MICKEY 17 : Tuesday 11th March 2025.

I saw the M Rated 'MICKEY 17' earlier this week and this Sci-Fi black comedy film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Bong Joon-ho, whose prior feature film credits take in his debut with 'Barking Dogs Never Bite' in 2000 and then the likes of 'The Host' in 2006, 'Mother' in 2009, 'Snowpiercer' in 2013 his English language debut, 'Okja' in 2017 and the critically lauded and multi-award winning 'Parasite' in  2019. This film is based on the 2022 novel 'Mickey7' by Edward Ashton, and saw its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February, before being theatrically released in South Korea on 28th February and later Stateside and here in Australia last week. It has garnered generally favourable critical reviews, and has so far grossed US$59M from a production budget of US$118M. 

It is 2054, and Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his best friend Timo (Steven Yeun) are financially well and truly broke after a failed business venture that saw them borrowing money to open up a chain of macaron stores. Unable to repay a murderous loan shark, the pair decide to flee Earth by signing up as crew for a spaceship that leaves our little blue planet to colonise the planet Niflheim, a journey that will take them four-and-a half years. Timo signs up as a shuttle pilot and Mickey as the spaceship's only 'Expendable'. Using Earth-banned technology to clone Mickey and restore his memories, Mickey is treated as disposable, given lethal assignments that mere mortals would never dare contemplate, and then reprinted after death - time after time after time. 

During the voyage, a romance develops between Mickey and security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie). Some four years pass and the spaceship eventually arrives at snow bound and wintery Niflheim. Using Mickeys 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 the spaceship's scientists finally develop a vaccine against Niflheim's air borne pathogens. Mickey 17, the seventeenth version of Mickey, is given the task of capturing one of the planets giant woodlice-like alien creatures (termed 'creepers') for scientific analysis. In doing so, he falls into a deep fissure in the ice, beyond the reach of Timo, who leaves and reports Mickey 17's death. However, the creepers arrive en masse and collectively push Mickey 17 out of the fissure, for him to return almost unscathed to the spaceship.

Mickey 17 returns to the spaceship, cleans himself up and flops on to his bed only to be greeted by the very recently printed Mickey 18 (Robert Pattinson), who is much more confident and aggressive. As the expedition's leader, twice failed politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), has vowed to kill any 'Multiples' (simultaneously living clones), Mickey 18 tries to kill Mickey 17, who resists and is then interrupted by Timo. Mickey 18 then tries to kill Timo, but is interrupted and leaves with Nasha, who believes she is leaving with Mickey 17. Mickey 17 in the meantime is brought to dinner with Marshall, his wife Ylfa (Toni Colette), and security guard Kai Katz (Anamaria Vartolomei). Mickey 17 suffers severe pain after being served experimental meat and being treated with experimental painkillers. Kai intervenes to stop Marshall from putting a bullet in his head. Kai later woos Mickey 17, who flees.

Nasha learns of the Mickeys and accepts them both. When Mickey 17 tells Mickey 18 what happened over dinner with the Marshall's, an enraged Mickey 18 decides to kill Marshall at a public ceremony commemorating a huge chunk of Niflheim rock. Chaos ensues when two baby creepers emerge from the rock that had just moments before been lasered in half. Mickey 17 arrives and captures creeper Zoco, but creeper Luko jumps onto Marshall and is shot to pieces by Kai and other security agents. Nasha stops Mickey 18 from killing Marshall, who discovers the Multiples. Mickey 17, Mickey 18 and Nasha are arrested, and locked up. Thousands of creepers arrive outside the ship, calling out to Zoco.

Locked up in their respective cells Mickey 17's description of the creepers helping him escape from the fissure makes Nasha realise they are not hostile. Timo tries to kill Mickey 17 to satisfy the loan shark who has seemingly caught up with him even on Niflheim, but Nasha and Mickey 18 overpower him. The Mickeys and Nasha are brought to Marshall, who wants to exterminate all the creepers. Marshall destroys Mickey's stored memories, while Nasha saves Zoco from being executed by Ylfa. Marshall's assistant Preston (Daniel Henshall) persuades Marshall to task the Mickeys to compete in collecting creeper tails, which Ylfa wants one hundred of for making edible sauce, with the winner being allowed to live. The Mickeys are forced to wear remote-detonated bomb vests to ensure they comply with the instructions.

