In Mickey 17, audiences dive into the world of Nifelheim, where multiples run free and Mark Ruffalo acts as a ridiculous ruler.
Mickey 17 is Bong Joon-ho's latest film following his Academy Award-winning Parasite, blending science fiction and dark comedy in a unique adaptation of Edward Ashton's novel Mickey7. It has already received high praise, as a "wildly entertaining" sci-fi film.
While inspired by the book, the movie takes significant departures from its source material, crafting an original narrative around Robert Pattinson's character, a disposable clone on a dangerous mission.
Mickey 17: Plot and Spoilers of Movie
Arrival on Nilfheim and the Expendable System
The film opens on the snow-covered surface of Nilfheim, where Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), an expendable worker, has fallen into a cave. Pattinson had previously said that his role in Mickey 17 was "like nothing [he's] ever done before."
His friend and pilot, Timo (Steven Yeun) asks him what it feels like to die. Despite Mickey's hesitancy to die at this moment, Timo leaves him behind, knowing that another clone will take his place.
As Mickey resigns himself to his fate, he watches as several creatures known as "creepers," including the large Momma creeper, approach. Before he is presumably eaten, the scene cuts to another version of Mickey being reprinted, implying that Mickey 17 has perished and Mickey 18 has taken his place.
A montage follows, revealing the expendable program's dark origins. Back on Earth, reprinting technology had been banned due to its unethical use.
Scenes depict Mickey enduring horrific experiments on the spaceship to Nilfheim, dying over and over again in service of the mission. His shortest lifespan was only fifteen minutes, a grim record according to scientist Dorothy (Patsy Ferran).
Mickey's Past and the Colonization Mission
A flashback, set four and a third years earlier, reveals Mickey's life before Nilfheim.
He and Timo had tried to run a macaron shop but failed miserably, leaving them in debt to loan shark Darius Blank. Facing brutal threats, including being cut to pieces with a chainsaw, the two men sought to escape by joining a colonization mission.
With countless others also desperate to flee Earth, Timo secured a position as a pilot, while Mickey, lacking any useful skills, had to sign up as an expendable.
Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), a radical, gloating politician, is introduced as the man behind the Nilfheim project. Ruffalo plays him in an exaggerated, almost satirical way, mocking the concept of a stereotypical, insincere leader.
Having faced failures on Earth, Marshall sets his sights on ruling Nilfheim, using expendables as tools to ensure colonization.
Mickey undergoes the official process to become an expendable, led by Gemma (Holliday Grainger). When repeatedly asked if he has read all the paperwork, he admits in his narration that he has not.
The process involves memory uploading, causing his mind to flood with past traumas, including a pivotal moment from his childhood, where pressing a button in a car (he believes) led to a crash that killed his mother. The final test requires Mickey to demonstrate his commitment by willingly shooting himself, proving he is expendable. He doesn't shoot himself but does prove he's capable of the job.
Life on Nilfheim and Mickey's Crisis
During the space voyage, Mickey quickly notices Nasha Barridge (Naomi Ackie) and the two fall for each other. Their first sexual encounter unfolds at the same time as Marshall's propaganda speech about sex being prohibited aboard the ship to conserve energy and food. Mickey and Nasha continue their relationship in defiance of the rule, showing little interest in Marshall's ideology.
As the ship nears Nilfheim, Mickey dies multiple times due to radiation, accidents, and even as a test subject for a vaccine against a deadly virus. By the time they land, he has already gone through sixteen versions of himself, leading up to the current iteration: Mickey 17.
On Nilfheim, Jennifer (Ellen Robertson) is killed during a mission to collect creeper samples. Shortly after, the film returns to its opening moment: Mickey 17 facing death in the creeper cave. However, in an unexpected twist, the creepers do not kill him. Instead, they set him free, leading Mickey to humorously speculate that they reject him because he is recycled, "I'm still good meat!"
Returning to the colony, Mickey 17 is shocked to find that his rations have been cut in half as punishment for surviving, Marshall had expected an expendable to die, not a non-expendable like Jennifer.
Upon returning to his dormitory, he discovers Mickey 18 already sleeping in his bed, creating an immediate crisis of what are called "multiples."
Conflict with Marshall and the Creepers
A flashback reveals why multiples are considered an abomination. Nearly five years earlier, a criminal named Alan Manikova abused reprinting technology to become a serial killer, using one body to commit murders while another served as his alibi.
During a congressional hearing, a politician declares that "multiples are Satan's work," reinforcing the strict rule that only one version of an expendable can exist at a time. The term "expendable" was Marshall's brainchild, but he strictly intended for it to serve colonization efforts, not to allow duplicates.
