Dying for a Living

Mickey 17 [2025]

Film

Unlikely hero Mickey Barnes finds himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.

Can you believe it's been five years since Parasite cleaned up at the Oscars? If you remember that night, it became the first non-English-language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, a perfect bookend to it winning the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. As we discussed recently, a film winning both of these major awards has only happened four times ever, which should put into perspective how impressive it is that Anora just accomplished this same feat. In the wake of winning three Academy Awards in one night (four if you include the non-competitive Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, which is awarded to the country as a whole and is not accepted by the winning film's director), Parasite was instantaneously and universally hailed as a masterpiece and its South Korean director, Bong Joon Ho was coronated a master of the form and one of our foremost contemporary filmmakers. It is not overstating things to say this felt like a watershed moment, for Hollywood, for the Academy Awards, and perhaps most importantly, for Bong himself.

Fast forward a half-decade to current day, and it is irrefutable that a lot has happened since that night, including but not limited to: the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency; global economic recession and inflation surges; countless environmental disasters happening all around the world intensified by climate change; political polarization, the rise of neo-nationalism, and the global fallout of civil and social unrest (see the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War); subsequent humanitarian crises related to migration and refugeeism; and cutting edge technological advancement of artificial intelligence and automation. Yikes is right. I left out a few specific things from that list, including an insurrectionist mob that threatened to overthrow the United States government, as well as the re-election of an American president who became only the second US president to serve non-consecutive terms and the first convicted felon to work out of the Oval Office. I'm guessing that list of depressing events wasn't in your 5-year plan. But alls to say that the world is very different now than it was when Bong and Parasite were given a standing ovation at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles (is now the time to mention that the same aformentioned US president made xenophobic and racist remarks mocking Parasite's historic victory? Are you the least bit surprised?)...

Albeit of lesser importance, a lot has happened in the world of movies since Parasite won, too: the rise and dominance of streaming services, the struggle and decline of the theater industry, the studios' reliance on franchise expansion, and consumers' changing preferences for content consumption, just to name a few. We talk about these trends to a nauseating degree. For Bong, moving on creatively from one of the most important films of the 21st century poses an immenese challenge – some might even say burdenous responsibility (Parasite was ranked number 90 (tie) in the prestigious Sight and Sound's 2022 Greatest Films of All Time Critics Poll). If you're familiar with Bong's filmography, you'll already know he sets the bar quite high for himself. Beyond just Parasite, his films are renonwned for being meticulously directed, containing great thematic depth, and juggling sharp tonal shifts. Bong has a knack for bending genre to his will, exploring the human condition with a wickedly dark sense of humor, and rather than shying away from them, he is fearless in his ability and willingness to comment on social issues.

If you've made it this far, thank you for hanging in there with me and my long windedness. I realize there wasn't a scrap of film analysis or a kernel of criticism in those opening 600 words, but I do think all that table setting is important to unpacking and understanding Mickey 17. Heavily-anticipated and heavily-delayed (more on that in a minute), this sci-fi black comedy is Bong's eighth directorial feature, his third English-language film, and it has far and away the largest working budget of his career (with an estimated $118 million production budget and $80 million marketing spend). Safe to say the stakes are pretty high for this one, wouldn't you agree Warner Bros? What is evidently clear is that Mickey 17 is the movie after the movie, a blank check movie, a no-expense-spared movie, the kind of movie you only have the leverage to make after you're the toast of the town and everyone wants in on whatever you're selling.

SPOILERS APLENTY

Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) is disposable, an "Expendable" if you will (no, not that kind of Expendable). He is assigned all the most dangerous tasks necessary on a mission to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Should he die (more like when he dies), another Mickey is cloned and regenerated with most his core memories restored. Things get complicated quickly when Mickey 18 is regenerated after Mickey 17 is presumed dead but ultimately survives. Mickey 17's and Mickey 18's coexistence is at best complicated and at worst impossible, especially since the expedition's egomaniacal leader (former failed politician), Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), has mandated that "Multiples" (simultaneously living clones) are not allowed and has vowed kill any who are identified without question. There are tardigrade-like lifeform (referred to as "creepers"); there is a B-plot that involves the romantic entanglements between the Multiple Mickeys and one of the ship's security guards who happens to be Mickey's love interest, Nasha (Namoi Ackie); and there a lot of half-baked but still interesting B-storylines that weave in Marshall's conniving wife Ylfa (Toni Collette) and Timo (Steven Yeun), a pilot who is Mickey's friend from Earth.

Mickey 17 [2025]

Adapted from Edward Ashton's novel, "Mickey7," Mickey 17 is written by Bong but really it is more of an interpretation of its source text than it is an adaptation. The screenplay absorbs the best ideas from Ashton's novel and repurposes the story beats that slot neatly tie-in to and continue Bong's broader filmmaking project. Unfortunately, the script's silly-but-serious tonal shape-shifting is what may be challenging for some to stay locked in and invested in the characters and story. Is this supposed to be a satire or farce? Do the laughs balance out or undermine the knotty themes at work? I think the problem is the movie doesn't really iron out some of these details, and the finished product doesn't fully come together – it's okay for things to be little messy along the way, but the film's final shape shouldn't seem mushy. As someone who read the book (not a flex), I did feel like the overall pacing was a bit uneven, not because of the nonlinear narrative (which is true to the book), but because the jumping around didn't seem to lead the audience anywhere emotionally. Adapting a book for the screen can be a tricky business, but I think taking a few more creative liberties might have really helped in this case.

