Mickey 17 (Robert Pattinson) just won’t die — which is precisely what he’s supposed to do. As the expendable on an outer space expedition to colonize the new planet Niflheim in 2054, Mickey’s mission as a human lab rat and risk-taker is to die and die again, his body reprinted each day, his memories and personality uploaded to each new iteration, in a sort of body-horror “Groundhog Day.” But this Mickey, the 17th version, well, he has some surprising tenacity, or maybe just good luck.

This is the premise of acclaimed Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi film “Mickey 17,” adapted from the 2022 novel “Mickey7” by Edward Ashton. Over the course of eight features made across 25 years, Bong has alternated between Korean-language social dramedies (“Barking Dogs Never Bite,” “Memories of Murder,” “Mother,” the Oscar-winning 2019 sensation “Parasite”) and goofier sci-fi romps, frequently in English, with international stars (“The Host,” “Snowpiercer,” “Okja”). “Mickey 17” lands decidedly in the latter camp, and encompasses all of the director’s predilections: social commentary, whiplash tonal shifts, how food organizes principles of power, wealth and status-based hierarchies, and menacing yet adorable creatures.

Mickey Barnes has landed in this pickle thanks to some hasty decisions. Back in 2050, on Earth, he and his best friend Timo (Steven Yeun) land in hot water with a predatory loan shark. Desperate to escape his chainsaw-wielding associates, they apply for a space colonization mission to Niflheim, led by disgraced U.S. Rep. Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), whose fanatical acolytes sport red baseball caps. Mickey accidentally applies to be an expendable, while smooth-talking Timo ends up as a helicopter pilot.

Mickey might be on the lowest rung of the social ladder, dehumanized by his job, dispatched on dangerous tasks, exposed to the elements, suffering through the viruses of Niflheim, the lab techs barely catching the reprints of his body as it emerges from the printer day after day. He’s bullied by the rest of the crew.

The problem arises when, in their dismissal of Mickey’s experience, the lab assumes he has died on Niflheim and prints Mickey 18. Suddenly, there are two Mickeys, and multiples have been banned for potential misuse of the technology. The pathetic 17 and vengeful, angry 18, coupled with the arrival of an angry herd of creatures indigenous to Niflheim, throws the expedition into chaos.

Though “Mickey 17” lands squarely in the juncture between “Snowpiercer” and “Okja” in its storytelling and themes, Bong is concerned largely with matters of the heart and soul, especially as they pertain to the body. Pattinson throws himself wholeheartedly into this performance. Both director and actor seek to defy tone and expectation, and Pattinson’s work, using a weird little voice, fits perfectly with the auteur’s unique approach to humor and sincerity.

The worldview that emerges is distinctly Bong: absurdist and yet cautiously hopeful about the future. These themes of vanquishing hierarchies, inequality and power structures that are built for abuse feel both urgent and as representative of his work as ever.

MPA rating: R (for violent content, language throughout, sexual content and drug material)

Running time: 2:17

How to watch: In theaters