Pop Commentary

“Mickey 17” is a science fiction black comedy satire that dives into the conflict between workers’ rights and the oligarchs who hoard wealth and power. Timely, right?

From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of “Parasite,” Bong Joon-Ho, comes his next cinematic experience. Robert Pattinson stars as Mickey Barnes, an “expendable” worker on a space colony—meaning every time he dies, he’s cloned and sent right back to work. But when they end up with two Mickeys at once, things spiral into chaos.

The gag

Robert Pattinson is Mickey 17, and he completely owns the role. At first, his weird voice is a little distracting, but you get used to it, and he actually makes Mickey charming in a slack-jawed, goofy kind of way. Watching him play two distinct versions of the same character is fascinating—he really sells the different personalities of the two Mickeys.

The supporting cast is stacked, too. Naomi Ackie continues to impress after “Blink Twice,” and Toni Collette is fabulous as always. I just wish Collette had more to do—she spends most of the film making sauces out of weird stuff when I was expecting her to be pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The film’s story structure is also interesting—the title card doesn’t even show up for quite a while, and the way we’re introduced to Mickey 17 and his backstory keeps you engaged.

The drag

Mark Ruffalo plays a blend of Trump and Musk as the power-hungry colony leader, but at times, it feels like he’s in a completely different movie. His delivery starts off fine but gets increasingly wacky as the film goes on, which gets a little grating.

Also, while I expected more scenes of multiple Mickeys on screen at once, the film doesn’t overdo it—which is fine, but it could’ve been fun to see more of that dynamic play out.

Final verdict

It’s not quite “Parasite” (but let’s be real, that’s a tall order). Still, “Mickey 17” is a sharp, visually stunning, and darkly funny sci-fi film with a timely message about labor and class struggle. If you’re into thought-provoking sci-fi, Robert Pattinson, or Bong Joon-Ho, you’ll probably like this one.