Read Nikki's review of Mortal Engines.
Hundreds of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)—who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London—finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future.
Mortal Engines is in theaters on December 14th, 2018.
Percy Jackson’s Mortal Engines opens this weekend. I am very new to the story- I had absolutely no idea what this movie was going to be about going into it. After watching the movie however, the post apocalyptic movie left me feeling a little disappointed.
The movie takes place thousands of years into the future following an event known as the ‘Sixty Minute War.’ The world is reconstructed, where cities are now mobile and the large cities, like London, become predators, hunting for smaller cities and taking their resources. In one of these smaller mobile cities, we meet Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar), a scared teenager seeking revenge against Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving), one of London’s government leaders, while also stopping his plans of using the mobile city of London to destroy the Anti-Traction League.
The movie opens up with an astounding action sequence that I haven’t seen in a while, but because of such an incredible opening scene, it sets high expectations of the rest of the movie, and sadly it didn’t reach them. Although it started out fast paced, it slows down drastically until the final climactic battle scene. The story also lacks substance and the characters along with the script, were so clichéd and badly written. The movie reminded me a lot of Mad Max Fury Road while also ripping off aspects of Star Wars.
I will say however, the movie had incredible CGI, especially with the moving cities. There were also a couple parts where I did laugh out loud. Hugo Weaving was excellent as the villain. Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan and Jihae (the leader of the Anti-Traction League) were also incredible. Sadly, the acting could not save the movie. There were many things wrong with the characters. For instance, there were no reasons explained in the movie as to WHY certain characters made decisions they did, for example, there were characters in the movie sacrificing themselves for absolutely no reason.
Mortal Engines is very predictable and has little to offer. Like a lot of movies based on novels, there was too much to offer and squeeze in a short amount of time. I highly recommend watching one of the other terrific movies coming out this holiday season (like Into the Spider-verse) and catch this one when it comes to Redbox.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Nikki (Contributor) is a Chicago Native who loves watching movies (some definitely more than once). Her favorite genres include Thrillers and Dramas. When she's not at the movies you can most likely find her at a live concert, singing along to a Disney classic or binge watching Netflix.Click Here to check out Nikki's Articles.