MORTAL ENGINES (2018) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

mortal engines (2018) movie

Genre              |   Science Fiction

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   100+ minutes

Released         |  9 December 2018

cast

Hugo Weaving ... Thaddeus Valentine
​Stephen Lang ... Shrike
Robert Sheehan ... Tom Natsworthy
Jihae ... Anna Fang
Joel Tobeck ... Bürgermeister
Hera Hilmar ... Hester Shaw
Frankie Adams ... Yasmina

director

​Christian Rivers

writer

​Philip Reeve ... (based on the novel by)
 
Peter Jackson ... (screenplay)
Philippa Boyens ... (screenplay)
Fran Walsh ... (screenplay)

cinematographer

​Simon Raby

music

Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL)​

film editor

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box office result

Worldwide               $? million

Australia                 $? million

North America        $? million

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the best dialogue

Chudleigh Pomeroy: Sixty minutes is all it took to bring humanity to the very brink of extinction. Mankind mobilized, a new age arose. The Age of the Great Predator Cities. Survival of the Fastest.

Hester Shaw: I was eight years old when my mother died. She loved traveling the world and digging up the past. He used to visit all the time, and then one day everything changed. She'd found something, something he wanted.

​Anna Fang: We must stop London before it destroys us.

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MORTAL ENGINES (2018) MOVIE IMAGES

MORTAL ENGINES (2018) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Thousands of years after a cataclysmic event, humans try to survive on a planet where gigantic moving cities ruthlessly prey upon smaller traction towns. When Londoner Tom Natsworthy encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw, he soon finds himself forging an unlikely alliance that changes the course of the future.

MORTAL ENGINES (2018) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 9 December 2018

Pop ​Movee Rating

MORTAL ENGINES will appeal to moviegoers who like their films brimming with action, adventure and a story that never stops too long to consider the subtler things in life. Although it’s based upon the Philip Reeve children’s novel of the same name, the film version of MORTAL ENGINES has much more in common with the STAR WARS and THE LORD OF THE RINGS franchise movies than its literary source material. The involvement of New Zealand filmmaker (and Tolkien cinema Supremo) Peter Jackson is a surefire sign the film’s backers are looking to turn MORTAL ENGINES into a multi-movie series in search of Box Office gold. Fortunately, this doesn’t come at the expense of delivering a reasonable stand-alone movie.

While the film is derivative, it’s also extremely entertaining...

The screenplay, by Jackson and his constant collaborators Fran Walsh (Mrs. Peter Jackson) & Philippa Boyens, uses most of the Reeve’s book, but also raises the stakes quite dramatically, ensuring the film’s climax is a drama-filled, visual tour-de-force that has viewers hankering for more. There’s a couple of scenes that will have STAR WARS purists howling at the screen but, for the most part, Director Christian Rivers (another of Jackson’s inner circle) does a solid job of paying homage (as opposed to ripping-off) the films that have inspired MORTAL ENGINES.

In the future, the world has been devastated by the “Sixty Minute War”. In that short space of time, Earth was reshaped by a series of cataclysmic exchanges that tore apart the very fabric of reality. Most of the planet is now a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Cities have been transformed into massive, mobile fortresses (“Predator cities”) scouring the world for resources to keep their gears turning, while others (the “Anti-Traction League”) have surrounded themselves with impenetrable walls, determined to protect their resources from the mobile marauders.

MORTAL ENGINES opens with an extended chase sequence that feels like it’s been lifted straight out of a MAD MAX film, except the scale of the vehicles is substantially larger. Adding to the similarity is the pulsing, urgent score provided by Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL), who also provided a similar soundscape for George Miller’s MAD MAX: FURY ROAD.

The pleasant surprise of MORTAL ENGINES is how well the audience get to know such a vast array of characters throughout the film’s 128 minute running time.

Headlining the film are Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan and Hugo Weaving...

