Mickey 17's 4K dark comedy, Porschephiles' updated 911 tome, and Arizer's Solo gets an upgrade

By Jim Bray
May 22, 2025

"He's dying to save mankind."

Take an interesting take on the cloning (and MAID) issue, sprinkle in some dark humour and interesting situations, and you have Mickey 17, the latest offering from Oscar-winning director Bang Joon Ho.

I'd never heard of Bang Joon Ho before, but he's the guy behind Parasite, which copped Best Picture and Best Director Oscars (and two others). I never saw that film, and it's been a long while since I trusted the Oscars, but Mickey 17 is definitely good enough that it makes me think maybe Parasite was, indeed, a good film. Guess I'll have to check it out.

Anyway, in Mickey 17, our hero – not surprisingly – is Mickey. He wants to get off Earth and have, as pitched in Blade Runner, "a chance to begin again." Alas, he doesn't have particularly marketable skills that would put him in good stead on a colonization mission, so he enlists as an "expendable," a person whose sole purpose is to be a test subject and go places and do things too dangerous for regular humans. He's basically animal testing in the age of space colonization!

His job, in a nutshell, is to let himself get killed – hence the job title. But fear not! As in Tom Cruise's Edge of Tomorrow, each time he's killed he comes back to life, except that, unlike in Edge of Tomorrow, it isn't a time loop he's caught up in, waiting for him to learn from his experiences. No, Mickey is, well, truly expendable and there are plenty more Mickeys when they're needed.

Cloning? Nah, too easy! It's more like 3D printing than cloning, and I laughed more than once watching the process: the director's sense of humour shines through here as Mickey (+1, over and over again – hence 17) emerges jerkily from the "resurrection machine" as if he's a piece of paper coming out of an inkjet printer.

Once the new body (still played by Robert Pattinson) has emerged, they plug in his old memories and he's off to the races, taking the place of his earlier, deader, self. He's basically a slave of his job description and his bosses can put him in any dangerous situation they may want because that's what he signed on for.

In one instance, he's on the outside of their ship doing some task too dangerous for "regular humans" – and if he dies from radiation exposure so what? His death would be seen as a useful bit of information the powers that be can use: all in the name of science. This is just one example of his life in this movie.

Most people treat Mickey as disposable, which is understandable, but he does have a girlfriend he loves and who loves him. We also have on board a supposedly quasi-religious figure leading the mission, which gives us a chance to see Hollywood whacko Mark Ruffalo chew Mucho scenery.

Naturally, there's a lot more to it in this relatively complex, interesting and humourous story. I'm still trying to figure out if I liked it a lot or if I merely enjoyed watching it (I'm leaning toward the former) but it's certainly a movie that's worth seeing at least once. In fact, I'm planning to watch it again soon to see how it stands up.

I think Mickey 17 may be a tad long, at 137 minutes, but it never drags and it's never boring.

And it is quite funny, in a kind of sad way. A black comedy, indeed!

Warner Brothers has given Mickey 17 a nice 4K treatment, with a picture that's sharp and clean and colourful and which makes the people, sets and costumes look really great. The special effects are also first rate and look great.

The audio is Dolby Atmos, which is backward compatible to Dolby TrueHD, which most audio muggles can access if they don't have Atmos capability (I'm one of them). And it's fantastic! All your audio channels will get a nice workout and the fidelity is wonderful. Dialogue is always clear, too, which is handy.

The only place this disc really falls down is with its supplements. You only get three short featurettes, most of which seem to be hagiographies to director Bang himself. There's also some trailers.

Still, I daresay one doesn't normally buy a disc based on its extras and the ones here can be considered as mere bonuses rather than a trip to film school as we've seen in such 4K releases as the Clint Eastwood and Alfred Hitchcock films I've reviewed.

So, forget about the sparse extras and watch Mickey 17 because it deserves to be seen in its own right.

Calling 911

Meanwhile, fans of Porsche's iconic masterpiece 911 have an updated edition of "The Complete Book of Porsche 911" to savour. This fourth edition of Randy Leffingwell's encyclopedia of my ultimate dream car retails for a whopping $80 in Canada but for that money you get so much 911 info that your head may spin.

The 911 wasn't Porsche's first car, but it was certainly a statement maker. It has been argued that it's basically just the ultimate iteration of the Volkswagen Beetle, and I can see that point, but it has also evolved into a legitimate supercar, but one that can be driven every day.

I've reviewed several 911's over the years, though not for about a decade, and every time I slid my ponderous posterior into its driver's seat it put a smile on my face that my wife thought meant I'd been a bad boy somehow.

Since the 911 is my ultimate dream car, I was prime audience for this book, and it gave me more information on that particular automotive masterpiece than I could have dreamed. Or even wanted! The book outlines every 911 model since, well, before there was a 911and continues right up to its current iteration.

Along the way through this tome you'll find info on the original 901 prototype (the 911 would have been the 901 except that Peugeot objected that the designation was too close to its own models – and Porsche neglected to tell them to pound sand), every air-cooled model (1963-1998), the water-cooled ones that followed and even the racing, prototype and limited production models are covered.

There's even coverage of some special custom models that were crafted for special customers.

The book is written very well, and obviously by a Porschephile, and the illustrations are both generous and quite lovely to look at in many cases. And you'll see pictures of some of those customized models you may have never known exist – as well as others you may have heard about but may not have seen before.

It's a heckuva book if you're into Porsche and, especially, the glorious 911. A remarkable reference work that's worthy of the mighty 911.

I'd rather have the actual car, though…

Vape upgraded…

Fans of Arizer's many vapourizers have a new choice, and for the most part it's a great one. The Solo III version 2.0 ($344.99 CDN) is claimed to be Arizer's most powerful and advanced portable "by far". I dunno about that – it's basically the Solo III upgraded a bit, not that the Solo III isn't a heckuva vape in its own right.

My big issue with the original model Solo III was its interface, though I had a preproduction model and had been told it would change when the model hit the market. So, while I had some angst, I couldn't actually complain excessively because I didn't know if it would be relevant when the unit shipped.

I guess maybe it was relevant, because the version 2.0 addresses my concerns. Gone is the seemingly interminable process to get it fired up, and now you can set the interface to head straight to your "session mode" or "on demand mode" screen, bypassing the unlocking process, the "Hello" message and the other stuff that slowed down access to the goodness the Solo III was waiting to share. This new, streamlined Operating System is a really welcome touch

Version 2.0, like its predecessor, heats up quickly thanks to "groundbreaking Instant-Heating Ceramic Convection Technology". Session Mode gives you several programmable preset temperatures (I find that 205 degrees F works great) and flexible shut off times, while On-Demand mode features a new real-time display with adjustable presets, and there's a new "Session Toggle" for more control over your vaping experience.

You also get their XL Glass Pod system of glass tubes, which claim double capacity and increased airflow.

Solo III's use USB-C for charging and you can still use the vape while it's charging (with a long enough cable!). Arizer claims up to three hours of battery life per charge, which seems about right.

Alas, nothing is perfect. Arizer's sample was the "sea of green" model, which features a handsome green body, but the "full colour" interface screen is also in green and for all intents and purposes it's monochromatic. This has added angst to my use of the version 2.0 that I didn't have with the much easier to read version 1.0's screen which, despite the interface hassles was easy to read. I also find the battery level indicator extremely small and hard to read, even with my reading glasses on – which was also an issue with V1.0. Not a big deal or a deal breaker, but a definite issue.

Other than that, I can't find fault with the Solo III V.20. It builds on an already great vapourizer and adds terrific ease of use and convenience.