In yet another crummy future, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his "pal," Timo (Steven Yeun), find themselves in debt to the mob after their macaron business goes under. They immediately sign up for an expedition to the arctic planet Niflheim, which is populated by giant mole/pillbugs called Creepers. Mickey signs up as an Expendable, a human guinea pig who lives to die and get cloned, over and over again. Both this film and its source novel, Edward Ashton's Mickey7, should tell you how many times it's happened.
The film begins in medias res with Mickey's seventeenth death. He's fallen down an icy crevice, surrounded by Creepers, while Timo, an expedition pilot, is semi-reluctantly unable to help. No hope, right? Instead, the Creepers help him out, and he returns to his quarters ... where he meets Mickey 18. Since "Multiples" are illegal, both Mickeys try to live out the most unusual double life ever. Meanwhile, expedition leader and "former congressman" Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) decides to wipe out the Creepers. The Creepers get ready for war after a stowaway youngling is killed. It's up to the Mickeys to save the day.
Bong's screenplay mines Mickey's profession for very dark laughs. One Mickey dies within minutes of being printed; another dies of radiation poisoning, but not before getting literally unhanded by space debris; another is a literal crash dummy. Through it all, nearly everyone is so blasé about the expendable life. He's even asked, "what's it like to die?" like it's a normal profession. A flashback to one of his deaths, however, is genuinely moving. It's also quite creepy when it brings up a serial killer and his multiples. It only really strained under its 137-minutes when Mickey has a nightmare during its final stretch.
If the dark humor isn't appealing, try Pattinson's double act. Mickey 17 is cartoonishly nerdy but still likable, even pitiable thanks to a traumatic incident in his past (which is brushed aside at the end, but still). Mickey 18, meanwhile, is Mickey if he wasn't so blasé about dying all the time, which is rightfully angry. Pattinson's characterizations make it easy to tell them apart when both share the screen. It feels so normal, rather than a product of special effects, to see them together. The double Mickeys excite their girlfriend, Nasha (Naomi Ackie) and security officer Kai (Anamaria Vartolomei), which leads to some hilarity.
Let's get in depth with some of the supporting players. Ruffalo's Marshall is mostly a dimwitted, yet particularly pleasant, politician before the movie reminds you how loathsome he is halfway-through. Still, his very familiar cadence might give the endgame away long beforehand. The same goes for his wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette), who is dead set on exploiting the Creepers' culinary potentials. Kai is a decent character, but her other love interest, Jennifer (Ellen Robertson), doesn't get much screentime before she bites it. Nasha, meanwhile, is quite enjoyable, especially when she helps the Mickeys save the day. Yeun's Timo is an entertaining coward, while Tim Key has perhaps the weirdest side character as a guy in a Pigeon suit.
Besides the double act, the technical work is outstanding all around. Early on, a "mild" sandstorm rocks a spaceport, which gets one thinking about the state of future Earth. The colony ship and Niflheim exemplify the best of Fiona Crumbie's production design. The cinematography by Dharius Khondji helps accentuate the dystopian look rather well, no matter the locale. The Creepers are visualized with great CGI, while an excellent sound design gives them some sufficiently unbearable shrieks. A bit more bearable sounds come when the Mickeys converse with the Creeper Queen (Anna Mouglalis) with a translator. The best sounds come from composer Jung Jae-il, whose score goes from melancholic to cartoonishly silly.
Mickey 17's central double act helps make it an entertaining sci-fi satire. A few plot points could have been explained better, but its overall plot is perfectly clear. This might make a good double feature with Starship Troopers once it comes to home media in a few months. It currently makes for a good time at the movies. Look elsewhere if you want something lighter. In fact, there is a lighter sci-fi comedy coming this weekend. That review is coming soon.
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