Its Guys Like You Mickey

The title character of Mickey 17 is the 17th iteration of Mickey Barnes, a failed entrepreneur played by Robert Pattinson who has fled Earth (and a particularly unpleasant loan shark) by signing up to be an "expendable" on a voyage to colonise a new planet. This means he takes on all the most dangerous jobs and simply has his personality and memories uploaded to a newly printed body upon his inevitable death. By the time we meet him, lying at the bottom of a frozen ravine waiting to die, the four year space journey is over and and the ship's inhabitance are trying to get a foothold on the frozen hellscape of planet Niflheim. The first portion of the film sees Mickey recount the events that led to him being in such a situation, fleeing Earth after the collapse of his and dubious best friend Steven Yuen's macaron business, beeing manipulated into becoming an expendable, his relationship with security officer Nasha (Naomi Ackie) and the deaths of many of the proceeding Mickeys. The story then picks up with 17 returning to the ship to discover that, him being presumed dead, another Mickey has been printed. This is a bit of problem since the rules state that in the case of "multiples" both individuals are to be erased.

Mickey 17 has a lot going on. A lot. This is not director Bong Joon-Ho in the intricate sketching mode of Parasite, this is him cashing in his Oscar chips on a bold, big brush strokes sci fi concept movie. He makes the most of the budget with a grimy, industrial future setting and an atmospherically chilly alien world. If you are looking to liken things to the directors previous work, we are in the ballpark of "Snowpiercer" and "Okja", although this has more strings than either. The mixture of brutal space survival, high concepts and mad cap comedy gives notes of cult sci fi show "Red Dwarf" and we even get a long panning shot of the ship exterior.

The clone idea is the heart of the film and it asks interesting questions about accountability and cheapening of life. While some films treat cloning as a form of immortality, it is made clear here that death is death and shared memories don't make up for that. Mickey 18 is a very different person to the number before him. With that in mind, the whole endeavour becomes fairly horrific and the blasé attitude to Mickey's various lives from other crew members is chilling. That director and cast are able to keep the laughs coming in such a bleak scenario is testament to the talent on display.

While the clones provide plenty of thematic material, there are other concepts on show that could be whole films of their own. This is a first contact movie with some not so positive or subtle ideas on colonialism and groovy alien lifeforms. Its a satire of cult politicians, there fanatic followers and shadowy corporate backers, with Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette putting in unhinged performances as religion espousing failed congressman (yes his supporters do wear red) Kenneth Marshall and his controlling, culinary obsessed wife Ylfa. There is also plenty of the biting class commentary you expect from a Bong Joon-Ho movie. The denizens of the ship eat mush and have calorie limits, they aren't even supposed to have sex as it wastes energy, but are assured it will all lead to a life of plenty eventually. Meanwhile the Marshall's fine dine and dream of creating new sauces to prove their civility. Mickey himself is literally printed from the ship's recycled crap.

Pattinson's off kilter performance completely captures the blend of grim futurism and absurd comedy. The only thing more ridiculous than his haircut is his accent (which he tried to convince his non native English speaking director was a regular Pittsburgh drawl), as Mickey 17 stammers his way through one horrendous task after another. Then 18 arrives and is a different kettle of fish all together, aggressive almost to the point of being deranged, he wants to burn the whole thing down. For vocal inspiration Pattinson says he drew on wacky 90s cartoon "Ren and Stimpy" and that is a good indication of the vibe on display. Ackie is also great and her Nasha is more than just Mickey's love interest, she is his possessive protector and the more we learn about their relationship the more real it feels. It's this grounding relationship that allows some of the other cast to go completely off the deep end with their performances and not alienate the audience.

It may be tempting to label Mickey 17 as overstuffed or claim Joon-Ho has bitten off more than he can chew but it is more accurate to say he has bitten off exactly the amount he can chew and is asking the audience to digest it with him. The film is certainly packed to the brim but surely that's to be lauded, not lambasted. It will be a long before we see another sci fi thinker given this kind of big budget shine.

9 genetically pure colonies out of 10.

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