When the Mickeys are sent out into the frozen snow-bound wasteland surrounding the ship, they peacefully seek out the creepers' leader, which prompts Marshall to go outside himself with a security team and Preston ready to film the unfolding events for a live broadcast, and with the intention of personally killing all the creepers. Using a translation device manufactured by sympathetic scientist Dorothy (Patsy Ferran), Mickey 17 communicates with the creepers' leader, informing on Marshall's plan. The creepers' leader threatens to kill all humans, unless Zoco is returned alive and one human is killed to compensate for Luko's death.

Mickey 17 tells Nasha via camera to free Zoco. Nasha takes Ylfa hostage to ensure Zoco's release. Nasha releases Ylfa, who tries to kill Zoco, but Nasha again saves him. The security agents arrest Ylfa. Nasha returns Zoco to the creepers' leader, while Mickey 18 fights Marshall and detonates the bomb planted on his vest, killing himself and Marshall to fulfil the demand by the creepers' leader. Afterwards Ylfa commits suicide in a psychiatric ward, while Preston and other Marshall collaborators are imprisoned. An associate of the loan shark tries to kill Timo, but Timo manages to kill him. Nasha is later elected as a colony political leader. She presides over a groundbreaking ceremony on Niflheim where it is now spring time, where Mickey 17 (now to be known as 'Mickey Barnes') detonates the cloning device to symbolically end the Expendable programme, but not before he had a vision of a reprinted Ylfa and Marshall.

Director, Producer and Writer Bong Joon-ho has here delivered us a darkly comedic Sci-Fi satire set in the near future on some distant planet far far away that is a times absurdist, thought provoking, a social commentary, and an environmental essay while exploring the class divide and providing us with a bit of a creature feature too along the way. Robert Pattinson gives possibly a career best performance as the various Mickey's, ably supported by a scene chewing Mark Ruffalo channeling a certain POTUS and an equally on point Toni Collette serving up his unhinged yet domineering sauce loving wife. Visually the film looks the part too, but the plot meanders along and it overstays its welcome just a tad at a 137 minute run time, and I came out of the movie theatre feeling a little 'meh'!

'Mickey 17' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

OKJA : Tuesday 4th July 2017

'OKJA' which I saw from the comfort of my own home last week, courtesy of Netflix which is the chosen method of releasing this film for South Korean Director, Screenwriter and Co-Producer Bong Joon-ho in only his second English language release following 2013's excellent 'Snowpiercer'. The film had its Australian Premier as the closing film for the recent Sydney Film Festival on 18th June, and was in official competition for the Palme d'Or at this years Cannes Film Festival, where it received a four minute standing ovation following screening. The film cost US$50M to make, was released on Netflix on 28th June, and has so far garnered largely positive Reviews.

And so to the story. The year is 2007 and we are greeted by new Mirando Corporation CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton), addressing her team in a huge warehouse like building. She is reading from a teleprompter, as it seems that she has recently taken the reins of her fathers company of whom she speaks none to highly off, nor her grandfather either for that matter nor the company they created - manufacturers of napalm no less! She announces that her company has been breeding a 'superpig' - big enough to provide ample supply of food products, delicious to taste, environmentally sustainable, carbon neutral and not in the slightest genetically modified (as she knows that the population at large would not withstand that!). She further announces that the 26 best such superpigs have been sent to the locations around the world where Mirando have a corporate presence, and distributed to farms for their rearing over the next ten years. In 2017 the best of the best fully grown, healthiest pigs will be crowned an outright winner and attend a lavish ceremony in New York. All of this is a big PR exercise in an attempt to re-brand her company and shake off the shackles of her fathers and grandfathers legacy.

Fast forward to 2017, and on a remote farm high in the mountains of South Korea lives young teenager Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun) with her grandfather Heebong (Byun Hee-bong). They were chosen as one of the 26 farms with which to raise a superpig ten years ago, and since then Mija has been lovingly caring for Okja every single day. They have forged a certain bond over that time, an understanding of each other, and a dependence upon one another as both have grown over the ensuing decade.

One day, the time comes when Mija and Okja are visited by representatives form the Mirando Corporation for the purposes of judging the superpig in the 26 strong competition. They are visited at their mountain farm by a small group of representatives that include spokesperson and extroverted celebrity zoologist Dr. Johnny Wilcox (Jake Gyllenhaal, hamming it up and clearly loving it!). They quickly inspect Okja and announce that she is the outright winner and will take her to New York. Meanwhile Heebong takes Mija to the burial site of her parents, and says that he was unable to buy Okja from Mirando, and so his saved up money was invested in a solid gold pig which he presents to her. Devastated by this news Mija returns home only to see the Mirando truck driving away down the mountain side with Okja inside. She gives chase but the truck is too far in front. She returns to the farm, collects some essentials, and leaves for Seoul to the Mirando office there to track down Okja.