Back to the current day on Nifelheim, Mickey 18 proves to be aggressive, attempting to kill both Mickey 17 and Timo. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Timo has been secretly dealing oxy drugs to other passengers.
In one sly move, Mickey 18 manipulates the situation to steal Nasha from 17; Nasha remains unaware that two Mickeys exist.
Dinner, Romance, and Taunting Death
On his way to crash Mickey 18's party, Mickey 17 earns the rare privilege of dining with Marshall and his eccentric wife, Ylfa (Toni Collette). The dinner begins innocently enough, with Mickey devouring synthetic meat while Ylfa fixates on her sauces.
The mood shifts when Kai (Anamaria Vartolomei) joins them. Marshall boldly declares Kai the ideal candidate for colonizing the new planet, sparking her anger at his assumed ownership over her uterus. Kai deflects the tension by offering a heartfelt prayer for her late friend (or perhaps lover) Jennifer.
The evening takes a dark turn when Mickey 17 suffers a violent reaction, his neck flaring red, possibly from the food or an underlying condition. The medical team's drugs fail to stabilize him, and in a shocking moment, Marshall, viewing Mickey as an expendable asset, nearly executes him with a gunshot to the head.
Kai intervenes, guiding a shaken Mickey 17 to her bedroom for refuge. A surprising romantic connection ignites as they nearly share a kiss, but when Kai asks if Mickey and Nasha's relationship is "open," he recoils and flees to his own room.
There, Mickey 17 discovers Mickey 18 and Nasha, both high on oxy. Nasha gleefully entertains the idea of a threesome with the two Mickeys, but the moment is interrupted when Kai walks in.
Outraged by the existence of multiples she moves to report this serious offense to Marshall. Nasha's quick thinking defuses the situation, convincing Kai to stay silent.
Capture, Escape, & Creeper Chaos
The narrative leaps to a bizarre televised spectacle orchestrated by Marshall, who slices open a rock with a laser, unleashing a baby creeper.
Chaos erupts as Mickey 18 fires at Marshall with a gun he picked up, missing and grazing his cheek. As Marshall orders, bullets tear through one of the creepers, but the situation spirals further when another surviving creeper's cry summons a horde circling the ship.
The revelation of Mickey's multiples becomes public, plunging Mickey 17, 18, and Nasha into jeopardy.
Arrested and confined to cramped jail cells, the trio faces a new threat: Timo, coerced by an associate of Darius Blank, arrives to kill one of the Mickeys.
Through cunning and desperation, Nasha, Mickey 17, and Mickey 18 escape their captivity. Mickey 18 secures more oxy, hinting at their quickly addictive effect.
As the ship teeters on the brink of annihilation by the creepers, Mickey 17, 18, and Nasha are brought to the main area of the ship.
Climax and Resolution
Marshall devises a brutal contest: 17 and 18 must each collect 100 creeper tails while wearing explosive vests. The first to finish gets to live. Ylfa supports this hunt to harvest creeper tails for culinary experiments.
Meanwhile, Nasha seizes an opportunity to choke Ylfa with her legs in an attempt to shift the power dynamic and save a creeper baby.
Out in the field, Mickey 17 warns the Momma creeper that Marshall intends to gas their kind. The creepers, revealed to be highly intelligent, threaten to use sonic attacks to liquefy human brains unless their stolen babies are returned. With one creeper baby already dead, Momma creeper demands a life in return.
Mickey 17 signals to Nasha using a code phrase referencing a sexual position, instructing her to bring the surviving baby outside. At this moment, Marshall personally drives out in a convoy of massive vehicles to confront the Momma creeper. He doesn't want this historic moment taken from him.
As tensions rise, a mutiny breaks out against the political figures on the ship. Meanwhile, outside, the creepers fiercely protect the Momma, forming massive mounds with their bodies to hide her location from Marshall and his soldiers.
Amid the chaos, Mickey and his allies successfully return the baby creeper to the Momma. In a final act of sacrifice, Mickey 18 attacks Marshall and detonates his bomb vest, seemingly killing them both. This also fulfills the life for a life agreement with the Momma creeper.
Epilogue
Six months later, the colony has moved forward, abolishing the expendable program. Nasha has taken a leadership role, guiding the settlement.
Mickey 17 experiences a terrifying dream of Marshall being reprinted, but it turns out to be just that: a dream. In reality, he gets the honor of destroying the reprinter machine for good, ensuring no more expendables will be created.
The story ends with the machine’s destruction, marking a new chapter for humanity on the planet.
Mickey 17 is now playing in theaters.
