ROBERT PATTINSON SLAYS IT IN BONG JOON-HO FILM

Overt, layered, entertaining commentary on de-humanisation with Pattinson as Mickey Barnes exhibiting phenomenal range

- PRASHANTH VALLAVAN

A desperate man is cloned, sent to an off-world colony to do dangerous jobs, dies, gets cloned again, and the cycle repeats. The hopelessly meek 17th iteration of Mickey Barnes says "Thank you" when his half-conscious body is carelessly shoved inside molten fire to be recycled. After being unwittingly subjected to a cruel experiment involving a poisonous substance slipped through food, Mickey somehow survives and thanks his boss for the dinner.

Exploitation of the working class, the absurd extents of capitalist greed, the psychology of voluntary subservience, the technological resurrection of slavery and discrimination, how love somehow makes all of this bearable. The themes, the intricate confluence of layers, the relevant socio-political commentary, it is all glaringly unmissable. While this only adds to its merits, Mickey 17 has a lot more to offer than just surface-level satire on capitalism.