Mortal Engines Released 2018. Starring Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving and Jihae. Directed by Christian Rivers. Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson. Based on the book by Philip Reeve.
In a post-apocalyptic world, where giant cities ride on wheels and literally devour each other to survive, two people meet in London, and try to stop a dangerous conspiracy.
Yup, this movie is two years old and I’m reviewing now because I just saw it. I did want to see it when it came out, but immediate reviews were harsh and it got panned, so I didn’t see it. With current movie prices, I’m glad I didn’t.
That’s not to say this is a bad film. In fact it’s better than critics gave it credit for, in my opinion. It’s a little trite. It offers nothing new really, outside of the monstrous roving cities and other machines that, quite honestly, look incredible. They would have been worth the price of admission, but something about them felt off. Like they didn’t follow the laws of physics exactly right. That, on top of the weaker than I’d hoped script just makes this movie more of a “eh, it’s fine,” kinda of film.
It’s nothing we haven’t seen before is what I’m getting at. Hester, our protagonist, has a bad past with the Thaddeus Valentin (our villain) and London. Thaddeus acts like a good guy, but is actually bad and proves this by getting rid of the other main character, Tom, from London. Tom and Hester meet. It’s strained at first, then they grow to like each other. They meet up with a “resistance”, after a series of misadventures, and attempt to stop Thaddeus and London from destroying the only place in the world with greenery and where people live stationary, not in giant moving cities.
See what I mean? It’s fine, not great, not terrible. The script was a little dull, (full disclosure I fell asleep during the first 30mins — but that is probably more on me than the movie), and characters are more archetypes than actual characters, but, Mortal Engines does a fine enough job with the pacing and the special effects to keep you interested.
Will you love it? Probably not. Are there worse ways to spend two hours? Definitely.
Recommend if you’re stuck for something to watch, or are curious. Streaming now on Netflix.
Dan M Hampton 
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