Critics praise Mickey 17 for its original premise, inventive humor, and outstanding ensemble cast. David Ehrlich of IndieWire writes in his review, “I’d argue that “Mickey 17,” the best and most cohesive of Bong’s English-language films.” Ben Croll of The Wrap writes, “Pattinson could easily call comedy his true calling, here delivering an elastic physical performance as dexterous as Jim Carrey in his prime.” Most of all, critics celebrated Pattinson’s versatile lead performance.

Not all critics gave positive reviews to Mickey 17 and even some of the “Fresh” ones made their criticisms clear. Peter Debruge of Variety writes in his “Rotten” review, “Though it earns points for sheer oddity, too much of Mickey 17 turns out to be sloppy, shrill and preachy.” Similarly, Hugh Montgomery of BBC writes in his 2-star review, “All in all, it must be considered a serious disappointment from the director.” Peter Bradshaw of The Observer gave Mickey 17 a positive score but also offered critiques. “At two hours and 17 minutes, this is a baggy and sometimes loose film whose narrative tendons are a bit slack.”

Parasite Set A High Bar For Bong Joon-ho & Mickey 17

Parasite May Always Be The Best Film Bong Ever Makes

With a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%, Parasite is one of the best films ever made, which nobody expected Mickey 17 to top. Considering that it is an adaptation of an existing work and that it’s an English-language film, it can be argued that Mickey 17 is somewhat out of Bong Joon-ho’s wheelhouse, which should be taken into account. While some critics suspected that the post-production process for Mickey 17 was less than ideal, resulting in a somewhat messy final cut, comparing Bong’s new film to Parasite is as unfair as it is inevitable.

Very few Best Picture-winning directors have followed up with a film that exceeds the quality or success of their Oscar-winning film. Consider Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley (2021) after his Best Picture winner The Shape of Water (2017), Peter Farrelly’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) after his Best Picture winner Green Book (2018), and Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater (2021) after his Best Picture winner Spotlight (2015). It would have been a monumental feat for Bong to outdo Parasite with Mickey 17.

Mickey 17 Might Not Be As Good As Parasite, But It’s Still A Huge Accomplishment

Mickey 17 Is Yet Another Great Movie By Bong Joon-ho

Expectations and hopes for Mickey 17 were understandably high coming off of Parasite. The Best Picture winner remains many people’s favorite film of the 21st century, ranking in the Top 10 of Letterboxd’s list of Top 250 films with the most fans.

While the review score for Mickey 17 may be moderately lower, it’s still widely acclaimed outside the context of being in Parasite’s shadow. Viewers who walk into a Mickey 17 theater expecting a groundbreaking film like Parasite will be disappointed, but its high Rotten Tomatoes score ensures that it’s still great, even if it’s not an immediate Oscar contender.