Adapted from a novel by US author Edward Ashton, Bong Joon Ho’s hugely awaited Mickey 17 is a brilliant sci-fi extravaganza, boasting superlative performances, exhilarating action sequences and memorable comedic flourishes. Like Bong’s massively acclaimed, 2019 black comedy thriller Parasite, the film also examines some deep themes.

This time around, the filmmaker looks at issues such as colonialism and oppression, in manner that’s likely to resonate in the current fraught political climate.

Set in a dystopian future, the story focuses in on the charmingly goofy Mickey Barnes – played by Robert Pattinson in a bravura performance – who in order to escape a ruthless gangland boss pursuing a debt, signs up to become an “expendable” on a human colony on the planet Niflheim. With Mickey given a variety of dangerous assignments, human printing technology allows his body to be regenerated each time he dies.

After one of his 'human print outs', Mickey 18 – an hilariously irascible iteration prone to violent outbursts – is incorrectly assumed dead, the two versions of Mickey are left to confront the harsh realities of life as an expendable. But that’s only the start of Mickey’s troubles, as he also finds himself a target of the villainous Kenneth Marshall (the wonderfully comedic Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette), who want to colonise Niflheim and the cuddly creatures who live there.

And just to complicate matters further, Mickey has also fallen in love with brave and charismatic pilot Nasha (Naomi Ackie). It’s a fantastic tale, and for Bong, there were many attractions for working in the realm of sci-fi.

“The genre lets you transcend nationality and language, and go straight into dealing with the essence of humanity,” says the 55-year-old director through an interpreter. “For example, if I had to write a film about a troubled household in 1954 Madrid, I’d be incredibly anxious. I don’t know exactly what was going on in Spain at the time – I wouldn’t know the details and the socio-political context of that time, as well as would I do in my native country.

“So when I’m in the framework of sci-fi, I feel safe being able to go further with the political satire and deal with more universal stories. Especially with the character of Mickey, whether it’s in the States, Korea or anywhere else, I thought it would appeal to a lot of young people. Because it figuratively shows a lot of the circumstances that young people find themselves in.

“Of course, to die is a very extreme job, but there are elements in that position that a lot of people can sympathise and empathise with.”

Bong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson

Given Mickey’s continual cycle of rebirth, has the story changed the director’s outlook on death?

“It’s always frightening to think about death, despite how inevitable it is,” muses Bong. “We will all go through it at one point and no one can escape it, but to think about it is quite frightening. And so, you just avoid it and focus on your day-to-day life. I was like that as well as everyone else. Despite the fact that I have dealt with death in so many of my films, I didn’t really dwell on it.

“But with Mickey 17, it really brings death to the forefront, and Mickey’s constantly asked what it feels like to die. So I thought this would be my chance to think about death. But honestly, when I looked at Mickey’s circumstances, I ended up reflecting more on what it would be like to ruminate on my own death.

“What would it be like to go back in time and think about what it was like to die, and how would I describe that? Because that’s what Mickey has to do. So in the past, I stopped just before engaging with death. With this film, I kind of jumped over it and thought about what’s it like to recollect death. Even now, I’m still avoiding thinking about death – I’ve managed to do that.”

For Pattinson, meanwhile, playing Mickey prompted some different existential questions.

“I don’t know if I’ve changed my opinion of dying,” he reflects. “With Mickey, I thought the most interesting thing was the nature of what you’re made out of. Cos all the other characters are constantly saying, ‘What does it feel like?’ They’re asking him what it’s like to die, but they’re basically saying, ‘What does it mean to be alive?’

“You have people telling you, ‘You’re not you anymore, and you’re made out of chicken bones and trash, and dead bodies and human excrement.’ (Laughs) It sounds so awful when it happens, but when you think about it, you are made out of that! Strangely for a kind of simple character, Mickey has quite a profound understanding of what it means to be alive, because he’s like, ‘Yeah, it just is what it is.’

“It’s like, ‘You have a day, you die, you get pumped out of a printer and you start it all over again.’ (Laughs) That’s life, I guess!”