Hilmar, know mainly for her TV work on shows like DA VINCI’S DEMONS and ANNA KARENINA, plays the film’s central character, Hester Shaw. The audience learn that Hester was orphaned at a young age, forced out into rugged, dangerous wastelands, fending for herself until she was “adopted” by the mentally unhinged cyborg Shrike; a CG creation voiced by AVATAR actor Stephen Lang. As the film opens, Hester is on a mission to assassinate Hugo Weaving’s Thaddeus Valentine…

MISFITS actor Robert Sheehan plays Tom Natsworthy, an unassuming assistant at “London Museum”, but who, in reality, is a fundamentally heroic character willing to throw himself into danger without a second thought. It’s pleasing to see Sheehan land such a high profile role in a feature film, but his fans will be a little confused by the not-so-convincing London accent he’s forced to take on in place of his normal Irish twang.

Speaking of weird accents, Hugo Weaving, in yet another role, is forced to flatten his tone into an Agent Smith-like accent that sees him enunciating between clenched teeth and twisting even the simplest lines with “EVIL” intent… Yes, he’s the “Bad Guy”, but it’s not really a surprise. Weaving’s Valentine is set up very early in the film as the character to boo and hiss at. Despite his intelligent thoughtful exterior, Valentine is a man with a plan and it doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending as its objective!

MORTAL ENGINES is more about style than it is substance and, on that front, it has a number of one clear winner on that front...

Best hair in a movie EVER goes to Korean musician Jihae, who plays wanted terrorist Anna Fang. Musically, Jihae is seriously talented. She’s interesting, innovative and has already gained the attention of music peers signalling their desire to work with her. MORTAL ENGINES is a complete departure for her and feels lightweight by comparison to her music. As Fang, she’s got charisma to burn, bringing a Harrison Ford Han Solo type of swagger to the role.

The influence of the original STAR WARS movies is clearly on display in MORTAL ENGINES.

A number of scenes parallel those from the much loved franchise. They’re not hard to pick. The two scenes that may elicit the aforementioned “howling” both occur in the film’s finale...

At one point, Tom Natsworthy decides the only way to stop Valentine’s march to victory is to make a suicide run into the heart of London’s massive engine. With the help of Valentine’s daughter Katherine (Leila George), he pilots Fang’s ship into the heart of the massive city, unleashing a volley of weapons fire upon its propulsion system. While its not quite a shot-for-shot restaging of the Millennium Falcon’s attack on the Death Star reactor in RETURN OF THE JEDI, it’s definitely a homage designed to evoke the same feelings everyone had the first time they saw that film all the way back in 1983.

The other noteworthy scene pays homage to THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. It’s hard to describe the scene without spoiling the twist in the story. Suffice to say, Hugo Weaving’s character reveals a connection to another of the film’s characters that allows him to riff some of Darth Vader’s best material!

MORTAL ENGINES is a big, visually lavish piece of entertainment. Each of the characters have enough detail sketched in for the audience connect with them and care what happens. Hilmar and Sheehan are no Hepburn and Bogart, but they’re not terrible. The peripheral characters, such as Anna Fang, are far more interesting. Some of the visual effects work isn’t quite up to scratch and in some scenes becomes a distraction, as it’s obvious the actors are working against a green screen.

One big tick for MORTAL ENGINES is the restraint Rivers and Jackson exercise around the mythology of the novels. It’s obvious Universal Pictures want this film to do well and create a franchise. Too often these days the first film in a series is crammed full of exposition for the purpose of establishing sub-plots for planned, later films. This type of franchise-building exposition is confusing and diverts from the narrative and plot of the film at hand. Thankfully, MORTAL ENGINES is more concerned with being a success in its own right. Sure, there’s backstory included that will be helpful to the viewer should the film do well and a sequel happen, but the film version of MORTAL ENGINES is not a slave to future potential, nor does it rely on familiarity with the Philip Reeve novels. It is its own film.

The science fiction genre hasn’t had much recent box office love with new entrants (VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS) and, without doubt, MORTAL ENGINES will have its naysayers. Don’t be put off, make the investment into the XL Popcorn and sit back for the ride. Those who don’t find MORTAL ENGINES entertaining are harsh critics indeed...

MORTAL ENGINES (2018) USEFUL LINKS

​Mortal Engines (2018) - IMDb
​Mortal Engines (film) - Wikipedia
​Mortal Engines (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes

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