The idea of Robert Pattinson playing a dual role sounds like a lot of fun. And what’s more, it’s the long-awaited new movie from Bong Joon-Ho, the acclaimed Korean auteur who hit double jackpots for Parasite after winning Palme d’Or and multiple Oscars including the historic Best Picture victory.
But before we get to the dual Robert Pattinson playing two Mickeys, the first act focuses on how it all happens from the beginning. Adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, Mickey Barnes has been down on his luck because of his bad investment with his so-called best friend and business partner, Timo (a sneaky Steven Yeun), leaving them heavily in debt. So, they decide to escape from the loan sharks by joining the space expedition to planet Niflheim. Led by former Trump-like politician, Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette), the primary aim of the expedition is to find a new colony for the human populations.
While Timo is lucky enough to swindle his way to the position of a pilot, Mickey signs up to be an “expendable” instead. His job is equivalent to a career suicide, both literally and figuratively since he’ll be subjected to a series of cloning using a state-of-the-art machine with his memory intact. The repeated cloning process is meant for multiple Mickeys – starting from Mickey 1 and so on – to go on science-focused missions.
Each Mickey ends up dead in different ways, which I figure Joon-Ho might go for a Groundhog Day-like route (the one where Bill Murray’s frustrated weatherman character attempted suicide multiple times, only to be back in square one). In the case of Mickey, every time he dies, his body will be disposed down into the incinerator and re-scanned again. Seeing him die again and over again more than 10 times offers Joon-Ho the chance to create comedy gold except the copious gags somehow get tedious after a while.
When Mickey’s not on a mission, he’s pretty much a lonely guy until he meets security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie) while eating at the canteen. The two hit it off from the first time they lay eyes on each other. Although the first act meanders around with its exposition-heavy moments, I do enjoy the instant spark in the chemistry between Pattinson and Ackie.
The second act does show some improvements, particularly the introduction of the two Mickeys. Well, Mickey 17 and 18, to be exact. By law, only a single copy of a human being is legally allowed to be re-scanned one at a time but Mickey 17, who is supposed to die, somehow alive under an unlikely circumstance. This is where the real fun kicks in as the presumably-dead Mickey 17 manages to return to the ship and soon, he finds himself with a bigger problem: Mickey 18 happens and turns out to be a wild and volatile copy. The contrast between the timid Mickey 17 and the temperamental Mickey 18 allows Pattinson to have a field day playing the dual role with starkly different personalities. Both 17 and 18 don’t see things eye to eye, leading to constant bickering and at one point, trying to kill each other. Complicating matters are 18’s hidden agenda and not to forget, another security agent named Kai (a ravishing Anamaria Vartolomei), who is also caught in the middle of the mess.
Beyond the zany fun of having Pattinson playing two Mickeys, Joon-Ho’s adapted screenplay also touches on various themes told in a darkly satirical manner, which has been part of the auteur’s signature filmmaking traits. Only this time, familiar subjects of the negative impact of colonialism (evidently in Marshall and Ylfa’s tyrannical approach in messing up the alien species nicknamed “creepers”, which have inhabited the Niflheim planet even before the human’s arrival), fascism and class divide (among the recurring ones seen in Snowpiercer and Parasite) are broadly executed without delving deep into the surface. As I watch Mickey 17, I can’t help but wonder if the movie is locally produced in his native country with a Korean cast, the result might be more impactful in his execution.
On the acting front, Pattinson may have been a scene-stealer here but Joon-Ho doesn’t forget to bring out the best in the rest of the cast. This includes Ackie’s vibrant supporting turn as Mickey’s lover, Nasha while Ruffalo and Collette sure enjoy chewing up the scenery in their conniving roles as Marshall and Ylfa. After Parasite, I was expecting another greatness from Bong Joon-Ho, only to end up with an erratic, though still-decent entry in Mickey 17.
