How does Mickey 17 critique colonialism on an alien planet?

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Mickey 17 critiques colonialism through its “expendable” mission and the planet’s native inhabitants

Mickey 17 critiques colonialism by framing space travel as an exploitative mission where people are treated as disposable labour and deaths are managed through cloning. Once the spaceship lands on a planet with native inhabitants resembling giant fanged insects, the film’s language and behaviour around those inhabitants are tied to the leader’s repeated use of the word “extermination,” creating a direct thematic link to how outsiders can justify violence. The story is built to raise questions about colonialism alongside mortality, identity, and class status, especially as the mission encounters those “native” beings.
“Expendables” turn people into disposable labour tied to class status
The plot centres on Robert Pattinson’s Mickey Barnes signing up to be an “expendable” to evade a loan shark, agreeing to be cloned and have his memories imprinted every time he dies. Expendables are assigned the most dangerous jobs during the voyage, which establishes a hierarchy where some individuals are valued primarily for what they can endure and repeatably sacrifice. That structure supports the film’s broader questioning of class status and who gets protected versus who gets used.
The alien landing creates a colonial-style encounter with “native” inhabitants
After the mission lands on a far-away planet, the native inhabitants are described as resembling giant fanged insects, making the encounter visually and narratively framed as contact between an arriving group and an established local population. The film uses this setting to force viewers to confront what happens when a mission operates on the assumption that it can enter, use, and control a foreign place. This is the moment where the colonialism theme becomes most explicit in the plot’s movement.
“Extermination” language links the mission to dehumanising, violent authority
The mission’s leader repeatedly uses the word “extermination” once the spaceship arrives on the alien planet, and that phrasing is highlighted as something thrown around with abandon. In the context of a landing on a planet with “native” inhabitants, the repeated use of extermination vocabulary functions as a key thematic signal about how authority can treat other life forms as targets rather than as equals. That choice of language is presented alongside the film’s questions about colonialism, rather than as a separate concern.
The film’s colonialism critique is embedded in identity and survival rules
The cloning system—dying, being cloned, and having memories imprinted—feeds into the film’s questioning of mortality and identity, which then intersects with colonialism through the way expendables are managed. Because expendables are repeatedly returned into the mission loop, the system normalises continuous risk imposed on a specific group, echoing how colonial projects often rely on one side bearing the cost. The film’s overall thematic setup therefore uses both the “disposable” premise and the alien encounter to raise questions about colonialism rather than only depicting conflict.

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How does Mickey 17 critique colonialism on an alien planet?

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