Upon arriving in Seoul Mija forces her way past the Mirando Offices security in her search for Okja. From a window above she looks down on Okja being roughly man-handled and secured inside a truck ultimately bound for NYC. As the truck leaves down the side streets Mija gives chase on foot eventually jumping onto the roof of the moving truck. As the truck enters a road tunnel, it is intercepted by another truck of the same size, containing masked and hooded members of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) who are seeking to liberate Okja from returning to the unscrupulous Mirando Corporation.

Okja is set free from the Mirando truck inside the tunnel with the intention of getting her inside the ALF truck, but chaos ensues as the panicked Okja goes on the rampage trashing several now parked up and backed up cars in the tunnel and frightening the bejeezus out of onlookers. The commotion continues out of the tunnel and down into a subway and a shopping precinct there where several shops come off worse for wear. However, the ALF come good and safely retrieve Okja and Mija before the armed authorities close in.

The ALF soon realise that Mija is Okja's owner, and leader of this ALF Group Jay (Paul Dano) tells her that their plan is to put a camera recording device in Okja's ear and let her be re-captured by the Mirando Corporation to show the world how brutally they treat their animals. In the meantime, social media coverage of Okja's rampage through Seoul has gone viral, and Lucy has to go into damage control with her company executive board members including her closest aide Frank Dawson (Giancarlo Esposito). Lucy hatches a plan to reunite Mija with Okja onstage in New York City so that the world can see what a loving, caring, sharing company Mirando really is. Meanwhile, at the test laboratory where Okja is taken she is forcibly bred with another superpig, and Johnny Wilcox extracts meat samples for testing purposes, all of which have a traumatic effect on the humble animal.

The day of the eagerly awaited carnival arrives and with it the revealing to an awaiting world of Okja as the competition winner, to be welcomed on stage by Mija, Lucy and Johnny. Mija has been tipped off by Jay in her hotel room that the ALF still plan on going ahead with liberating Okja while she is on stage and in front of a worldwide television and live audience. 

On stage Mija is reunited with Okja who heavily traumatised by her ordeals in the laboratory does not recognise the young girl and tries to attack her. More chaos ensues and the world watches on too as the ALF screen secretly filmed footage of Wilcox's mistreatment of Okja. The gathered crowd of onlookers soon turn against Johnny and Lucy, and in the ensuing fracas Jay, Mija and Okja and the other ALF Members - K (Steven Yeun), Red (Lily Collins), Blond (Daniel Henshall) and Silver (Devon Bostick) attempt to escape but are thwarted by armed heavies deployed by Nancy Mirando - sister of Lucy and former CEO of Mirando Corporation (also played by Tilda Swinton) who has been waiting in the wings for her sister to fail.

Okja is captured once again, and the held ALF members are beaten up, but Jay and K are able to escape. They take Mija to a huge slaughterhouse plant where they believe Okja will end up as various cuts of pre-packaged meat destined for the supermarket shelves. Eventually through the night time flood lights Mija sees Okja being led up a ramp and cattle prodded to be slaughtered. Finding entry into the slaughterhouse she sees many dead and butchered superpigs, hanging carcasses and scenes of horrifying animal treatment. She arrives just in time to see Okja being prepared for slaughter. She pleads with the man operating a huge machine that will administer a lethal shot to the head just as Nancy arrives with her entourage.

In turn Mija tries to reckon with Nancy that Okja should be spared, as they have grown up together and have formed a special bond. Nancy will have none of this, until Mija produces the solid gold pig from her grandfather and offers to buy Okja in exchange for the figurine. Nancy agrees seeing much greater value in the gold than one worthless superpig, and allows them to go home, but has Jay and K arrested. As Mija and Okja are exiting they witness many more superpigs being led to the slaughter.

Okja is a film that will make you think, and all credit must go to Director Bong Joon-ho for bringing his story to the big screen and to Netflix for allowing the Director's vision to be fully realised as he intended. This is a film about love and caring unconditionally on the one hand between the two central characters - a CGI superpig and the impressive South Korean child Actress Ahn Seo-hyun who carries the film with a professionalism and a grounded realism well beyond her years. On the other hand the film is about corporate greed, animal welfare, good versus evil, and the way in which we as humans think less and less about the animals we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day and in vast quantities. The film has moments of real tenderness between Okja and Mija, has moments of tension and action too, and others that will make you smile and laugh out loud. It's a coming of age story, a heist action drama, and a cautionary tale of the little guys against the corporate behemoth. It is beautifully shot, with strong performances, impressive CGI, a compelling message and it will stay with you after the end credits have rolled . . . and wait for these, as there is also a post-credits sequence! 

