Ground control to Mickey 17, this space oddity is great!

By Julia Kelm

Mickey 17 (2025) is a quirky sci-fi story based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. The film follows the unlikely protagonist Mickey Barnes, played by Robert Pattinson, as he finds himself in strange circumstances, forced to flee Earth due to owing an obscene amount of money to a mafia boss.

To escape Earth quickly, Mickey decides to sign up for a space program where he becomes what is called an “expendable.” In this program, he is basically asked to die for a living — however, he always wakes up a few hours later after being reprinted. One day after surviving a near-death experience, he comes face to face with himself.

I saw this with a group of friends in Arcata, and we were sorta a mixed bag in how we felt about the film. I, however, enjoyed it quite a bit.

Pattinson’s performance unquestionably shines in this film. I don’t know what has gotten into Pattinson that’s got him doing a weird little accent/voice in his recent movies like this one and The Boy and the Heron (2023), but I am here for it!

This film also brings up some interesting philosophical and political thinking points. 

What does it mean to die if you know you’re gonna just wake up again? Would you still fear death, or is it scary every time? If cloning technology like this existed, how would the government use it? All questions were answered to some degree, in a surprisingly poignant way.

Bong Joon Ho is essentially the ruling king of cinematography that centers class consciousness and wealth redistribution — “Eat the Rich” cinematography in Layman’s terms. I would say Mickey 17 and Joon Ho’s earlier work in Parasite (2019), and especially Snowpiercer (2013), demonstrate that point.

Mickey 17 and Snowpiercer are particularly comparable since both films are based on sci-fi novels and have a theme of a lower class overtaking the oppressive upper class. If you liked Mickey 17, try Snowpiercer for your next movie night!

Naomi Ackie also proves herself to be a great supporting actress as Nasha Mickey’s significant other. This was my first time seeing Ackie in anything besides Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), so I didn’t really have any expectations for her performance, but she really stood out to me in this film. I hope to see more of her in movies to come.

Steven Yeun and Mark Ruffalo were also great, but I’ve seen enough from them in quirky sci-fi to expect a great performance from both — exemplified with Yeun in Nope (2022) and Ruffalo in Poor Things (2023).

To conclude, go see Mickey 17 before it leaves theaters, it’s a fun watch you won’t forget anytime soon.

Julia is a journalism major at Cal Poly Humboldt. She loves film and is a regular on Letterboxd. To quote Robin Williams in her all-time favorite movie, Dead Poets Society, “The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”