{"id":30792,"date":"2025-03-06T15:20:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T23:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=30792"},"modified":"2025-03-06T15:20:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T23:20:54","slug":"mickey-17-is-a-wild-and-unique-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=30792","title":{"rendered":"MICKEY 17 Is a Wild and Unique Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 137 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Warner Bros. opens exclusively in\ntheaters on March 7th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science-fiction often offers viewers adventurous and\nexciting trips to strange and incredible worlds. They can be a lot of fun, but\nthe best use plotlines, characters and fantastic situations to deal with\nrelatable issues. South Korean writer\/director Bong Joon-ho, who recently won\nmultiple Oscars with Parasite, has been doing this for some time, with pictures\nlike The Host<\/em> and science-fiction action film Snowpiercer<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His latest is Mickey 17<\/em>, an epic dealing with an\neasily manipulated, down-on-his-luck fellow who finds himself in a bizarre\nsituation. The movie takes on themes like identity and mortality, while also\ndelivering a biting satire of authoritarian leaders. There\u2019s an awful lot going\non here and it doesn\u2019t all land, but it is a wild ride with a very likable\nprotagonist and several unique tangents that provide plenty to ponder\nafterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mickey (Robert Pattinson) and his scheming pal Timo (Steven\nYuen) are broke and in deep trouble with a mobster. The two hear about\nnarcissistic politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Yifa (Toni\nCollette) leading an expedition to colonize a far-away planet, and see it as an\nopportunity for escape. Mickey joins the group as an \u201cExpendable,\u201d a worker who\nfrequently sacrifices his life for the mission, only to be copied and put back\non the frontlines. After dying horrible deaths in space and on the frozen,\nless-than-hospitable planet Nilfheim, he does find a companion in security\nagent Nasha Barridge (Naomi Ackie). However, his condition makes him an outcast\nto others, who think of him as nothing more than a piece of meat. Things get\nextra complicated when the 17th<\/sup> iteration of Mickey suffers an\ninjury, is assumed dead, and the newest clone arrives to take over his life.\nThis threatens the lives and futures of both Mickey 17 and 18, as it is illegal\nto have \u201cmultiples\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The tone here is comic, with early sections of the film\nelaborating on the process of being cloned and just how carelessly others treat\ncannon-fodder like Mickey. It does result in some amusingly gruesome deaths,\nboth accidental and intentional, as well as hilarious gags that show the\nscientists responsible for him barely paying attention as the newest edition\ncomes off of the assembly line. A lot of the dark humor works very well as the\nresigned Mickey narrates just how awful his existence can be, frequently hoping\nfor another quick and painless end (which rarely goes as smoothly as hoped\nfor).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Star Pattinson\u2019s nebbish mannerisms help keep the lead\nrelatable, the tone light, and make viewers feel sorry for him. But while there\nare plenty of laughs, there is interesting and unexpected drama. Mickey is\nconstantly pestered by others about what death feels like and almost no one\nrelates to him in a normal manner. Because of his meek personality, he\u2019s\nfrequently used and abused by others, even by the few who are close to him. It\ncreates an interesting dynamic as he begins to feel cheated and wants more out\nof his life. There are other clever observations to be made when Mickey 18\nappears, and it is clear that the two are not identical copies, but actually\nhave different personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The political satire is also effective, with Ruffalo and\nCollette exaggerating their character\u2019s nastiness for comedic effect. Some of\nthe behavior ventures close to over-the-top territory, but given the current\npolitical climate, it doesn\u2019t feel as inflated as it might have years ago. As\nthe story progresses and an alien species enters the plot, the film focuses on\nthe horrible treatment and plight of any lifeform that doesn\u2019t meet the\nleader\u2019s standards. And, of course, on a technical level the movie is impressive.\nThe snowbound locations and more claustrophobic interior spaceship areas are\nstriking, and the cinematography is first-rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As enjoyable as it is, there are some minor problems. The\nfinal act, which attempts to wrap up a number of story threads, could have used\na bit more trimming. Since it is dealing with so many concepts, including\nmortality, finding oneself in a meaningless existence, and the consequences of\ncloning, the script can\u2019t delve too deeply into the issues raised. And the\nfinal beat with one of the central characters doesn\u2019t make as big of an\nemotional impact as hoped for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mickey 17<\/em> is a bit quirky and overstuffed, but is a\nbold, entertaining science-fiction film chock full of big ideas. The film\u2019s\ntake on cloning and the unique complications on a person are unique. If you\u2019re\ninterested in a science-fiction epic that\u2019s more offbeat than typical genre\nfare, this should make a positive impression. And one even gets the feeling\nthat, like the main character, this picture may offer more and more with repeat\nviewings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 137 minutes This feature from Warner Bros. opens exclusively in theaters on March 7th. Science-fiction often offers viewers adventurous and exciting trips to strange and incredible worlds. They can be a lot of fun, but the best use plotlines, characters and fantastic situations to deal with relatable issues. South Korean writer\/director Bong Joon-ho, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[216,4524,5213,13265,13883,13884,13885,13886,14551,17182,17693,17775,18767,19106,23076,23989],"class_list":["post-30792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-216","tag-cloning","tag-dark-comedy","tag-mark-ruffalo","tag-mickey-17","tag-mickey-17-film-review","tag-mickey-17-movie-review","tag-mickey-17-review","tag-naomi-ackie","tag-robert-pattinson","tag-satire","tag-science-fiction","tag-space","tag-steven-yuen","tag-toni-collette","tag-warner-bros"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30792\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}