Even still, there really is a lot to like. The story and subjects at the center of Mickey 17 are extremely well-suited to Bong's skillset as a filmmaker and his unique perspective as a storyteller. Like Snowpiercer and Okja, his other two English-language films, this film has its own distinct look, feel, and vibe; from a sci-fi world-building perspective, the production design and visual effects are world-class. There is a stable of top-notch below-the-line craftspeople who worked on this project, a talented collection of Bong's frequent collaborators: the cinematography by Darius Khondji is marvelous, the editing by Yang Jin-mo is tight, and the score by Jung Jae-il doesn't necessarily stand out but isn't distracting and fits in nicely.

Now in terms of the acting, Bong, in the wake of his post-Parasite success, was able to secure a big budget to bring in a collection of some our greatest living on-screen performers. Your mileage may vary with each actor's choices along the way, but it is inarguable that Yeun, Collette, Ackie, and even Ruffalo bring their all to the table. Sure, maybe Yeun doesn't have much to do, and Collette is more restrained than usual, and Ackie has to often act as the center of gravity, and Ruffalo may be doing a shitty Trump-but-not-Trump impersonation, but I still think there is a lot to enjoy with what each of them is doing minute-to-minute. And then there's Pattinson, who has been, if you haven't noticed yet, one of our best working actors for the better part of the last decade. He is asked to shoulder the emotional stakes of the film (similar to what Matt Damon had to do in The Martian) but he also has to deliver a multi-faceted performance (well, performances) and holding together the whole concept of what it means to be an "Expendable" or a "Multiple." This performance is maybe the best showcase of Pattinson's dynamic range, his subtle but powerful control and restraint, and the incandescent starpower and presence he has as a movie star. In a just world, he will at least be in the coversation for Best Actor for his work here, but also, I am confident his time as a leading man will be long and prosperous.

I do have a somewhat intrusive thought/question: does the fact that Mickey 17 is unlikely to break even business-wise say more about audiences and the movie-going apparatus than it does about Bong or the movie itself? Sure, maybe it was just nearly impossible to market effectively. Or maybe the rigmarole of creative control slowly eroded Bong's creative vision (he fought tirelessly for final cut, which is why the film was delayed so many times). Or, it could be that the tepid response of Mickey 17 has more to do with the insurmountable expectations and unwavering embrace of Parasite. Instead of giving the people what they want, Bong decided to give the people what they need, which simply stated, is something different – and this time, he decided to not say it in Korean. His English-language films are obviously tailored towards an American audience, and Mickey 17, in particular, is his biggest commercial swing to date. Perhaps something does get lost in translation, but regardless, Bong's films are still more thought-provoking to engage with and more visually interesting to experience than the majority of films being released in 2025. He is and always has been a true artist and looking backwards will never be as satisfying as looking forward.

It's hard to say now whether or not the appreciation for Mickey 17 will grow in time. Maybe it just kind of missed and is misunderstood. Because Bong is Bong, his bar is simply higher than it is for most other filmmakers. I'm generally of the opinion that "the bigger the swing, the larger the curve I grade it on." I admit that I am probably somewhat protective of his films and of him as a creative, and while I can't just hand out an A for effort, I think his latest film is being somewhat taken for granted and graded against too steep of a curve. Despite some of the criticism, some of which is warranted, Mickey 17 is a bold and an urgent film made for modern times that has ideas about the here and now of living on Earth. It manages to be both actively and passively political, philosophical, and psychological. It uses genre and relies on fiction to tell what is truly a human story, one that is funny on the surface but horrific underneath. Mickey 17 is flawed but ambitious, challenging but rewarding.

Froth

Hello darkness my old friend – I've come to drink with you again. Meet Orin, a veteran of Half Acre's our barrel program. Orin is a bourbon barrel aged strong ale that clocks in with heavyweight ABV of 13.9%, which honestly at that point, don't you just round up and call it an even 14.0%? There are some obvious notes of whiskey and oak (attributable to the barrel, duh), but then their website mentions notes cremé brulee, savory prune jam, and sticky molasses. With its complex maltiness and higher hop rate, Orin is described as "perfect for these cooler evenings that are made for introspective sipping beer." That may be, but it is also the kind of beer that you drink when seriously only want to have one beer because my gawd a beer packing that kind of punch will hit you in the jaw, the stomach, the liver, and of course, the taste buds. I'm not selling this the right way - Orin is delicious. I mean, really delicious. It's a limited release, and I'm struggling with the idea that my other can might have to sit for a bit just so I can enjoy it in a few months' time. Half Acre never misses, but this is an all-timer.