertaining performances in the movie.
Mickey 17 aims for the stars with its ambitious themes and ideas, but ultimately falls short due to its overly-busy nature. It emulates a lot of what worked in Bong Joon Ho’s previous work, but to diminishing returns. For all its unevenness and shortcomings, there’s still plenty of entertainment value here, mostly thanks to Pattinson’s committed dual performance.
3/5