Mickey 17 Early Viewing Experience

     Being a student at FSU has its perks, but by far one of the most particular (and cool) is the Student Cinema's occasional early viewing of anticipated movies that won't be released for a few weeks. These previews not only allow movie fans to engage with exciting content exclusively, but it also encourages other students, who may not be huge movie nerds, to stimulate their interest in the arts by attending exclusive showings of new, pioneering films. While I wouldn't label myself as either movie nerd or apathetic to film, I do occasionally enjoy attending these previews with friends just for the chance at seeing an anticipated movie release early (and for free!), like when I went to an early showing of Kung Fu Panda 4 last year!

    So, when the Student Cinema Instagram account had announced that there would be an early viewing of Mickey 17, my first reaction was: what the hell is Mickey 17?? After asking my buddy Wade, resident film bro, I discovered that it was some sort of sci-fi movie directed by Bong Joon Ho and starring Robert Pattinson. I had already been familiar with Pattinson's work as an actor, since it seems like he stars in a massive project every few years (Twilight, Harry Potter, The Batman, etc.) but what really caught my interest was the director. Just one week ago, I had watched the movie Parasite, which had garnered immense critical praise and many awards a few years ago. However, despite all of this, I never got around to watching it until just recently, for a film class. With a new appreciation for Bong Joon Ho's work, I blindly agreed to watch the preview for the film, without watching a single trailer or teaser.

    Clearly, I wasn't the only one with this idea. On the day of the preview, large swaths of college students had crowded the entrance to the theater, whose employees were dreadfully unprepared for the mob that had formed. While some efforts to organize the mob were made, it was ultimately just pure chaos, since there were people pressing to get to the front of the mob. Adding to this chaos factor was the merchandise giveaway, where the theater would give out free exclusive Mickey 17 hoodies and posters to the first 45 people to get into the theater. If the idea of watching a movie weeks before its release to the public wasn't enough, the promise of free stuff only served to further frenzy the crowd, which had begun to crush smaller people under the trampling of the mob.

    When the doors finally did open (to the start of a proper line, at least), I was miraculously pushed all the way to the front of the mob, which annoyed me as I was separated from the friends I had agreed to watch the movie with. On the bright side, I had somehow been placed as viewer number 44 in the line, which granted me the free hoodie, much to the frustration of the rest of the mob behind me. Still, ever the optimist, I decided to make the best of my situation, enjoy the snacks I had bought, and befriended the strangers to either side of me in line. I even joined a raffle for an Uber $100 gift card, which I ended up winning too! Lucky me.

    I'll give a brief and vague review of the movie since I'm not sure what I'm allowed to publish early, so bear with me here. As someone who watched zero trailers, zero ads, and didn't read the book, going in blind for this movie seems like the best possible way of experiencing it. Expecting a dark sci-fi film, I was instead surprised by a hilarious and compassionate satire film that has a lot to say about modern world affairs, and not subtly. This film accomplishes what I believe all great sci-fi movies should do: taking an aspect of the real world and exploring/criticizing it through the detached lens of space/time. Bong Joon Ho takes clear shots at the Trump archetype and draws parallels between Ruffalo's character and his real world counterpart whenever possible. Pattinson's performance is phenomenal and while the voice took a while to grow on me, I ended up really appreciating the tonal differences in the portrayal of different Mickeys.

    I think this movie is a solid watch, if only for the sheer quality of the comedy in this film. I struggle to recall another movie that has recently made me laugh out loud as hard as this one, and yet the humor doesn't weigh down the other aspects of the film. It's still a strikingly accurate critique of modern American politics, and at the core of the film is a wonderful love story, filled with all the moral issues and interesting quirks that you'd hope for in a sci-fi film. Overall, I couldn't recommend watching this film enough! I will definitely be rewatching it when it comes out in theaters soon!