Ain't that a kick in the head
September 18, 2024 12:06 AM Subscribe
Trailer for Bong Joon Ho's upcoming Mickey 17 - What's it feel like to die?
Multiplicity, but with class issues
Multiplicity, but with class issues
Well, I liked the novels enough and I certainly like Bong Joon Ho.
posted by Literaryhero at 12:30 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
posted by Literaryhero at 12:30 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
That looks absolutely wild.
posted by pattern juggler at 3:31 AM on September 18
posted by pattern juggler at 3:31 AM on September 18
I really appreciate that Robert Pattinson has carved out a career that works for him, and often that career is weird. He could have easily gone the heartthrob forever route post HP/Goblet of Fire-Twilight but has opted to be just pick projects that appeal to him. And a lot of times those projects are roles that remake him a schlub or a weirdo and he appears to fucking love that. Kudos to him, honestly.
posted by Kitteh at 3:38 AM on September 18 [17 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 3:38 AM on September 18 [17 favorites]
Multiplicity, but with class issues
Or, "Moon, but with agency for the protagonist."
This looks fantastic. Bong Joon Ho may be my favorite filmmaker working right now. Certainly top 2 or 3 at least.
posted by Smedly, Butlerian jihadi at 4:02 AM on September 18 [7 favorites]
Or, "Moon, but with agency for the protagonist."
This looks fantastic. Bong Joon Ho may be my favorite filmmaker working right now. Certainly top 2 or 3 at least.
posted by Smedly, Butlerian jihadi at 4:02 AM on September 18 [7 favorites]
Apparently it's based on this book - it's not a typo, the book really has 10 Mickeys less - BJH wanted to kill the main character 10 more times. I'm seated.
posted by cendawanita at 4:02 AM on September 18 [2 favorites]
posted by cendawanita at 4:02 AM on September 18 [2 favorites]
Absolutely! I’m in for this one. I so want to bounce the preview to my wife, but I’m working in an earlier time zone today and I don’t want to wake her up … but the moment she IS awake I’m sending it
posted by caution live frogs at 4:34 AM on September 18
posted by caution live frogs at 4:34 AM on September 18
That scene with the stampeding buglike aliens at the end recalled Nausicaa, and BJH's made a giant pig movie. Maybe he's a Miyazaki fan!
Here's the book on Fanfare.
posted by trig at 4:53 AM on September 18 [2 favorites]
Here's the book on Fanfare.
posted by trig at 4:53 AM on September 18 [2 favorites]
Just picked up the book for reading, looking forward to the movie!
posted by childofTethys at 4:59 AM on September 18
posted by childofTethys at 4:59 AM on September 18
Apparently it's based on this book - it's not a typo, the book really has 10 Mickeys less - BJH wanted to kill the main character 10 more times. I'm seated
The original reason I saw was that they didn't want any people to wonder what happened to the films Mickey 1 through 6. But killing Mickey a few more times also works!
There's a few other differences I've seen between the trailer and the original book - he comes from Earth for a start, and they may skip over why he left (becoming an expendable was preferable to certain people finding him), and I suspect they're going to drastically downplay/remove the calorie shortage plotline.
The book (and sequel) was a fun read. Character development was rather light, and Mickey himself was kinda an asshole, but otherwise some good speculative 'what-if clones, but everyone hated them'. Should make a good film in Bong Joon Ho's hands.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 5:08 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
The original reason I saw was that they didn't want any people to wonder what happened to the films Mickey 1 through 6. But killing Mickey a few more times also works!
There's a few other differences I've seen between the trailer and the original book - he comes from Earth for a start, and they may skip over why he left (becoming an expendable was preferable to certain people finding him), and I suspect they're going to drastically downplay/remove the calorie shortage plotline.