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THESE FINAL HOURS - Friday 1st August 2014

What would you do if you knew that your future didn't extend beyond the next 12 hours? What would you do if it were your last day on Earth? What would you do if you knew that everyone you know, all you own, everyone and everything you care about, and everything about your very existence were to be destroyed by the end of today by a cataclysmic event? This is the big question and the central premise upon which new Australian film - 'THESE FINAL HOURS' is based, and this little low budget offering would rank as one of the best Australian films in recent years!

I saw this yesterday, and make no mistake - this is not your mega budget effects laden Hollywood epic end-of-the-world telling the like of which we have seen in 'Armageddon', 'The Day After Tomorrow', '2012', 'Deep Impact', 'The Core' and more!. This film is so much more grounded than the Michael Bay, Roland Emmerich actioners we have been fed in the past, and surrounds ordinary Western Australian folk who know that the end is coming, and there is no escape - the world will end and everyone and everything will be destroyed in 12 short hours from now!

As the film opens we see an asteroid within Earth's atmosphere hurtling ever closer, and we know as a lone voice narrates through the film on AM radio (a convincing and pragmatic David Field) that the point of contact is the northern Atlantic Ocean. With Perth and its surrounding suburbs as the backdrop to this story, we are introduced to James (Nathan Phillips) and girlfriend Zoe (Jessica De Gouw) who contemplate their final hours - she wants to remain at the beach house where they have spent the night, as it is here where she holidayed as a child and where she wants to die when the end comes. James is intent of partying hard and ensuring that when the end comes he is so numb from drugs and alcohol that he won't be able to feel the pain. And so James leaves for destination party! He drives through Perth's suburbs - large houses, wide streets, clear blue skies, but in the distance the tall towers of Perth's CBD are alight and billowing smoke, the street scape is littered with burnt out cars, garbage bins are overturned, there is a corpse hanging from a lamp-post, messages have been spray pained to cars and houses - there is wanton destruction at almost every turn and random acts of murder in the street!

Having to abandon his car to save his own life from a crazed machete wielding madman he strays upon two guys who have abducted young girl Rose (Angourie Rice), have her locked up and seem to be intent on having their way with her later on. Hearing Rose scream he enters the house armed with a hammer, a fight ensues, and fortunately for Rose James emerges victorious. Rose has become lost from her father whom she is desperate to reunite with so that they can be together at the end. James just wants to party, get stoned, get drunk and get laid, but, he reluctantly agrees to take Rose to where she thinks her father will be. All the while the clock is ticking down as the voice on the AM radio tells us that Europe, the eastern United States and western Africa have been wiped out - destroyed - gone!

We are further advised as the story unfolds that the resultant fire storm created by the impact will peel away the Earths crust like an orange, and nothing will survive. There is no escaping this impending disaster -  there are no soaring Presidential speeches to stir the citizens into some kind of defencive action, nations do not unite in the face of their common emergency, science will not prevail, God will not intervene, and there are no marauding intergalactic aliens that have delivered this misery upon our fair green planet!

As the day progresses an unlikely friendship develops between James and Rose as they travel from point to point in search of her father, along the way taking in the house where his sister and family live and then his mother. Everywhere they go they encounter more death, destruction, violence, suicide, and debauchery as life no longer for these short hours that remain has any consequence, or meaning. They make it to party central hosted by his good mate Freddy (Daniel Henshall) but this is not all that it's cracked up to be as James tussles with his new found responsibility to Rose who still remains separated from her father. Several roadblocks arise at this party to end all parties which James has to navigate so he and Rose can exit safely - and as the hour approaches and we learn from the lone radio broadcaster that Africa has gone, as has most of Asia now, James and Rose make it to where her father and family should be, but here too all is not quite what it seems and Rose has to come to terms with some awful truths. James leaves - not though to return to party central but to reunite with his previously abandoned love Zoe.

This film is grim, dark, harrowing, brutal and poignant all at once. For a small budget Australian take on the end of the world apocalypse, the performances are solid, the effects whilst used sparingly are handled with a deft touch, and the story resonates and will make you think long after the credits have rolled - as it has with me! When ordinary folk are confronted with extraordinary circumstances and there are no longer any responsibilities, accountabilities, consequences or repercussions for your actions, how would live out your last 12 hours? Think about that one!

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-