At this time of year, there’s often a look back at the strongest films of the year, and discussions around awards always begin, too. While the debated tokenism of awards can be left by the wayside for now, one of the absences I’ve noticed from this year’s top film discussions isn’t an indie darling – it was a box-office bomb and had a budget of over $100 million – had an academy-award winning director at the helm, and noticeable stars. And yet, Mickey17 was one of the year’s strangest and best films.
Adapting the novel by Edward Ashton – following a man whose job on a space colony is to do all the riskiest jobs and be recycled into a new body if he dies – Bong Joon-ho (who won four Oscars in one night for Parasite) chose to follow-up the film that cemented his position a worldwide sensation after years of acclaimed films (ranging from Memories of Murder to Okja) in the most Bong Joon-ho way possible. After a grounded drama that reflects that dark, gritty side of late-stage capitalism and life in South Korea, of course Bong would make a bonkers science fiction film that features not one, not two, but over a dozen Robert Pattinsons (the title is a clue as to the number).
While Bong is beloved for his thrillers, it should never be forgotten that he also has a history of making creature features (The Host) and high-concept sci-fi (Snowpiercer). However, after a hit such as Parasite, I feel that most audiences wanted another film in the same vein. While Mickey17 shares many of Bong’s criticisms of capitalism and the way industries exploit human beings, it is decidedly more out-there, for lack of a better word.
Upon leaving the cinema on the film’s opening night, I heard three separate groups share the same complaint: ‘That was nothing like Parasite.’ This kind of unfair expectation can doom a film’s success, regardless of its quality, and Mickey17 is of the quality that comes with Bong’s work (having seen all of his films, I genuinely believe none of them are bad). Compounding this with the film’s originality – cloning after a terrible death, but for the good of the company – and Bong’s unique sense of humour, this film should still be in the conversation at this time of year.
And that’s not even considering the cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, and Toni Collette, among many other talented performers provide uniformly great performers, but it’s Pattinson who stands out. Continuing his run of being predictably unpredictable in his choice of roles (I’ve seen him play a mentally handicapped young man, a brutish thug who operates purely on impulse, a lone father in space, and Batman, among other roles), Robert Pattinson gives over 110% to the role of a wimp (his own words) who has gotten himself into an increasingly worse situation that ends up with him constantly dying. Something tells me that Pattinson relishes confusing audiences with his diverse choices, and we should be here for it; he’s never taken the easy route and coasted off the prospect of playing the same character, which, at the same time, is a very him thing to do.
Between the incredible people in front of and behind the camera, Mickey17’s failure at the box office and seeming absence from the best of 2025 discussion is a crime that should be remedied, and soon. It’s the only film I’ve seen this year which includes Robert Pattinson releasing a high-pitched scream, Toni Collette being obsessed with extra-terrestrial protein sources, oddly cute alien creatures, and doodles of sex positions being relevant to the ending.
