Five years after his last release, Parasite, won Best Picture at the Academy Awards (and also earned him Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay), Bong Joon-ho is finally back with a new movie. According to the first reactions from critics on social media, Mickey 17 is worth the wait. Returning the filmmaker to the sci-fi genre, the movie offers a dark but weird political satire and a must-see performance from Robert Pattinson as multiple “expendable” clones.
Here’s what critics are saying about Mickey 17:
Has Bong Joon-ho made another classic?
Bong Joon-ho has crafted another masterpiece with Mickey 17… [his] best English-language film yet.
— BJ Colangelo, Slashfilm
Rest assured that Bong Joon-ho is still very good at making movies.
— David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Director Bong skillfully balances the absurdity and satire with some nice sci-fi world building.
— Matt Maytum, The Movie Wingman
Mickey 17 is… what I love about Bong Joon-Ho’s work.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
Mickey 17 is a fascinating work.
— Chase Hutchinson, The Playlist
What are some comparable movies?
Full of ideas Bong Joon-ho has played around with before but wrapped in a sci-fi package, it’s his Starship Troopers.
— Chase Hutchinson, The Playlist
Bong Joon-ho’s sense of humor is both subtle and brash when needed, even evoking Paul Verhoeven at times à la Starship Troopers.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
[It’s] an Okja-fied version of Moon, but better than that elevator pitch.
— Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail
Is it totally bonkers?
Mickey 17 is weird, twisted… truly some of the most out there storytelling there.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
Zany… a thrilling, unexpected sci-fi drama.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
Deeply chaotic.
— Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail
Chaotically charismatic.
— Liam Crowley, Screen Rant
Does it have substance?
It is a hard hitting look at colonization, consumerism, and more.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
[It’s] a deeply heartfelt and uncomfortably funny musing on capitalism, colonization, and corruption… a perfect film for our time.
— BJ Colangelo, Slashfilm
[It] feels incredibly urgent to today’s world.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
This was the exact film I needed at this chaotic moment.
— Chris O’Falt, IndieWire
It left me with a new POV on humanity and morality.
— Liam Crowley, Screen Rant
How is Robert Pattinson in his dual role?
You’ll instantly fall for Robert Pattinson’s brilliant performance.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
Robert Pattinson delivers a crazy subversive and hilarious dual performance.
— Andrew J. Salazar, Discussing Film
Robert Pattinson [gives] a performance that sounded a helluva lot like Steve Buscemi.
— Chase Hutchinson, The Playlist
Robert Pattinson is great many times over.
— Matt Maytum, The Movie Wingman
Robert Pattinson is a blast to see playing different characters.
— John Nguyen, Nerd Reactor
You can never have “too many” Robert Pattinsons.
— Rachel Leishman, The Mary Sue
Pattinson gets truly lost in this role.
— Liam Crowley, Screen Rant
Do any of the other performances stand out?
Mark Ruffalo’s sleazy politician [is] a highlight, too.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
Ruffalo steals every scene.
— Liam Crowley, Screen Rant
Ruffalo does [the] best Trump of our generation because he correctly infuses it with Goggins’s Baby Billy.
— Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail
Are there any problems with the movie?
The movie pivots to having very familiar and obvious political parallels… making it feel too real to be as fun as it wants to be.
— Germain Lussier, io9.com
I wish it was coated in more traditional darkness, less black comedy.
— Liam Crowley, Screen Rant
I felt it was a lost opportunity focusing the third act on the otherworldly threats instead of seeing the drama of the Mickeys play out. I think it would have worked better as a series.
— John Nguyen, Nerd Reactor
Mickey 17 opens in theaters on March 7, 2025.
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