Bong Joon-ho’s surreal, science fiction comedy “Mickey 17” grasps audiences with its novel and unusual narrative and leaves them hooked with captivating acting performances.

Released March 7, “Mickey 17” has grossed $53.3 million worldwide. 

The film follows the charmingly awkward Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) who after having his life threatened by a loan shark, looks to space for an escape.

Desperate for a spot on the colonizing mission to the planet, Niflheim, Mickey blindly signs up to work on the ship as an “expendable,” a crew member whose sole purpose is to die…over and over and over again.

Each time Mickey dies, his corpse is recycled and then used to print out a clone of himself, who retains all of the past Mickey’s memories.

That is, until the seventeenth iteration of Mickey doesn’t die on schedule, allowing two Mickeys to coexist, a crime that will initiate a slew of absurd conflicts including alien agreements, proposed threesomes and attempted murders.

“Mickey 17” balances a comedic timing reminiscent of the quirky and quick work of Wes Anderson with a level of absurdity akin to “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

While the science fiction genre often takes itself too seriously, “Mickey 17” provides a fresh touch to the genre.

Further, the stellar performances of the cast of “Mickey 17” sell the absurdity of the film exquisitely. 

The primary standout was Pattinson’s portrayal of Mickey, furthering his delineation from his dark acting past (also known as “Twilight.”)

Pattinson’s involvement in successful projects like “The Batman,” “The Lighthouse,” “Devil All the Time,” “The Boy and the Heron” and now “Mickey 17” has gone to prove Pattinson’s incredible range and talent as an actor.

Not only was Pattinson able to show a docile, bumbling, nerdy side of himself that we have yet to see him play in his other roles, but he does so with an incredible physicality to his performance.

Pattinson, who has proven his voice acting skills in his other projects, brought Mickey 17 to life with a soft-spoken and unsure Midwestern American accent.

According to MovieWeb.com, Pattinson drew inspiration from Steve Buscemi’s performance in “Fargo.”

Complicating Pattinson’s performance was the fact that he played the clone Mickey 18 as well, who despite being a clone was so starkly different from Mickey 17 that it was as though he had two unique roles.

Mickey 18, the Mr. Hyde to Mickey 17’s Dr. Jekyll, brandishes a dark and dangerous demeanor that Pattinson flawlessly delivers. 

In an AP News interview, Pattinson said, “My first thought, on pretty much the first read of it, was, ‘It’s like Ren and Stimpy.’” 

Pattinson said, “I kind of wanted to do this like cartoon character performance. You start out really, really extreme and then kind of gradually tone it down.” 

Aside from Pattinson, the film offers expectedly great performances from Mark Ruffalo, who plays a Trump-adjacent crooked politician Kenneth Marshall; Toni Collette, who plays Kenneth’s unhinged wife; and Steven Yeun, who plays the slippery fake friend of Mickey, Timo.

Naomi Ackie truly shines, though, with her portrayal of the relentlessly caring and outspoken love interest of Mickey, Nasha.

Aside from the acting, the film kept audiences grasped with its unusual although thematically familiar plot.

Joon-ho’s commentary on class that saturated his Academy-award-winning film “Parasite” permeates “Mickey 17” as well.

Despite this though, Joon-ho avoids burdening the viewer with anything too serious, keeping the film light and humorous.

While the narrative did start to drag on near the end of the film, the performances of the cast made the audience stay seated in the last 30 minutes of the film.

“Mickey 17” is well worth the trip to the theater.