With Mickey 17, Bong Joon Ho has finally delivered a follow-up to 2019’s Parasite, and while it’s not likely to be another Best Picture winner, the first reviews of the movie say it’s certainly worth a look. This satirical sci-fi romp stars Robert Pattinson as the title character as well as the other numbered Mickey clones, and his performance (or performances) is reportedly one of the highlights. Reviews are mixed, however, on whether Mickey 17 is sharp in its political comedy, let alone one of Bong’s best works.
Here’s what critics are saying about Mickey 17:
Bong proves yet again that he’s a master of his craft, a singular filmmaker whose run might now be the greatest of the 21st century.
— David Opie, Total Film
It’s immediately clear that Bong Joon-ho’s biting commentary on greed, classism, and social equality in the modern era hasn’t distilled over the years.
— Jack Walters, Next Best Picture
As a writer-director known for his expansive film worlds that become a playground for moral dilemmas and unlikely heroic journeys, Bong doesn’t disappoint.
— Savina Petkova, AwardsWatch
Such a cinematic achievement will be long remembered.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
It rules.
— Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net
Mickey 17 may lack some of the political bite of his previous work, but it’s unquestionably tremendous fun: a big, strange spectacle that’s unlike most blockbuster cinema out there.
— Lou Thomas, Time Out
If it’s a more conventional film than his best work, he still finds ways to subvert our expectations and continually surprise us with a hero who’s just trying his inadequate best.
— Helen O’Hara, Empire Magazine
Mickey 17 is an uneven, enjoyable film that will almost certainly get better with age, distance, and perspective… It’s certainly unique and weird enough to warrant a watch.
— Germain Lussier, io9.com
All in all, it must be considered a serious disappointment from the director.
— Hugh Montgomery, BBC.com
While Mickey 17 may not be quite as strong as Parasite (a nigh-impossible bar to clear), it’s easily Bong’s best English-language offering to date.
— Brent Hankins, The Lamplight Review
Bong Joon-ho’s best English movie to date.
— David Opie, Total Film
Mickey 17 [is] the best and most cohesive of Bong’s English-language films.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
It has the heartwarming animal rights discussions of Okja, the witty allegories of classism found in Snowpiercer, and the gritty realism of poverty explored in Parasite.
— Jack Walters, Next Best Picture
For those whose only familiarity with Bong’s work comes from Parasite, Mickey 17 is different but tonally in check… It’s more of a direct continuation of some of his earlier films, fusing the futuristic utilitarian environments of Snowpiercer with the cuddly animal rights mascot of Okja.
— Clarisse Loughrey, Independent (UK)
For bona fide Bong fans, the film’s hectoring tone and irreverent sense of humor should feel like a return to that strange blend of sentimentality and cynicism we saw in the… gonzo meat-is-murder comedy Okja and full-throttle eat-the-rich thriller Snowpiercer.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
Mickey 17 ends on a more hopeful note than the rest of Bong’s films.
— Alison Wilmore, New York Magazine/Vulture
Mickey 17 feels like one of the weakest entries in Bong Joon-ho’s filmography, but given the kind of storytelling the director has gotten us used to, it’s still a stronger movie than many other sci-fi films with similar premises.
— Serena Seghedoni, Loud and Clear Reviews
It’s the weakest of his three English language efforts.
— Alistair Ryder, Looper.com
It’s essentially Bong’s take on Alien.
— Clarisse Loughrey, Independent (UK)
The concept for Mickey 17 is intriguing with Mickey dying repeatedly, which reminds me of Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow.
— John Nguyen, Nerd Reactor
Maybe [Bong Joon Ho is] not quite the humanist his adherents believe, but more of a blunt and adolescent-minded satirist, operating in the vein of Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
It really reminds me of Starship Troopers in many ways in how it creatively depicts the fascist systems that maintain order amongst humans while also offering up an extremely entertaining story about a guy trying to figure out his place in these systems.
— Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net
The script’s satirical vibrations work on a similar frequency to Apple TV+’s Severance, putting the weird, bleak religification of 21st-century corporate identity square in its sights.
— Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
It’s also deeply absurd, often feeling like a cousin to Fallout (both the games and the recent series adaptation) with its retro-futuristic dystopian aesthetic and wry, cynical humor.
— Brent Hankins, The Lamplight Review
The “creepers”… are far cuter than their insectoid appearance might suggest, evoking the Ohmu from Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
— David Opie, Total Film
It’s a real crowd-pleaser… Mickey 17 feels like a true blockbuster that doesn’t merely strive for action or cheap thrills but rather understands the innate drama and social awareness that audiences genuinely care about in their cinema.
— Jack Walters, Next Best Picture
Mickey 17… is a throwback to blockbusters as the late 20th century made ’em: a $100 million boisterous sci-fi satire that neither belongs to a franchise nor cares to start one.
— Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
For those who can identify with standing in line just to stop the world and get off, this is the movie for you, a death-defying and dizzying wild ride.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
The movie will no doubt have plenty of support among the auteurist faithful, but Bong’s storytelling, while undeniably playful, is also cluttered and messy, with too many superfluous diversions.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
With a reported budget of $150 million, it would certainly be a surprise if this curio can find the kind of audience it needs to succeed.
— Hugh Montgomery, BBC.com
Bitterly funny.
— Alison Wilmore, New York Magazine/Vulture
Arguably [Bong Joon Ho’s] funniest.
— Brent Hankins, The Lamplight Review
You will laugh out loud multiple times throughout Mickey 17.
— David Opie, Total Film
Bong invests it all with wry, sometimes even silly, humor, but Paddy Chayefsky for one would have loved it.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
Mickey 17 plays as a Wile E. Coyote cartoon, channeling all of Chuck Jones’ madcap fury into a live-action dystopia.
— Ben Croll, The Wrap
There are moments when Bong Joon-ho’s penchant for wackiness can feel a little overwhelming or jarring.
— Jack Walters, Next Best Picture
Again and again lines and scenes strain for comic effect, but fail to deliver the goods.
— Hugh Montgomery, BBC.com
Mickey 17 is a very obvious commentary on the disappearance of populism and the emergence of radical politics on the world stage.
— Jack Walters, Next Best Picture
This isn’t just another great Bong Joon-ho movie about how much he hates capitalism (though it definitely is that too), it’s the first Bong Joon-ho movie about how much he loves people.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
By the end of Mickey 17, you’ll feel reinvigorated to live harder and love more than ever.
— David Opie, Total Film
The intriguing concept of recyclable people gets bumped aside too often in favor of a clownish take on the corruption of power.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Robert Pattinson is a blast to watch as he plays different characters.
— John Nguyen, Nerd Reactor
Pattinson has fun playing the Mickeys — one timid, one hostile — but it’s his performance as Mickey 17 that gives this sci-fi picture its resonance.
— Tim Grierson, Screen International
Pattinson is a revelation here… a hilarious performance that takes on new dimension as the story progresses. This is clearly one of his best, if not riskiest screen outings, and the actor delivers.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
Pattinson could easily call comedy his true calling, here delivering an elastic physical performance as dexterous as Jim Carrey in his prime.
— Ben Croll, The Wrap
Pattinson’s chemistry with himself ends up being the kind most actors would kill for… a genre-defying performance.
— David Opie, Total Film
Pattinson’s performance is surely inspiring, even when it verges on becoming gimmicky.
— Savina Petkova, AwardsWatch
This is Pattinson at his best.
— Clarisse Loughrey, Independent (UK)
If Robert Pattinson doesn’t walk away with a Best Actor nomination for his performances as multiple Mickeys, something is very, very wrong.
— BJ Colangelo, Slashfilm
Ruffalo’s performance is undoubtedly the loudest and most audacious in Mickey 17… It’s his performance that people will be discussing all year.
— Jack Walters, Next Best Picture
Ruffalo has cranked the volume up on his Poor Things performance and is delightfully unhinged as Marshall.
— Savina Petkova, AwardsWatch
Ruffalo in particular is an absolute scene-stealer. If you thought he was going for it in Poor Things, you better strap in for Mickey 17.
— BJ Colangelo, Slashfilm
Collette is just as good as the malicious power behind the throne, so to speak.
— David Opie, Total Film
Naomi Ackie is wonderful as Mickey 17’s girlfriend Nasha, a hot-blooded soldier who recognizes Mickey’s bravery for what it is.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Naomi Ackie as Mickey’s lover Nasha is amazing, taking on this simple supporting role and turning it into something much more meaningful and powerful.
— Alex Billington, FirstShowing.net
Naomi Ackie is enjoyably sweary and makes the most of a rousing anti-authoritarian speech.
— Hugh Montgomery, BBC.com
The cinematography from Darius Khondji and inventive production design from Fiona Crombie of this futuristic place that varies between drab lab-like atmosphere and garish digs of Marshall, is first rate.
— Pete Hammond, Deadline Hollywood Daily
Darius Khondji’s cinematography is a vital element – he shot Bong’s oddball creature feature Okja and makes this piece just as visually striking: icy tundras, angry furnaces and fretting faces filling the screen in vivid fashion.
— Lou Thomas, Time Out
Fiona Crombie’s production design gives the movie an imposing scale, though for a project shot by Darius Khondji and screened in IMAX, the visuals are nothing special.
— David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
The first act is stuffed with exposition, and some stylistic elements (such as Pattinson’s narration) frequently feel overused.
— Jack Walters, Next Best Picture
It was a lost opportunity with the film switching up the third act instead of seeing the drama of the Mickeys play out. I think it would have worked better as a series.
— John Nguyen, Nerd Reactor
Over the course of the film, a story that starts as a subplot becomes increasingly important, and it creates a narrative and tonal imbalance that holds the film back from its full potential.
— Germain Lussier, io9.com
Mickey 17 opens in theaters on March 7, 2025.
