Mickey 17: A Mildly-Amusing Effort Overstuffed with Intriguing Ideas (Blu-ray)

The Film:

Last time we saw acclaimed filmmaker Bong Joon Ho, he delivered what many consider to be his greatest masterpiece, "Parasite," a film that ended up pulling quite a major upset on Oscar night by winning four major awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature. Now, after a long six-year absence, he finally returns with his latest project, "Mickey 17" (loosely based on the novel "Mickey7" by Edward Ashton), a dark sci-fi comedy that has him trying something a little different after his historic award wins, but was this long-awaited follow-up worth the wait, or was the gap perhaps a sign of something else?

Taking place in 2054, we meet Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), who had fled Earth a few years earlier with his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) to escape a vicious loan shark. They both joined a crew whose mission is to settle the planet Nifleheim, with Timo being lucky enough to become a shuttle pilot, and Mickey joining as an "Expendable," who is given the dangerous missions and is brought back to life via cloning when killed.

Mickey eventually develops a romance with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie) during the trip, but when they reach Niflheim, his 17th iteration is given a mission to investigate one of the planet's local lifeforms (dubbed "Creepers"), which leads to a near-fatal accident that has him taking a nasty fall. Timo finds him, but leaves him behind, believing he's going to die anyway. Mickey 17 survives thanks to the Creepers, but when he returns to the ship, he discovers that an 18th Mickey has been created, causing complications for his relationship, and putting the lives of both Mickeys in extreme jeopardy.

"Mickey 17" is a film with several intriguing pieces to it. We have a young man desperately trying to escape a ruthless loan shark by taking on quite a bizarre position that has him dying over and over, a romantic relationship that is rather complicated given that position, the further complication of a double that's been prematurely created, and on top of all that, an inept, buffoonish politician (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife (Toni Collette) trying to lead the expedition and doing a terrible job of it.

Any one or two of these threads would've made for a pretty interesting film, but when you try to mix them all together, you unfortunately end up with a result that comes off as somewhat muddled and unfocused. It was as though Bong Joon Ho had several neat ideas and didn't want to leave anything out, so instead of concentrating on and developing a primary plot thread, he tried to stuff everything he could think of into one film, causing it to feel as though he couldn't really decide what he wanted it to be about.

It's hardly a bad effort given that each of the various subplots provides some amusement & entertainment, and credit must also be given to the talented Robert Pattinson, who creates two fascinating main characters with distinct personalities that he plays off each other quite well. However, for all of its positive elements (including some pretty good visual effects), it still makes you wish that there had been a lot more focus instead of it being a bit too all over the place. There are indeed a lot of intriguing ideas in here, it's just a shame that none of them get their due in a film that's rather inspired, but ultimately overstuffed.

Video/Audio:

"Mickey 17" comes to Blu-ray in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. This is a film that is rather dark and murky at times, but the picture remains perfectly clear & sharp throughout its entire 137-minute duration. Likewise, the Dolby Atmos-TrueHD audio is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue, sound effects, and music in excellent quality. Overall, Warner Bros. has done a marvelous job in both departments for the film's physical release.

Special Features:

Behind the Lens: Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17 (12 Minutes): A featurette that discusses the acclaimed filmmaker and his latest work.

Mickey 17: A World Reimagined (10 Minutes): A featurette that goes behind the scenes of the film.

The Faces of Niflheim (8 Minutes): A featurette that explores the characters & cast.

Conclusion:

Bong Joon Ho's "Mickey 17" contains a lot of intriguing ideas, as well as a pair of fascinating performances from Robert Pattinson and some impressive visual effects, but sadly the film is rather overstuffed with subplots, giving it the feeling of being unfocused and a bit too all over the place, ultimately making the acclaimed director's latest a mildly-amusing effort that was in need of a little pruning.

Score: 3/5

Available on Blu-ray starting tomorrow.

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