MEMORABLE AND CATHARTIC

One of the most memorable and cathartic scenes in Mickey 17 occurs when an outraged Nasha hilariously unloads on Marshall, for his grotesquely stupid and greedy plan to colonise Niflheim. It seemed like an enjoyable scene for Naomi Ackie to play.

“It was a lot of fun!” the actress chuckles. “Director Bong had told me there was a particular scene at the end where she really gives it loads. Reading it and having it make sense to me, that was the most important thing. Nasha doesn’t waste her words, let’s put it that way! That to me was the core of the film’s meaning, so it was really important for me to get right, and also express that frustration that I think a lot of people can relate to.

“It was also really fun to look Mark Ruffalo in the eye and scream at him, because I’m also a really big fan of his work. And I didn’t think if I ever got to work with him, that it would be me screaming at him like that for a whole day! After doing it I was concerned, going, ‘Did I do too much?!’ But I think it worked out okay.”

The 21st century has seen an explosion of interest in South Korean culture, with international acclaim afforded to filmmakers like Yeon Sang-ho, director of the zombie horror masterpiece Train To Busan, and Park Chan-wook, who helmed cult favourites Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, as well as the masterful series The Little Drummer Girl and The Sympathizer.

But there is no doubt that Bong occupies an especially exalted place in world cinema. Having first come to critical prominence with the likes of 2003 crime thriller Memories Of Murder, ’06 monster movie The Host, and 2023 post-apocalyptic action flick Snowpiercer, the director went truly supernova during the campaign for the all-conquering Parasite.

As well as the awards and box office success, Bong also boasts an army of A-list filmmaking fans, including Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Donald Glover and Edgar Wright. For Ackie, it quickly became apparent she was working with a special directing talent.

“The feeling that, ‘This guy is a genius’, really started from the moment I started talking to him,” she notes. “It was really strange to talk to someone who’s so advanced in their thinking. It’s one thing to think about something and be like ‘That’s a cool idea’, and then it’s something completely different to make it real. The biggest thing I remember, and this is quite early on, is that I was like, ‘Wow, this is cool – his self-awareness.’

“Then there was his storyboarding. I remember we were having a script meeting as a group, and I was like, ‘What are you doing this weekend?’ And he went, ‘Oh, I’m going back to draw the storyboards.’ That was very important to him. And then cut to one of the bigger sequences, when we’re in the prison. That took about a week to film – it was really complicated because of the lighting.”

It was another insight into Bong’s remarkable attention to detail.

“There were moments in that scene where I could see how meticulous the work was,” Ackie continues. “I could feel it. It was interesting to be in a space for so long, and not feel like I was going crazy, because every frame required something different. Watching it now, I’m like, ‘Goddamn, that man is a genius.’ It’s an amalgamation of stuff, I can’t put my finger on any one thing. But I do remember loving the prison set so much.

“I don’t think you can even really see it, but there are giant water bottles, shaped like hamster water bottles. So there was that element of us being like animals in a cage, and having to suckle at a little hamster water bottle. It was such a tiny detail and I’m not even sure anyone can see it! But I was like, ‘This is just the coolest.’”

For Bong himself, while Mickey 17 boasts his trademark tonal shifts and familiar thematic concerns, it also afforded the opportunity to explore fresh creative terrain.

“The new challenge of this project was Mickey, because he’s such a unique and strange character that we really haven’t seen before,” he says. “He’s this working class guy in miserable circumstances, and sort of the antithesis of a hero. He has zero self esteem and at times looks a bit dumb, but the important thing about this character is that he’s actually not that dumb – he just believes that he is.

“And then you have this mutant iteration of Mickey – Mickey 18 – who comes out of nowhere and destroys everything, but ends up teaching 17 something new about himself. It’s like a mutant of yourself appears in your life to teach you something important. In that sense, it’s like a coming of age film where this character grows. I’ve never done that kind of film before, so that was a new journey for me.”

<br?Robert Pattinson in Mickey 17

For Pattinson, what was the biggest challenge of playing Mickey?

“In terms of the central part of his character, you see the extremity he has to go to,” he replies. “You’re essentially being tortured all the time, with no reward at all, and no respect. You’re tortured and then people say, ‘You’re still worthless!’ There’s something in Mickey’s character where he just doesn’t listen to people saying that. It’s an interesting trait.

