Mini Film Review – Mickey 17

I have just watched Mickey 17; and it was perfectly balanced…between good, and bad! Directed by Bong Joon Ho, and starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, and Mark Ruffalo, and based on the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton; Mickey 17 is a science fiction black comedy movie, about an expendable clone, who is ‘re-printed’ every time he dies, for research purposes! There is a common expression which describes something as divisive, it being something you love, or hate. The term is Marmite, and it refers to the food spread of the same name. The reason I bring this up, is that somehow, this film is placed directly in the middle of that divide. Mickey 17, is an interesting film, that is both good, and bad. It has good qualities, but is perfectly balanced out by the bad. Good Points:

• The special effects are incredible,
• The core cast are pretty good,
• And some of the more silly bits, are potentially laugh out loud funny.

Bad Points:

• The plot is hard to follow in a coherent fashion,
• There’s too much commentary going on,
• And the Creeper Creatures are frequently grotesque to look at.

Basically, the film is hard to follow, as it tries to allow as much social commentary as possible, branching into topics such as human cloning, politicians too focussed on personal image rather than actually leading a nation, and the possible pitfalls of planetery colonization. Plus those creatures, are very grotesque. Seriously they are frequently off putting (best not eat any snacks when watching this film…just in case), they are actually putting me off watching this film again. There’s just too much stuff here, to follow. And the thing that usually stands out so well with Bong Joon Ho’s work, is the twist. Virtually every film features an earth shattering twist, but here, there isn’t one, or if there is, its very subtle. But, despite it’s issues, there is stuff to enjoy. Being such a weird film, that crosses into several genre’s, your attention from the screen is never diverted. Bong Joon Ho never wastes a second, and there is always something going on. So basically, this film is perfectly perched between good and bad. If someone else had directed it, it would be either, not both. It takes real skill, to get it perfectly in the middle!