The Stream: There are slow moments that drag down the momentum of the movie.

The Big Screen: Pattison’s eccentric performance is a fun surprise.

The Final Bill: An interesting story with great performances overcomes the slow moments to be an engaging and strange movie.

– S2S and Trip Fontaine
Director: Bong Joon Ho
Writers: Bong Joon Ho based on the novel “Mickey 7” by Edward Ashton
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Cameron Britton, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy
Rating: R for violent content, language throughout, sexual content and drug material.
Runtime: 2 hours 9 minutes
Production Companies: Warner Bros., Plan B Entertainment, Offscreen, Kate Street Picture Company
Platform: In theaters March 7, 2025
Notable Trailers: Sinners, The Woman in the Yard, The Accountant 2, Thunderbolts, Jurrasic World: Rebirth

Welcome back, Streamers, and come on spring! This weekend brings a loss of sleep as well as the new Robert Pattison movie, Mickey 17. In Mickey 17, a loan shark scares Mickey (Pattison) and his friend, Timo (Yeun), into escaping from Earth by joining the crew of spaceship on a mission to colonize a distant planet. In order for Mickey to escape, he takes a job that no one else wants, which requires doing the most dangerous assignments on the space mission, but it comes with the ability to be brought back to life through a clone – mission, die, repeat 16 times and that’s where we find him. The last mission doesn’t go as planned and the world ends up with two Mickeys. Stomach-turning, creepers and romantic hijinks ensue.

Trip: Mickey 17 is the first movie from Bong Joon Ho since he won multiple Oscars for Parasite. I had high expectations for this movie, and they were mostly met. Bong has such a great sense of storytelling both visually and thematically. Visually, Mickey 17 is excellent. There’s something both gritty and beautiful about this dystopian, space odyssey. There’s a fully realized world that is built and depicted in this movie. Thematically, it’s less clear, but still interesting.

S2S: Way to butt in, Trip, but I think you’re right about this. The movie is one of those space flicks you probably should see on the big screen but also has the most random story that doesn’t typically put butts in the seats. This movie feels like a mix of Snowpiercer, Okja, and some other movies I can’t name. It’s strange because I know what I saw and I also don’t really know how to explain why what I saw I enjoyed. I also know the movie is interesting but had these long lulls that probably could’ve been cut out.

Trip: Well, this movie touches on issues of the perils of a gig economy, immigration, environmentalism, dastardly politicians, and ultimately death. The ideas are there, but the message is overall imprecise because there’s so much going on. Nevertheless, with the humor and great performances throughout, Mickey 17 works overall despite some slow moments and an unclear message, which impact its forward momentum.

S2S: Yeah, that’s what it is. Or is it a way of saying we shouldn’t be experimenting on animals. I mean even if it does help us advance in the medical field. Either way, the story is basic but interesting. The storyline is basic but engrossing. Unlike The Gorge, we review the other week, Mickey 17 found the way to mix the genres of Sci-Fi, Rom Com, and Action. Most of that is based on the cast being able to do so well. From Mark Ruffalo to Naomi Ackie to Edward, the cast delivers.

Trip: By Edward, I think you mean Robert Pattison. Anyway, Pattison is on a weird and wonderful trajectory in his movie roles. In this movie, Pattison gets to play different versions of Mickey against himself. He makes some interesting acting choices like Mickey 17’s voice, but it’s so great when an actor goes for it. Pattison’s performance makes the movie fun and like you can’t wait to see what he’s going to do from scene to scene.

Long story short, Mickey 17 is an interesting story that is drawn out a bit too long. The source material is solid only met with a talented director and enhanced with an ensemble cast that gave the words life. Mickey 17 is worth the watch on the big screen but there are lulls in storyline and action that could’ve made the movie better. Grab a big box of popcorn for Mickey 17 but due to the random story nature I completely understand how the general viewer may not enjoy.