Director: Bong Joon-ho
Writer: Bong Joon-ho, based on the book by Edward Ashton
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun

The concept of cloning has been a source of moral and ethical conflict for the human race since before science could genuinely comprehend such a thing. What if there was a version of the future where cloning was not only doable (and illegal), but also necessary, to a degree? This is the foundation of Mickey 17, based on the book Mickey 7 (where there is, obviously, ten less Mickeys). “Expendables” (people who are disposable due to their body and consciousness being copied/saved/cloned, whatever you like, so they can be “reprinted”) are useful, but “multiples” (more than one copy of one expendable) are forbidden. How well does Bong Joon-ho’s adaptation fare with the concepts presented in Mickey 7, and does it stand strong apart from its book beginnings?

Not too far in the future, Mickey Barnes (Pattinson) finds himself deep in debt thanks to misleading information from his friend, Timo (Yeun). They both decide to join an expedition to colonise another planet, Nilfheim, to escape the loan sharks, with Mickey signing on as an expendable. During the journey, he meets Nasha (Ackie), and they develop a relationship. As Mickey is repeatedly used and killed in dangerous situations, he reaches his 17^th incarnation. After narrowly avoiding a fatal fall and an encounter with the inhabitants on Niflheim, Mickey returns to the colony to find he has already been replaced by Mickey 18. Both know that no one can discover they are multiples and so must figure out a way they can both survive while also circumventing the attention of the expedition’s leader and resident egotistical maniac, Kenneth Marshall (Ruffalo).

The film does move away from the book’s plot about a third of the way/mid-way through, and some of the characters’ personalities and MOs have changed, but some of it is for good reason. If you’ve read the book, it’s clear to see why director Bong altered the story: it doesn’t make for hugely dramatic action or tension, and so diverting to a more cinematic arc made sense. However, the direction the film goes in isn’t particularly original and it begins to feel stretched out around the two-hour mark. It definitely retains and goes further with the humour that is present in the book and keeps pushing the question of the treatment of a person just because they are “expendable”, but the plot’s ultimate goal feels weak compared to the themes (namely classism and colonialism) and characters that it displays and builds up.

Some of the character changes were for the better, some for the worse. The characters of Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 (7 and 8 in the book) have more distinct personalities separate from one another, something that isn’t done to such a degree in the book but works well theatrically in order to distinguish who is who. The character of Kenneth Marshall is almost completely unrecognisable from the book, becoming a more serious threat yet more insane, arrogant and unlikable, too. At times he comes across as too cartoonish (those teeth, for instance), and it can be hard to take him seriously as an antagonist. If you’re familiar with director Bong’s work, you’ll know that although his filmography is minimal, he is known for being big on the themes of classism and divisions within society (see Snowpiercer and Parasite) and using dark humour, and he uses Marshall and his meddling wife Ylfa (Collette) to embody all of this, while Mickey and his allies are somewhat lights in the underprivileged dark. In this way, Bong does a great job of going further with some of the themes more lightly touched upon within Ashton’s book.

Due to the dual roles of Mickey 17 and 18 (as well as flashbacks to previous versions), the roles were going to need an actor who could subtly yet capably separate the characters, and Pattinson was just the man for the job, committing to a terrific performance. He is hilarious, relatable and pitiful as 17, and strong, competent and detached as 18. He somehow manages to have great chemistry with himself (what a bizarre thing to say). He also has good chemistry with Ackie’s Nasha. She’s a tough, intelligent woman who sees Mickey for who he is in all his versions, and Ackie’s performance never falters from those aspects of Nasha. Ruffalo is mad as Kenneth Marshall, and his performance is reminiscent of his bizarre character in Poor Things and being a stereotypical egomaniac. Collette tends to steal the show as Ylfa and has some scenes that are far more integral and interesting than Ruffalo’s. We don’t see too much of Yeun as the duplicitous Timo, but when he does show up, you know something’s about to go wrong.

As adaptations go, Bong’s version of Mickey 7 made all the right calls in which to deviate from the book but didn’t necessarily take them all in the right direction. I personally prefer the plot of the book but wouldn’t recommend it as an action film. Mickey 17 retains much of the themes of the book and works hard to explore them but doesn’t push for the most compelling or attention-holding story. The characters are mostly there, but some have been stretched beyond recognition into almost farcical versions of themselves. It’s enjoyable for the first 90-100 minutes, but after that, you may be wishing for another version of yourself to watch the rest while you go off and do something more interesting (or dangerous?).