Mickey 17 vs. Secret Level: Which Sci-Fi Tale Wins the Corporate Battle?

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Summary

  • Mickey 17 and The Company We Keep tackle social commentary on corporate exploitation in similar ways.
  • The Company We Keep offers more humor and entertainment compared to Mickey 17’s more serious tone and slower pacing.
  • Mickey 17, despite being ambitious, falls short in execution, while Secret Level provides a more enjoyable test subject sci-fi story.

In the beginning scenes of the Warner Bros.’ movie titled “Mickey 17“, a new employee orientation officer questions Mickey (played by Robert Pattinson) if he’s familiar with all the necessary paperwork. He admits he hasn’t read it, and shows no enthusiasm about doing so. The officer claims that no one would choose the job Mickey is considering. Nevertheless, Mickey decides to take the job. This interaction between Mickey and his potential employer allows the audience to empathize less with the hardships that Mickey will encounter later on because they witnessed him accepting the position. Consequently, whatever difficulties arise, they seem challenging but self-inflicted since he voluntarily signed up for them. This setup provides a foundation for some intriguing sci-fi action in the Warner Bros. film; however, the action sequences don’t appear as lively or humorous as the previews or even the initial impression might suggest.

In Season 1, Episode 9 of the Amazon Prime Video anthology series Secret Level, due in 2024, there’s an episode that shares a similar setup, including dialogue between a seemingly disposable employee and his processing agent. Unlike Director Bong Joon Ho’s film Mickey 17, which delves more into social commentary, the shenanigans in “The Company We Keep” take center stage. Both shows explore the extreme measures someone might take to safeguard their future, but the setting of Secret Level offers a more entertaining watch due to its futuristic elements.

Mickey 17 Vs. The Company We Keep

In the movie titled “Mickey 17,” character Mickey Barnes accumulates a substantial debt from a questionable business transaction with his supposed friend Timo, portrayed by rapid-speaking actor Steven Yeun on the ancient Earth. To evade a loan shark wielding chainsaws on a deteriorating planet, Mickey transforms into an ‘expendable,’ offering his physical self for risky product testing by corporations and governments on a distant world. Along this journey, he also discovers love.

In the novel “The Company We Keep” by Secret Level, Amos finds himself working in a rundown garbage dump on a nearly extinct Earth. He makes a deal with industrial tycoon Auntie Cleo, who resides on another planet, to participate as a test subject for her experiments. Despite his longing for reunion with his beloved one, Amos is obligated to settle an outstanding debt with his prospective employer first, following the destruction of their job vacancy notice.

The movie ‘The Company We Keep’ is inspired by Obsidian Entertainment’s role-playing game, ‘The Outer Worlds’. This game is a satirical critique of capitalism, where the player finds themselves revived on a spacecraft that colonized a solar system long ago. The corporation the player was employed by before falling asleep decades earlier has expanded its influence throughout the solar system, with its ubiquitous motto echoing everywhere.

“It’s not the best choice, it’s Spacer’s Choice.”

In both “Mickey 17” and “The Company We Keep,” the casual disdain towards consumers serves as a central theme. The main characters find themselves powerless against the corporations they serve, with these entities demonstrating an appalling lack of concern for their well-being. Both narratives depict their subjects undergoing a series of harsh tests, where they are subjected to physical harm, torment, and ultimately discarded by their superiors, being treated as mere guinea pigs.

The main contrast between these two movies lies in their treatment of human characters as disposable plot devices. Mickey, being a clone identified as Mickey number 17, experiences different forms of suffering compared to Amos, who is merely human. Instead of losing his life, Amos often loses limbs or other body parts.

Both films depict their respective characters undergoing similar methods of torture and share a common theme of capitalism being an unrelenting exploitation of the less fortunate. However, it’s challenging to determine which one provides a superior viewing experience based solely on this analysis. It ultimately depends on individual preferences and tolerance for graphic content.

Better Vacation: Nilfheim or Numa?

The movie adaptation of Mickey 17, derived from Edward Ashton’s 2022 book Mickey7, bears a striking resemblance to “The Company We Keep” from Secret Level in terms of dialogue. When Amos seeks an open experiment subject position from the Auntie Cleo representative, she bluntly states that only someone lacking common sense would apply for such a job. This sentiment is echoed by Mickey’s interaction with his corporate overlord’s secretary. She too implies he’d be foolish to take the job and confirms he’s read through the job description, although Mickey admits in the film that he hadn’t. Despite their differing surroundings – Mickey on the unforgiving planet Nilfheim and Amos on the vibrant, verdant planet Numa – both characters are subjected to the harsh treatment of their ruthless employers.

regrettably, the film titled Mickey 17 underperformed during its debut weekend, earning just $19 million domestically at the box office. Although the movie, running for two hours, offers some suspenseful moments and funny scenes, a significant portion of the humor is given away in the trailer. The remainder of the film carries a more symbolic tone. Its comic relief heavily relies on Mark Ruffalo’s politically-charged portrayal of colony chief Kenneth Marshall, where the comedy’s effectiveness varies based on viewers’ preference for exaggerated depictions of contemporary political figures.

Instead of “The Company We Keep,” this film offers a lively, continuous journey filled with laughter, surprises, and suspense for its 18-minute span. It even includes an unexpected, albeit foreseeable, emotional twist. In contrast, Mickey 17 carries a significant twist, but the narrative slows down somewhat as it unfolds. “The Company We Keep” maintains its swift pace and captivating nature throughout.

The Company We Keep Is Good Company

Mickey 17 showcases an ambitious narrative, yet its implementation falls short compared to the initial promise. Despite this, it’s a film worth watching. The frequent deaths of Mickey felt like obstacles for Bong Joon Ho to overcome, rather than sources of excitement. In contrast, Secret Level offers a more engaging take on the sci-fi test subject story, largely due to its superior pacing and emphasis on thrills. Unfortunately, the trailer’s enticing promise by Warner Bros. for Mickey 17 didn’t quite materialize in the final film.

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2025-03-11 22:24