The book (and sequel) was a fun read. Character development was rather light, and Mickey himself was kinda an asshole, but otherwise some good speculative 'what-if clones, but everyone hated them'. Should make a good film in Bong Joon Ho's hands.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 5:08 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
I always feel like enjoyment of this kind of story depends on people believing that a clone is somehow the same person with a transferred consciousness, or somehow a reincarnation instead of just a copy. (That is, what makes it enjoyable on a level different from mere sadism.)
"How does it feel to die" is an interesting question when it's a video game and you come back, but "would you be interested in dying right now to find out how it feels, assuming that a totally separate copy of you was produced after you died, and it would talk and think just like you but would not be you, only a copy" is the real question. Like, I personally would not want to die even if an identical Frowner were immediately generated to carry on, because it would be my personal consciousness that disappeared.
posted by Frowner at 6:05 AM on September 18 [3 favorites]
"How does it feel to die" is an interesting question when it's a video game and you come back, but "would you be interested in dying right now to find out how it feels, assuming that a totally separate copy of you was produced after you died, and it would talk and think just like you but would not be you, only a copy" is the real question. Like, I personally would not want to die even if an identical Frowner were immediately generated to carry on, because it would be my personal consciousness that disappeared.
posted by Frowner at 6:05 AM on September 18 [3 favorites]
The original reason I saw was that they didn't want any people to wonder what happened to the films Mickey 1 through 6.
Not an issue for this film.
posted by grog at 6:06 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
Not an issue for this film.
posted by grog at 6:06 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
I always appreciate stories about clones, and recently loved Living With Myself. I'm definitely checking this out.
posted by numaner at 6:16 AM on September 18
posted by numaner at 6:16 AM on September 18
Frowner - one of the themes the book explores quite deeply is precisely about how Mickey-7 really doesn't want to die, and how increasingly he differs from Mickey-8 due to memories and thoughts only he has had that haven't been backed up or transferred. Plus he had doubts about continuity of personhood already in the Trek-transporters-just-kill-you-and-make-a-clone vein, but he rather ended up an Expendable in the first place because he made a terrible decision (and becoming an Expendable was probably a worse decision!). There are strict rules that clones should only be sequential and not exist at the same time - both morally and for practical reasons on the colony - and breaking that rule (spoiler! But it's in the trailer) to have two alive at once accidentally, and what that means and causes is the setup for much of the story.
I'm hoping enough of the original story and those sorts of conflicts makes it into the film - fingers crossed.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 6:34 AM on September 18 [2 favorites]
I'm hoping enough of the original story and those sorts of conflicts makes it into the film - fingers crossed.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 6:34 AM on September 18 [2 favorites]
Always hard to tell just from a trailer, but the vibe seems to be more antic, absurdist, broad and almost slapstick. Does the book have a lot of humor or is it played straight?
posted by gwint at 7:10 AM on September 18
posted by gwint at 7:10 AM on September 18
Always hard to tell just from a trailer, but the vibe seems to be more antic, absurdist, broad and almost slapstick. Does the book have a lot of humor or is it played straight?
As I remember it, there's some jaded humor but mostly it's a first-person kind of cynical/tired account with a giant ton of exposition. The writing and the book in general don't feel "high quality" (someone in the fanfare thread described it as Kindle Unlimited style and that feels right*) but I read it at a time when my brain was fried and barely capable of concentrating, and it worked for that. The film trailer has a lot of style and Mickey seems to have a lot of personality, and neither of those things is from the book; seems like it might potentially be a case of turning something sorta-decent into something very good. I hope.
* for calibration, I also felt that way about the writing in The Martian. M7 might be slightly less well-written than that.
posted by trig at 7:22 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
As I remember it, there's some jaded humor but mostly it's a first-person kind of cynical/tired account with a giant ton of exposition. The writing and the book in general don't feel "high quality" (someone in the fanfare thread described it as Kindle Unlimited style and that feels right*) but I read it at a time when my brain was fried and barely capable of concentrating, and it worked for that. The film trailer has a lot of style and Mickey seems to have a lot of personality, and neither of those things is from the book; seems like it might potentially be a case of turning something sorta-decent into something very good. I hope.
