Deep in debt, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) escape their loan shark by joining the crew of a spacecraft leaving Earth to go to explore the planet Niflheim for colonization. Mickey was hired as an "Expendable," a human lab rat for scientific experiments to be done in the new planet. Whenever Mickey died, the human 3D printer will print out a new one of him, with his previous memories restored.
The title of the film refers to the fact that the main character was already the 17th version of Mickey. When they had to develop vaccines to survive in Niflheim, the first 16 Mickeys have come and gone. One day, expedition leader Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) ordered Mickey to capture a dangerous-looking creature they called "creepers." This mission had an unexpected outcome that shook up Mickey's life more than it already was.
Playing several versions of Mickey gave Robert Pattinson a unique opportunity to play many different characters even if his name stayed the same, in terms of behavior and even voice inflections. With those hilarious facial contortions as Kenneth Marshall, Mark Ruffalo practically giving a spoof about a certain American politician with his larger-than-life personality and his obtuse controversial political orders and policies. Steven Yuen's Timo was underused.
The ensemble of female supporting characters here is very strong. Marshall's wife Ylfa (Toni Collette) was the true power behind the tyrant, literally dictating the things her husband says. Mickey's girlfriend, security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie) was an excellent fighter as well as a lover, and frank about whatever she wants done. Scientist Kai (Anamaria Vartolome) knew her value of her skills in the new planet and knew how to speak her mind.
This story was set in 2054, just a little less than 30 years into our future. With computers and AI getting more and more powerful and sophisticated, it is really not that far-fetched that human 3D printing may actually be a reality. Writer-director Bong Joon-ho adapted Edward Ashton's 2022 sci-fi novel "Mickey7" to tell us a serious cautionary tale of cutting-edge technology capable to devalue human life, and told it entertainingly well. 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment