It’s been nearly six years since Bong Joon Ho‘s last feature “Parasite” debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, beginning a months-long rollout that ended with it becoming the first foreign language feature to win best picture at the Oscars. Bong received a warm welcome in his return to the spotlight at the London premiere of his long-awaited follow-up, “Mickey 17,” on Thursday evening.
Adam McKay, who wrote and directed comedies like “Anchorman” and “The Other Guys” as well as Oscar-nominated features like “The Big Short” and “Don’t Look Up,” sang his praises for the film, calling it “a perfect allegory for the hellscape stage of capitalism we’re in right now.”
Culture writer and progenitor of the #BongHive fandom Karen Han shared that “Mickey 17” is “worth the wait” and sports “really wonderful performances from Robert Pattinson.”
IndieWire chief film critic David Ehrlich is reserving his full thoughts for the review embargo Saturday, but wrote “rest assured that Bong Joon Ho is still very good at making movies.”
Fandango managing director Erik Davis called the film an “absolute riot” and praised the first half as “tremendous” before the film “settles into something more powerful and timely in classic Bong fashion.”
Games Radar entertainment editor Emily Murray described the feature as “thrilling” and “zany,” while feeling “incredibly urgent in today’s world.”
Globe and Mail film editor Barry Hertz was a touch more measured in his praise, but asserted his belief that Bong “got final cut on this deeply chaotic tour into humanity’s worst instincts.” He also highlighted Mark Ruffalo’s performance as the film’s villain, saying he does the “best Trump of our generation.”
The integrity of the final cut of “Mickey 17” had been a worry among some Bong fans, who haven taken note of how Warner Bros. has nudged the film around its theatrical schedule. Principal photography took place in 2022 and an original release date of March 2024 had been set. When initial delays were announced, Variety reported that the decision was made to secure an Imax release window and allow more time for an ample post-production schedule. Based on these first reactions, “Mickey 17” has proven to be as idiosyncratic as Bong’s other films.
Based on the 2022 novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton, “Mickey 17” stars Robert Pattinson as an “expendable”: a recruit that is sent on fatal missions colonizing an ice planet and then “reprinted” with most of his memories intact. Along with Ruffalo, the cast also includes Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie and Toni Collette.
“Mickey 17” will also screen at this month’s Berlin International Film Festival. It releases in theaters in the U.S. on March 7. It will debut in Bong’s native South Korea on Feb. 28.