“You would think at a certain point, you would go insane or just shut down, but Mickey’s like, ‘Okay!’ And then he just turns up for work. It’s a unique situation, and it reminded me of a cartoon character or something, where you continuously have the same day and expect a different result. Or don’t even have any idea what the result’s going to be.

“Trying to ground that and make it into something believable was probably the most challenging part, but also the most fun.”

RANGE OF EMOTIONS

Ackie notes that Bong’s creative approach aided in balancing the wide range of emotions Nasha experiences.

“What really helps is that director Bong has thought about this world for so long,” she says. “For someone so kind, uplifting and happy, it’s crazy to me how detailed and in-depth his work is. Going back to storyboarding, one thing that really helped was being able to compartmentalise performance, in a way that meant frame 22 of a scene is a moment of levity. So I could just concentrate on that. And then, let’s say frame 25 is a moment of determination, I could also just focus in on that.

“It made me feel like a better actor, cos sometimes it’s quite hard to start and finish a scene, and get everything you want in it. Sometimes you have to do 10 different takes to try out 10 different things. Whereas this was like, ‘Boom, we’re gonna do this one, and then move onto the next one.’ I genuinely wish that every director filmed that way. It’s the coolest way to film and you can really get very specific, because Bong is so specific about the shape of the film.”

It’s clear that Ackie relished the opportunity of portraying such a dynamic and exciting character.

“There was this thing I read somewhere, and I can’t remember where,” she says, “cos I’m a millennial, and we just read things and don’t read into it! But it was a quote from someone who said, ‘Inside every woman is a man judging them.’ I think Nasha doesn’t have a little man inside judging her – she doesn’t judge herself. She wants what she wants, when she wants it.

“She’s not watching herself, and freedom and a real direction comes with that. She’s someone with a really high sense of self-worth, and that was really attractive to me. It was also the fact that there’s an element of Nasha that feels like a coiled spring, which could attack anyone at any time – or love anyone at any time. There’s something so fun about playing someone who could do anything and is really instinctive.

“So there are a few moments in the script where I’m like, ‘Gosh, I love this woman.’ I really fell in love with her while I was watching it. Her point in the movie – of being the first person to have empathy for someone no one else has empathy for – is super-powerful as a statement. That she goes on to protect him and his worth throughout the different versions of him, even in his situation, is also super special. So it was really cool to play.”

In terms of the sci-fi dimension to Mickey 17, Bong notes the creatures on Niflheim offer an opportunity to explore different aspects of the human psyche.

“Everyone is fascinated by creatures and monsters, because they provide this morbid joy of looking at creatures that are different from us,” he observes. “They’re kind of disgusting and frightening, but what’s important is that there’s always this moment where you get to peel off those layers. You discover that they’re actually more human than us – the moments where you realise that are really fascinating.

“I guess you can say this is my third creature film, and I wanted to deal with creatures in an even deeper way.”

In addition, sci-fi is a useful means for reflecting the current political landscape.

“It’s a big appeal that sci-fi has,” says Bong. “It lets you present issues of our current times. We pretend that this is a story about the future, that it isn’t about our society. But the format lets you present this really naked portrayal of what we’re actually going through right now. In the film we have our main protagonist, Mickey, who kind of accidentally becomes a hero.

“And then we have Marshall and his wife, the couple on the other end of the spectrum. With both characters, audiences will find things that mirror our current society. Through Mickey, we see the powerless underdog, and all the joys and sufferings we currently go through. And with Marshall and his wife, we get to see a mix of all the horrendous politicians we currently have, and that we’ve seen throughout history.”

In conclusion, what does Naomi Ackie feel is Mickey 17’s main message?

“Everyone has value,” she says. “Mickey represents those who are neglected because of where they sit in the social hierarchy – even though that doesn’t really exist, it’s something we’ve created in our minds. It’s the idea that no one is disposable, and those who are deemed to not have power, still have the power to change things.

“And that we should extend kindness and empathy to those who’ve been neglected by a system. That’s the biggest message for me, and it felt super strong and super clear.”

Mickey 17 is in cinemas now.