The Rotten Tomatoes reviews forMickey 17indicate that Bong Joon-ho’s latest film is another hit even if it can’t match the near-perfection of his Best Picture winnerParasite. Aftermonths of production delays,Mickey 17premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on August 17, 2025, ahead of its widetheatrical release in the United States on July 29, 2025.Mickey 17is the highly anticipated follow-up toParasite, which won four Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.
Based on the 2022 sci-fi novelMickey7by Edward Ashton,Mickey 17follows Robert Pattinson’s Mickey Barnes, an Expendable on an alien planet who gets reborn into a carbon copy of his body every time he dies. As an Expendable,Mickey is tasked with exploring the alien world, detecting various threatssuch as microscopic viruses in the atmosphere and predatory man-eaters known as creepers. Pattinson is joined by a stellarMickey 17castincluding Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, and Naomi Ackie.
Mickey 17’s 89% Rotten Tomatoes Score Continues Bong Joon-ho’s Success
Image via Warner Bros.
Mickey 17, which changed its title fromMickey7due to an additional number of Mickey copies used in the story, has a solidRotten Tomatoesscore of 89% heading into its wide theatrical release in the United States. While this score does not scratch the surface ofParasite’s99%, it’s still an excellent rating for a newly released film, which suggests it will be another great film from the Oscar-winning director.Its audience score, however, is yet to be determinedbut will attempt to match or beatParasite’s"Verified Hot" 95% on the recently implemented Popcornmeter.
Critics praiseMickey 17for itsoriginal premise, inventive humor, and outstanding ensemble cast. David Ehrlich ofIndieWirewrites in his review, “I’d argue that “Mickey 17,” the best and most cohesive of Bong’s English-language films.” Ben Croll ofThe Wrapwrites, “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.
Mickey 17 Is a Surefire Hit, and Robert Pattinson Admits Anime Inspired His Leading Role
In a recent interview, Robert Pattinson has confirmed that anime was influential in his performance for Mickey 17 in a major win for anime fans.
Not all critics gave positive reviews toMickey 17and even some of the “Fresh” ones made their criticisms clear. Peter Debruge ofVarietywrites 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 ofBBCwrites in his 2-star review, “All in all, it must be considered a serious disappointment from the director.” Peter Bradshaw ofThe Observergave 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-perfectRotten Tomatoesscore 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 thatMickey 17is 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 toParasiteis 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.
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’sNightmare Alley(2021) after his Best Picture winnerThe Shape of Water(2017), Peter Farrelly’sThe Greatest Beer Run Ever(2022) after his Best Picture winnerGreen Book(2018), and Tom McCarthy’sStillwater(2021) after his Best Picture winnerSpotlight(2015). It would have beena monumental feat for Bong to outdoParasitewithMickey 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 forMickey 17were understandably high coming off ofParasite. The Best Picture winner remains many people’s favorite film of the 21st century, ranking in the Top 10 ofLetterboxd’s list of Top 250 films with the most fans.
“The Pipeline Is Fully Going”: Bong Joon Ho’s Next Movie After Mickey 17 Gets Early Release Window As He 100+ People Are Currently Working On It
Mickey 17 finally comes out next week, but director Bong Joon Ho is already talking about his big-scale next movie, teasing the release date.
While the review score forMickey 17may be moderately lower, it’s stillwidely acclaimed outside the context of being inParasite’sshadow. Viewers who walk into aMickey 17theater expecting a groundbreaking film likeParasitewill be disappointed, but its high Rotten Tomatoes score ensures that it’s still great, even if it’s not an immediate Oscar contender.
