Movie Review: To Live is to die Again
For many people, their introduction to South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, was from the immense success of his previous film “Parasite” in 2019. His latest work, “Mickey 17,” pulls ideas from many of Joon Ho’s earlier works while also adapting the sci-fi novel “Mickey 7.” The film presents a fascinating dystopian sci-fi world that comments on our current political climate and the concept of progress versus ethics. It’s a movie that attempts to cram in as much discussion about these topics while never quite living up to the promises it sets up in its story. What you are left with is a delightful film that is slightly messy in ways.
The story of “Mickey 17” follows the life of Mickey Barnes, played by Robert Pattinson, who is a man down on his luck. He signs up to act as an “expendable” while on an intergalactic mission in an attempt to avoid paying off debt. The role of an “expendable” has Mickey taking part in life-threatening tasks with the promise that his body will be cloned again every time he dies. During his 17th iteration, a problem occurs, and he is cloned again without having died. This leaves two separate Mickeys alive, who then have to decide who gets to keep living.
While this film has a pretty basic plot, there are many other elements that make up its narrative. Concepts such as space colonization, forbidden technology, and interactions with alien life all play a big role in the setting. The movie uses these ideas to unsubtly deliver its messages, so much so that it can be too on the nose at times.
An example of these types of messages includes the villain Kenneth Marshall, played by Mark Ruffalo. He is a brazen, loudmouthed space dictator and a very clear stand-in for certain big-name figures in our modern age. The depiction of human cloning is ghastly and warns us of the dangers that come from not valuing human life. Even the inclusion of Creepers, the fictional alien species, is a clear message on how humans abuse our natural surroundings.
For the most part, I’m completely fine when a movie is obvious with its messages. My problem with it occurs when it continuously adds story beats without ending previous plot threads in a truly satisfying manner. It felt that the longer the movie went on, the more bloated it felt, when it really should have stuck to some of its more interesting concepts.
While I had issues with the film’s pacing, I still found a lot to like about this film. Pattinson gives a very charming performance as Mickey and is surprisingly able to give each iteration of Mickey their unique quirk. The movie is also visually gorgeous and interesting, especially if you are a fan of sci-fi.
It’s safe to say that I was disappointed with this film, especially when I compared it to “Parasite,” but I was still happy that I got to see it. I don’t think it is a film that deserves the low box office numbers it’s receiving. It is a refreshing original film in a sea of reboots and sequels, though I do wish it were a little better than it is.
