On most occasions (with anime/manga being the exception), I tend to read the written version of a story prior to viewing its adaptation. Not so in this case. I actually wasn’t even aware Mickey 17 – a recently released science fiction film directed by Bong Joon Ho with Robert Pattinson as its lead – started out as a novel. In this case, that novel is Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. I shouldn’t be surprised. To my mind, a fair portion of the TV shows and movies that do something unique in visual media end up being adaptations of the written word. If you’re just here for a yea or nay on this film, I’ll say this: My stack of books to read is ever growing, with a nerve-inducing tilt to it that puts the Tower of Pisa to shame, but Mickey7 might find its way onto that stack based on the strength of the movie alone.
So, the movie. In short, I really enjoyed it. It feels almost a cliche at this point to say Hollywood is risk averse, that they prefer to release cardboard cutouts of films that came before, plastering these cutouts with fresh designs, with new faces, in an attempt to obfuscate their common origin without removing their comfy familiarity. It is a business after all, and the best data that companies have for what will succeed in the future is what has succeeded in the past. Unfortunately, it is also a truth that this perhaps isn’t the most encouraging environment for creativity, that in their attempts to make new movies marketable, movie studios sometimes smooth away any of the endearing rough edges that would make these films stick out amongst the crowd. Though I haven’t watched it yet, I hear Seth Rogen’s new comedy, The Studio, on Apple TV+ does a good job of satirizing this dynamic. Of showing the unavoidable push-and-pull, the intrinsically opposed nature of running a business while wanting to create new and inspiring art. Commercialism vs. artistic expression. It is a difficult dynamic, one the book publishing industry is no less prone to. This isn’t to say I’m pessimistic on storytelling industries as a whole. Far from it. At the end of the day, we are in a period of unmatched luxury when it comes to the sheer volume of amazing stories out there, across every medium. Still, I don’t think it controversial to say that massive Hollywood budget films tend to play things too safe. As a result, it’s all the better when you get a movie like Mickey 17, something fun and fresh.
Mickey 17 has the hallmarks of a Bong Joon Ho film, blending genres of science fiction, horror, and comedy scene to scene and shot to shot. It details the story of Mickey, a hapless but well-meaning sort who, with his friend, signs on to a spacefaring adventure to colonize the icy planet Niflheim. In his urgency to escape a murderous loan shark, he signs on as an expendable. This means he’s given the riskiest of jobs, then he is cloned, or printed, with memories intact, upon each of his inevitable deaths. It’s … not a great job, to say the least. Once arriving at Niflheim, things escalate quickly. We get a Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind like race of native creatures with whom the unscrupulous spaceship captain and earth-side politician – played by Mark Ruffalo – drives tension. Without giving away any more, it is a film much worth watching. And unfortunately, even though it’s gotten positive reviews, its box office haul has been underwhelming. I encourage you to watch it however you can, because movies like these are worth supporting. I give it 17 Robert Pattinsons flopping out of a body printer’s worth of a recommend.
All the best,
M. Weald
M. Weald 