On January 20, a screening of footage partially revealed Bong Joon-Ho’s long-awaited new film, “Mickey 17.” This marks the director’s first project in six years since “Parasite” (2019). Based on the novel “Mickey 7” by American author Ashton Edward, the film delves into a futuristic narrative with a strong philosophical undertone.
A unique vision on the expendable human
The 20-minute preview mainly showed Mickey’s origin story, an “expendable” who undertakes dangerous tasks in place of others. In the film, “Expendables” refer to disposable humans created to handle dangerous missions on extraterrestrial planets. A unique feature of these beings is their ability to regenerate immediately after death, with memories preserved and uploaded into a new body – what Bong Joon-ho describes as “human imprint”. However, one critical rule governs their existence: only one version of a flavor can exist at a time. The film’s main conflict arises when this rule is broken.
While the preview suggests that Bong Joon-ho follows the structure of the novel closely, he adds his own twists. One notable change is Mickey’s backstory. In the original novel, Mickey is a historian, but in the film he is a failed small business owner who once ran a macaron shop with his friend Berto (played by Steven Yeun). This version of Mickey endured death 17 times, far more than in the book, after volunteering to become a sage to escape debt collectors.
Mickey’s background shift reflects Bong Joon-ho’s intention to play a more relatable working-class protagonist. This aligns with the broader themes the director is known for: criticisms of social hierarchy, capitalism, and the devaluation of human life.
In a preview scene, Mickey is tasked with measuring radiation levels, lingering gruesome injuries as his skin melts and his hand is severed. Despite his visible suffering, his superiors demand that he push further for achievement, reflecting an unshakable focus on goals over humanity.
Bong Joon-ho balances this dark commentary with his mix of comedy and satire. While he insists that “Mickey 17” is not overtly political, he acknowledges that the film contains layers of sociopolitical criticism, just like his previous works.
Creatures and an All-Star cast
Interestingly, the film introduces a new genre element: creatures. While the novel presents few details about the alien lifeforms, Bong Joon-ho’s imagination vividly brings them to life as enormous, ash-colored entities with indistinct features. This element is reminiscent of the monstrous figures in his previous films, “The Host” and “Okja”.
Driving the narrative, Robert Pattinson delivers a compelling performance as Mickey. Known to Korean audiences for his role in “The Batman,” Robert Pattinson captures the essence of an ordinary, reluctant hero caught in extraordinary circumstances, eliciting roles typically played by Song Kang-ho in Bong Joon-Ho’s Korean films. Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo, in his first villainous role, adds intrigue as a calculating politician.
The final highlight of “Mickey 17” would have to be its ending. Unlike Bong Joon Joon-Ho’s previous films, which often end on a dark note, the original novel ends with Hope. “Mickey 7” decides to stop uploading his consciousness and embrace life as a human. If maintained, this uplifting resolution could mark a surprising departure for Bong Joon-ho, serving as the film’s most pivotal turning point.
The full version of “Mickey 17” will debut at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17. Its official release dates are February 28 in South Korea and March 7 in North America, with respective age ratings of 15+ and R.
