Review: Mortal Engines

Posted on 20 December, 2018

In a post-apocalyptic world where cities ride on wheels and consume each other to survive, two people meet in London and try to stop a conspiracy. IMDb

The dystopian world of this film is the closest thing to a live action Steampunk film I’ve seen. So cool. Actually, it is more Diesel Punk but I didn’t want to lead you too far down the rabbit hole.

Imagine the inventive machines of Japanese anime like Porco Rosso or Howl’s Moving Castle, given the Victorian elegance of Steam Boy, with a side order of Mad Max post-apocalypticism. And there is a Terminator (T-200 metal version).

Still with me?

Yes, there are lots of references to the style of other imagined worlds but the combination of all this actually worked for me. I was fascinated by the visual elements but also interested in the story, the action and the ideas of this world. It is so well made, so well realized that event the author of the original books (Philip Reeve) said it looked just as he had imagined, except for the bits that looked better.

There is a scene where the two young protagonists, having been ejected from London, are walking  – or more correctly, clambering – over the deeply indented ruts left by the gigantic tank tracks the city moves on. Such a small thing but done with a great degree of realism. Really enjoyable.

The premise is that the world has been devastated by the ‘60-minute War’ and most survivors now live in moving cities or towns, moving from resource to resource. Some larger cities, like London, are called predator cities and literally ingest smaller towns, taking their people and resources and feeding what’s left to the enormous beast of an engine that propels their city across Europe. There are stationary cities, the resources of which are the envy of Hugo Weaving’s Captain Valentine, and there is an airborne city.

In fact, the aviators are so multicultural and cool that my husband, a very hard marker when it comes to fantasy films, leant over and whispered: “I want to be an aviator”. These pirates/knights of the air are lead by a woman I consider the coolest Korean on the planet – Jinae. With sharp hair, cheekbones and wit she gives being a rogue such flair I wanted to see a whole movie about her and her airship.

Then there is the metal assassin – a complex subplot that takes a heartbreaking turn that could have also been its own film. Yes, there are a couple of plot holes but if I had a criticism, it would be that there is almost too much story.

I had a great time watching this film and would absolutely recommend it for budding engineers, heroes and all forms of sci-fi and fantasy nerds.

Roslyn saw this film as a guest of Limelight Tuggeranong

Feature image: facebook.com/MortalEnginesAU