‘Mickey 17’ Offers Glimmers of Hope Amidst Dystopian Capitalism
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Mickey 17.
Around the release of his Oscar-winning film Parasite, the first foreign-language movie to win Best Picture, director Bong Joon-ho spoke about why the South Korean dark comedy resonated with audiences globally. He stated that “essentially, we all live in the same country, called Capitalism.”
Bong’s previous works, such as the 2013 film Snowpiercer, the 2017 film Okja, and others, have frequently targeted the harsh realities of life under a hierarchical system. His new English-language film, Mickey 17, which is now playing in theaters, suggests that humanity may extend capitalism’s reach into outer space.
Based on Ashton Edward’s 2022 novel Mickey7, the sci-fi satire is set in 2054 and follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), a struggling man trying to escape a loan shark. Mickey and his business partner, Timo, decide to join an intergalactic colonizing expedition to the ice planet Niflheim. While Timo becomes a pilot, Mickey volunteers as an “expendable,” whose job is to die repeatedly.
Mickey faces agonizing and dehumanizing ends, whether accidentally or for research. After death (or near-death), he is tossed into a “cycler” with the ship’s waste, reprinted as a new Mickey with his memories, and sent back to work. Mickey’s solace is his romance with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who treats him as a person.
The expedition is led by Kenneth Marshall (Steven Yeun), a failed politician whose ethics and followers resemble those of a U.S. president (though Bong denies the comparison). Marshall and his wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette), aim to establish a genetically “pure” colony under their rule.
After Mickey 17 survives a mission on Niflheim due to the native “creepers,” Mickey 18’s printing creates a problem for the “multiples.” They are caught in the Marshalls’ war on the creepers, leading to Bong’s most hopeful ending yet.
The film’s delay suggests it was intended for a pre-2024 election world. The emotional impact of the oppressed joining forces with aliens to defeat a fascist may depend on one’s view of the current political climate.
Mickey’s journey from nihilist to hero leads to an optimistic conclusion. The society on Niflheim lives peacefully with the creepers and destroys the technology that made Mickey expendable, with Mickey triggering the demolition.
“I just really wanted to prevent this character of Mickey Barnes from being destroyed,” Bong said of the ending. “You know, he lives a very difficult life. Nothing is easy for him, but I just wanted to stop the world— this harsh world—from destroying this young man.”
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