Review of the IMAX film ‘Mickey 17’ (2025)

 

Mickey7 is a science-fiction novel by Edward Ashton, released in 2022 and filmed for the silver screen in that very year. This really fast adaptation, once passed through post-production, is released in 2025 as Mickey 17.

The story, set in the future, is about the colonization mission for an extrasolar planet. In this future, technology can just ‘print’ an human body and restore its memories, though law does not allow more than one copy at a time. The protagonist, Mickey, is the Expendable of the mission: he is restored every time that he dies. On one hand, he is immortal; on another, he is a total loser that is screwed all of the time: he is assigned to the most dangerous jobs, and sometimes he is made to die just to study how exactly the death occurs. Hence the name Mickey 17: he has died 16 times already. This is a story for adults: blood, death, black comedy, political satire, sex and drugs.

The direction of Bong Joon Ho fits the story adequately, with the right pace. The soundtrack includes a series of well-chosen songs. As for the music from Jung Jae-il I must excuse myself, for I failed to notice it. The level of production is good, with adequate sets from Alice Felton and good visual effects.

As for the IMAX format, said to be filmed with Arri Alexa 65 cameras among others, it does not feature the highest IMAX quality – I would not have paid extra to watch the film in IMAX format if I knew this was the quality.

The film, being an ensemble comedy, does now allow the acting to shine much. Just about are Steven Yeun, Michael Monroe, Lloyd Hutchinson, Tim Key, Mark Ruffalo and Steve Park. Good performances from Robert Pattinson, Patsy Ferran, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collete and Anamaria Vartolomei. Very brief but outstanding performance from Samuel Blenkin.

All in all, a really funny black comedy film in space. 4 out of 5.

Off the evaluation, I can tell you that the best joke in the film is the Donald Trump parody. Kenneth Marshall, a politician that lost two elections, becomes the leader for the colonization mission. His dialogues imitate the characteristic Trump style, full of adjectives – and then Mark Ruffalo plays him imitating Trump the best he can, including his characteristic way of speaking, dragging the words. It is not the first Trump parody – Hollywood started parodying Donald Trump as far ago as 1990, at the Gremlins 2 film, where actor John Glover plays Daniel Clamp, the entrepreneur that owns the Clamp Tower in New York. What makes this parody a joke in itself it is the way that it turned against its creators. Filmed in 2022, in a moment when a second Trump presidency seemed unlikely, it seemed a smart move to ridicule Trump as a twice loser – and then the film is released in 2025, with Trump being a twice winner. As a general rule, when you ridicule somebody as a loser and this somebody turns out to be a winner, you are the one in ridicule. But I am not concerned about the moral aspect here – what makes the Trump parody the best joke of the film, for someone outside the United States anyway, is to think of these Hollywood guys ridiculing Trump – and now having to withstand his rule for 48 months. 1 month gone, 47 more to go. Wow, guys, this time is going to seem so much long for you.

 

Title:	Mickey 17
Genre:	Science-fiction, Comedy
Year:	2025
Nationality:	South Korea, United States
Colour:	Colour
Director:	Bong Joon Ho
Writer:	Bong Joon Ho, Edward Ashton
Cast:	Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Michael Monroe, Patsy Ferran, Cameron Britton, Christian Patterson, Lloyd Hutchinson, Samuel Blenkin, Ian Hanmore, Sabet Choudhury, Tim Key, Rose Shalloo, Bronwyn James, Holliday Grainger, Milo James, Naomi Ackie, Daniel Henshall, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Jude Mack, Thomas Turgoose, Adam Colborne, Tom Cawte, Anamaria Vartolomei, Ellen Robertson, Sam Woodhams, Kayla Meikle, Haydn Gwynne, Edward Davis, Theo Ogundipe, Jamila Wingett, Spike White, Stephen Park, Angus Imrie, Afolabi Alli, Anna Mouglalis
Producer:	Dooho Choi, Dede Gardner, Bong Joon Ho, Jeremy Kleiner
Executive producer:	Pete Chiappetta, Peter Dodd, Jesse Ehrman, Marianne Jenkins, Andrew Lary, Brad Pitt, Anthony Tittanegro
Production designer:	Fiona Crombie
Cinematographer:	Darius Khondji
Film editor:	Jinmo Yang
Casting:	Francine Maisler
Art Director:	Darren Tubby
Set Decorator:	Alice Felton
Costume Designer:	Catherine George
Music:	Jung Jae-il
Running time:	137 minutes
Language:	English