Mickey 17 (2025)

IMDb plot summary: During a human expedition to colonize space, Mickey 17, a so-called "expendable" employee, is sent to explore an ice planet.

Directed by Bong Joon Ho. Stars Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, and Michael Monroe.

Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson as a poor young nobody who signs up to be an "expendable" on a once-in-a-lifetime interplanetary journey to colonize an unknown planet. This means that he is continuously cloned with his memories and each new clone is used for experiments or exploration tasks that will likely result in death. We pick up with the 17th version of this character, who is supposed dead and reprinted, only to reappear and have to deal with having two versions of himself present at once. Bong Joon Ho is making some of the best movies about late stage capitalism, and this is another one that I really enjoyed. It's a fascinating mix of thriller and sci-fi and comedy, particularly in the absurdly incompetent leaders and the almost wackily obsequious personality of Mickey #17. Of course, as the story continues on, these moments feel less and less like comedy and more and more like horror, and that line blends beautifully here. The worldbuilding is spectacular and always feels just slightly a step ahead of where we are right now in reality. Pattinson is great here, as are Mark Ruffalo and Tony Collette as the leaders of the expedition with a cultlike following (and a snobbish obsession with sauce). There's a lot to enjoy about this movie, and I like that it functions both as a simple sci-fi clones-in-space thriller and some serious commentary on how we view ourselves and our place in the world. Nicely done.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Mickey 17 (2025)

📊 Ranked #1052/4020 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 74

beat Hellfighters (#2006 → #2398)

lost to Muriel's Wedding (#1001 → #998)

beat The Princess and the Frog (#1504 → #1533)

beat For a Few Dollars More (#1253 → #1435)

beat Beetlejuice (#1126 → #1134)

lost to Gremlins (#1063 → #1049)

beat Witchfinder General (#1094 → #1147)

beat Cheaper by the Dozen (#1078 → #1135)

beat The Happening (#1070 → #1285)

beat The Secret Garden (#1066 → #1091)

beat Cries and Whispers (#1064 → #1067)