With Mickey 17 finally in theaters, we went to see the latest film from Bong Joon-ho to see if it lived up to the hype.

After being delayed several times, Mickey 17 is finally playing in theaters and I was intrigued enough by the trailers to see what the film was all about. The film is based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton and stars Robert Pattinson as the titular Mickey, an “Expendable” worker who is physically printed into a new body every time he dies while on a dangerous mission to establish a human colony on the hostile planet Niflheim.

Bong Joon-ho

Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo

Warner Bros. Pictures

Release Date: March 7, 2025

Each death is painful and torturous, but Mickey seems content with being the expedition guinea pig…until one day the 17th Mickey (or Mickey 17) is mistakenly declared dead leading to Mickey 18 being generated while the previous Mickey is very much alive. As one might expect, chaos results from this, as multiple copies of a person aren’t supposed to exist at the same time.

I knew going in that Mickey 17 was a dark comedy, but I didn’t realize just how dark it was going to be. Even when various characters are establishing relationships and finding joy in the little things, the overall atmosphere of the story is just depressing. Watching Mickey get mistreated and, quite frankly abused by the expedition scientists is hard to watch at times. Most of the characters treat his multiple deaths with such casualness it makes one wonder what human society has devolved to that the majority of people are just okay with this.

That being said, there are glimmers of hope sprinkled throughout the story and the ending at least hints that humanity’s future, at this colony at least, could be less messed up and more hopeful than what it used to be. It’s good the director ended on a hopeful note, as it helps to counteract the utter depression and depravity that came in the previous two hours, most of which is centered in Mark Ruffalo’s character.

I could literally write an entire essay on Mark Ruffalo’s character in this film and how this particular depiction is absolutely a product of the unsettling times we currently live in. I’ve seen examples in older films of how certain characters are plainly meant to be parodies or imitations of real life people who were relevant at the time the film was made. However, I can’t recall the last time a send up of this nature hit me quite so hard or appeared so timely as this one. In so many words, without naming names, it’s blindingly obvious who Mark Ruffalo’s character is imitating and his fate should keep people talking for quite some time.

Speaking of what will keep people talking, one detail that got my attention for all the wrong reasons was a scene of what can only be described as animal cruelty. Granted, the being in question was not real, but the depiction was so realistic it made me very uncomfortable and doubtless affected others the same way. I understand the point the director was trying to make, but this moment felt like a step too far. It’s hard to make a point if the audience gets completely turned off.

By far the best part of this film is Robert Pattinson’s performance as the various Mickey’s who appear throughout the story. The contrast in particular between Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 is spectacular to watch play out. I knew Pattinson had developed quite a range in his acting, but seeing it play out in real time like this was a sight to behold.

The film did do a good job with its general depiction of extraterrestrial life. The concept of mistaking an alien species as non-sentient because it isn’t humanoid has been done many times before (Star Trek has numerous examples), but the way Mickey 17 presents the issue feels surprisingly realistic given the over-the-top nature of most of the story. I really like how these creatures were animated and brought to life; they felt like they belonged on Niflheim.

For the most part Mickey 17 completely hits the mark and is definitely one of the best films to come out in the first part of this year. Whether this is your first Bong Joon-ho film or whether you’ve seen them all, everyone is sure to find something to like in this story.