Movie Review: Mortal Engines

This morning, my husband and I went to the movies to see “Mortal Engines” —  a movie adaptation of the novel by Philip Reeve. 

The Premise

In this post-apocalyptic world, the earth’s crust has split, leaving most of the land unstable to hold cities.  In order to survive, the cities were built up on mobile structures to keep on the move.  But larger cities need to sustain themselves with fuel, resources, and manpower — and they get these by “ingesting” smaller cities and taking what they have. 

 Here is my spoiler-free review:

Steampunk Star Wars

The opening sequence of the movie begins with a small village on wheels hauling butt through a barren landscape.  Then we realize they aren’t just joyriding, they are running — from the City of London.  London has become the largest mobile city in the world, and no one stands a chance against them.

Although you know the little town doesn’t stand a chance, I was still captivated by the chase.  The graphics are really amazing and I loved the thrill of a massive structure “hunting down” this little-engine-that-could.My other first impression was of the style.  The movie is famously directed by Peter Jackson, the director of the Lord of the Rings series, and because of that I expected this movie to feel like the Lord of the Rings.  But instead, it felt a lot like Star Wars.  Rogue One especially.  It is the mix of extremely advanced technology, with people dressed in rags in some places and futuristic uniforms in others.  Think Rey on Jakku wearing strips of fabric and eating “portions” but driving a flying motorcycle thing

Other than Star Wars, the feel was very “Steam Punk”.  Lots of goggles and bowler hats and greasy faces.  I’m not super into the Steam Punk style myself, but it worked in this environment.

My Opinion

Ya know, this movie isn’t perfect.  Some of the characters I thought were weird, and it takes a lot to wrap your mind around the whole “cities on wheels” concept.  But I liked it.  I really liked it.  I felt captivated by the visuals and the action.  Usually I hate “fight” sequences in action movies, but I looked forward to the clash of these machines.  

My husband read the book earlier this year, and he explained that there were a lot of differences from the novel that did affect his experience.  He wished it would have stayed truer to the book because those characters, he said, had a lot more depth.  ,My final word is — it isn’t perfect.  It is silly.  But it is beautiful and engaging.  It has not been doing well on Rotten Tomatoes, and I’m honestly not surprised.  It isn’t for everyone.  But I am excited to rent this when it comes out on video and see it again.  

Have you seen Mortal Engines? What did you think?

Want to read my review of “Ralph Breaks the Internet”? Check it out here!