* for calibration, I also felt that way about the writing in The Martian. M7 might be slightly less well-written than that.
posted by trig at 7:22 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
I really appreciate that Robert Pattinson has carved out a career that works for him, and often that career is weird. He could have easily gone the heartthrob forever route post HP/Goblet of Fire-Twilight but has opted to be just pick projects that appeal to him. And a lot of times those projects are roles that remake him a schlub or a weirdo and he appears to fucking love that. Kudos to him, honestly.
Yeah, it's nice that he and Kristen Stewart get to make interesting stuff post-Twilight.
Daniel Radcliffe seems to have gone a similar route. Just make stuff that seems interesting or fun or weird. (or Weird).
posted by dismas at 7:42 AM on September 18 [4 favorites]
Yeah, it's nice that he and Kristen Stewart get to make interesting stuff post-Twilight.
Daniel Radcliffe seems to have gone a similar route. Just make stuff that seems interesting or fun or weird. (or Weird).
posted by dismas at 7:42 AM on September 18 [4 favorites]
Yesssss! Dan Radcliffe is another HP alumni who could have made more blockbuster choices too but opted to pick projects he likes, not projects that could be highly lucrative.
posted by Kitteh at 7:45 AM on September 18
posted by Kitteh at 7:45 AM on September 18
Mickey 17 is the mickest Mick.
posted by flabdablet at 10:39 AM on September 18
posted by flabdablet at 10:39 AM on September 18
I hope this is one of those situations where a talented director makes a good movie out of a not very interesting book.
(I found the book dull, a bit irritating, not too sensible, and very derivative. Cloning was an exciting idea for stories in the 1970s...)
posted by doctornemo at 11:15 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
(I found the book dull, a bit irritating, not too sensible, and very derivative. Cloning was an exciting idea for stories in the 1970s...)
posted by doctornemo at 11:15 AM on September 18 [1 favorite]
"Cloning was an exciting idea for stories in the 1970s..."
Reminds me of when I saw that Danny Devito film about him being a failed Ad Exec who crashed and burned then took a job teaching remedial Army recruits.
The thing is, when that actor stood up from the mud and rain to recite that famous "St. Crispin's day" speech from Shakespeare's "Henry V". "We band of Brothers..."
For one reason or another I'd reached this point in my long life and I'd never heard that speech.
I liked it.
posted by aleph at 12:14 PM on September 18
Reminds me of when I saw that Danny Devito film about him being a failed Ad Exec who crashed and burned then took a job teaching remedial Army recruits.
The thing is, when that actor stood up from the mud and rain to recite that famous "St. Crispin's day" speech from Shakespeare's "Henry V". "We band of Brothers..."
For one reason or another I'd reached this point in my long life and I'd never heard that speech.
I liked it.
posted by aleph at 12:14 PM on September 18
if you've played Paranoia (West End Games) you're getting that singular tickle of familiarity, I think
long live the clones!
posted by ginger.beef at 1:24 PM on September 18 [4 favorites]
long live the clones!
posted by ginger.beef at 1:24 PM on September 18 [4 favorites]
Bong Joon Ho good, though I am not a big fan of the clone trope in movies. Or any time, really, that an actor plays two different characters in split screen. Though I will give credit where it's due--just watching the trailer it looks like the darkest comedy of all time.
posted by zardoz at 2:07 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 2:07 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
OK, the trailer was fun. I'm another person lukewarm on the book (DNF) who thinks that this might be a pretty good movie.
posted by maudlin at 7:05 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
posted by maudlin at 7:05 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
if you've played Paranoia (West End Games) you're getting that singular tickle of familiarity
Yup!
posted by doctornemo at 7:00 AM on September 19
Yup!
posted by doctornemo at 7:00 AM on September 19
« Older I also heard something about a couch | a revisionist endeavor to revitalize postcolonial... Newer »
posted by cendawanita at 12:07 AM on September 18 [8 favorites]