Following up Parasite was never going to be easy for Bong Joon-ho. The 2019 film was a global phenomenon, breaking language barriers at the Academy Awards and cementing Bong as one of the most exciting directors of his generation. With Mickey 17, his first film since that historic win, he dives headfirst into sci-fi, adapting Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7 with an all-star cast that includes Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, and Toni Collette.
Mickey 17 follows Mickey Barnes (Pattinson), an “Expendable” worker who is repeatedly cloned every time he dies while serving on a deep-space colonization mission. In this near-future, Earth is becoming uninhabitable, and the socioeconomic divide has grown insurmountable. Desperate to escape a violent loan shark, Mickey and Timo (Yeun) sign up for a dangerous space expedition to Niflheim, where Mickey assumes the role of an Expendable—dying over and over again in the name of scientific progress while retaining most of his memories.
Aboard the spaceship are a collection of eccentric figures, including Mickey’s love interest Nasha Barridge (Ackie), power-hungry politician Kenneth Marshall (Ruffalo), and his domineering wife Ylfa (Collette), who are hard to separate from their obvious real-world political inspirations—including current United States President Donald Trump. Much like Snowpiercer and Okja, Mickey 17 juggles big ideas about class division, environmental collapse, and capitalist exploitation. But unlike Parasite—or even Memories of Murder—the storytelling lacks focus.
The film swings wildly between satire, slapstick comedy, and high-concept sci-fi, creating a chaotic, uneven experience. At its best, Mickey 17 is a visually inventive genre film with moments of biting humor and thrilling action. The opening act, where Mickey’s many deaths and rebirths set the stage for the film’s central dilemma, is by far the most engaging and sharply paced and focused. The tension builds effectively as we learn that Mickey 17 is mistakenly assumed dead, leading to the creation of Mickey 18—a violation of strict cloning laws.
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Unfortunately, once the film expands in scope, Bong Joon-ho’s precision begins to unravel. The final act, which centers on Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 attempting to rescue massive, armadillo-like creatures called Creepers from Kenneth and Ylfa, arrives with little setup and lacks any emotional weight. The editing feels erratic, often undercutting momentum, and Ruffalo and Collette’s exaggerated performances make the film’s political critique feel more like broad parody than sharp satire.
While Mickey 17 boasts stunning sci-fi visuals and Pattinson’s quirky, committed performance—complete with a nasally accent that recalls his voice work in The Boy and the Heron—the film ultimately feels overstuffed and underdeveloped. Bong Joon-ho’s greatest works tend to reveal new layers on rewatch, with his comedies gaining more bite and his serious dramas revealing unexpected humor. For now, though, Mickey 17 feels like a messy, visually engaging ride that struggles to match the brilliance of its director’s best films.
Score: 6/10
Mickey 17 (2025)
- Cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steve Park, Anamaria Vartolomei
- Director: Bong Joon-ho
- Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
- Runtime: 137 minutes
- Rated: R
- Release Date: March 7, 2025
More Reviews for Movies Directed by Bong Joon-ho
Cinephile Corner has reviewed the following movies directed by Bong Joon-ho:
- Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000)
- Memories of Murder (2003)
- The Host (2006)
- Snowpiercer (2013)
- Parasite (2019)
- Mickey 17 (2025)
More Reviews for Movies Starring Robert Pattinson
Cinephile Corner has reviewed the following movies starring Robert Pattinson:
- The Batman (2022)
- The Boy and the Heron (2023)
- Mickey 17 (2025)