Movie Review: Mickey 17

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C

An okay sci-fi comedy. 

While it would have been easy for director/writer to simply try to recreate his best picture winning and audience favorite Parasite (2019), the filmmaker instead goes in a completely different direction with this follow up. However, this film also fails to live up to the same heights. What this movie does have going for it though is a good lead character and a great sci-fi premise. This film's story involves a man who volunteers to be an expendable for a space expedition. This means he is sent on dangerous missions and whenever he dies a copy of him is made with all his feelings and memories. One day when it looks like he is good as dead, they make another copy of him. However, he is not dead and now there are two of them. This is a very clever premise and the ethical questions it raises are fantastic. While this premise is played out surprisingly straightforwardly, it still works quite well. The main character is also quite well handled. He is not a complex character, but he is a likable one and gives the film a good emotional center. Robert Patterson's performance is excellent as always as he once again proves how great of an actor he truly is. 

This movie does have quite a few flaws though. For a film that is supposed to be just as much a comedy as a sci-fi flick, it is never really that funny. Most of the comedic moments simply fall flat and I barely laughed once through the whole film. The movie also struggles when it comes to its political commentary. This commentary is much too heavy handed and obvious. You have to be living under a rock to not know that this movie is talking about Donald Trump (the villain's followers are even wearing red baseball caps). However, the commentary is so obvious and slight that it accomplishes nothing. Those who stand against Trump, will be familiar with every single criticism here and be left with no food for thought. Those who support Trump, will feel the exact same way after watching this. Those who are apolitical will hardly be swayed by the film's simplistic commentary. While I agree with many of this film's criticisms of Trump, I found it so basic and obvious and lacking in any substance in the way it conveyed them. The same can be said for the commentary about the environment, racism, colonization and the treatment of the average worker. This movie is also much longer than it needs to be, and the climax seems to last way too long. The supporting characters are also very bland and boring. 

This is not a bad movie, but I couldn't help feeling that it should be so much better.