Mikey 17, like all of Bong Joon-ho’s movies, is playing with a great number of big ideas. There’s the idea of expendable humans and the value of life. He touches on ideas of immigration and colonialism. There are even not-so-subtle hints at the current American presidential administration. This is all done under the backdrop of a frozen newly discovered planet in a not-too-distant future.

Mikey 17 has a lot of big ideas and to be fair, lands most of them. The film is scored and shot in a way that is fun and playful, making the film feel less of a burden than his previous Oscar winner Parasite. Robert Pattinson is genuinely funny in his role as the ever-cloned Mikey, and the supporting characters have charm and humor galore. However, the film too often flirts with parody to make it a film that will last for generations.

A Copy Of A Copy Of A

The film begins with Mikey 17, the 17th iteration of Mikey Barnes played by Robert Pattinson, left for dead on a dangerous expedition in a foreign ice land. Pattinson provides voiceover narration for the film, which allows the movie to quickly breeze through all the scientific advancements Mikey 17 is offering. Mikey doesn’t understand how the science behind cloning people works, so the audience isn’t burdened with that knowledge either. We just know it was invented and is now being exploited by failed politician Kennet Marshall played deviously by Mark Ruffalo.

Ruffallo’s performance is my main gripe with Mikey 17. He isn’t bad in his role, but he is clearly taking inspiration from Donald Trump. He has faux hard-to-place accents, red hat-wearing supporters, and a below-average intelligence masked by the army of yes-men surrounding him. It’s a deliberate choice, but one that I fear immediately ages the film. We’ll always look back at Mikey 17 and see Ruffalo doing the same little arm thing as Trump and immediately know when this movie was made and what it’s trying to say.

Human Guinea Pig

Those small quibbles aside, the main crux of the plot is engaging and a joy to watch. Pattinson is doing great work as both Mikey 17 and his unauthorized multiple Mikey 18. 17 is a fun-loving goofy character with an almost New York accent that is brimming with “Aww Shucks” vibes. He plays the role just as you’d imagine someone who volunteered to a life of dismemberment and reanimation.

Mikey 18 is a bit of a psychopath. He has many of the same quirks and mannerisms as 17 but is much more concerned with revenge and survival than his previous iteration. I won’t spoil where the film goes, but it’s a delight watching Pattinson play off himself and his fellow co-stars.

Expendable

There are many themes Joon-ho is going for, but the largest and best presented is that of expendable humans. People we view as less than. It’s a theme he’s shown many times before in Snowpiecer and Parasite, but with the story of Mikey 17, he’s able to drive the point home stronger than ever before.

While this story is based on a novel, Bong Joon-ho has written the screenplay in addition to directing. The narrative he’s formed here is one that allows people to say the quiet part out loud. The thing so many of his characters believe but could never say to someone’s face. They tell Mikey right to his face, that his life doesn’t matter. It’s a life that’s less important than theirs and the narrative rings all the more true when Mikey is face to face with the ego-maniacal Kenneth Marshall. It’s a story that was built for Joon-ho and one that he captures with his expert precision.

Stranger In A Strange Land

The other actors in the film do a fine enough job, it’s just a shame they don’t have as much to work with. Toni Collette plays Yilfa, the out-of-touch wife to Ruffalo’s Kenneth Marshall. She does an amazing job with her performance and is the only real fleshed-out character outside of Mikey and Kenneth.

Steven Yeun plays Timo, Mikey’s friend from Earth, and Naomi Ackie plays Nasha. Mikey’s girlfriend who has stuck with him through every death and subsequent rebirth. They are both doing a fine job in their roles, they just have little to do and barely there character arcs. Yeun’s character is a schemer who always seems to come out on top. It’s fun to watch this, but we never see him face any real consequences or have a change of heart. Nasha has an arc, but she is essentially painted as the angelic heroine throughout the film so her eventual triumph feels more prophesized than earned. Still, they do a good enough job rounding out the cast and providing a team for the Mikeys to go to work.

Dying To Live

Mikey 17 is a great film from a great director. But it never reaches the highs of some of Joon-ho’s earlier work. It’s a fantastic script with great characters and an interesting setting. But a few choices keep it just shy of being a new masterpiece. While I appreciate what Ruffalo is doing with the Marshall character, I would have preferred if his portrayal was less on the nose. A bit of subtlety would have gone a long way in keeping the character grounded and feeling less like a bad Trump impression.

I have nothing but praise for Pattinson’s performance though and I’m really enjoying watching this actor take on such interesting roles. He has been able to bring his own style to everything from a psychotic lighthouse keeper to Batman, with each performance feeling fresh and new. His role here may be my favorite of his ever-growing list of parts. It’s the narrative and themes though that really make Mikey 17 worth watching. Bong Joon-ho has the perfect premise to deliver his themes and he’s able to deliver a pretty fun sci-fi flick in the process. It may not be as great a triumph as Parasite, but it’s a terrific film that is more than worth your time.