The mission is fronted by failed Trumpian politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his repellent culinary snob wife Ylfa (Toni Collette).
The hapless Mickey, not one to look at contracts, signs up to be an 'expendale' who will die over and over only to be resurrected by a 3D printer.
One day Mickey survives unexpectedly and staggers back to the room he shares with his girlfriend Nasha (Naomi Ackie).
No good will come of this.
CW: gross out weirdness
Bong Joon Ho returns to weird highly stylised black comedy.
The premise of an employment contract that extends beyond death and involves being used as a human guinea pig in all manner of unethical ways by a boss who is a vile narcissist is teed up to be a vicious commentary on late stage capitalism.
Bong Joon Ho just goes "nah let's have fun with weird losers in space".
I mean it is that thing but on finding two Mickeys, Nasha's response is essentially "yum, two boyfriends".
There are woodlouse like intelligent aliens, a group of scientists who look like something out of "12 Monkeys" and most of the rest of the crew are like supporting cast from an absurdist British comedy show about misfits pissing about while working in a shitty run down factory. It's sort of like Red Dwarf with a bigger cast and budget.
It's not bad it's just a kind of tonal miss. Are we laughing in the face of despair? Maybe but it's got to work and it doesn't really 6/10. Maybe time will be kind to it.