Mortal Engines is a steampunk adventure film that is based on the
YA novel of the same name. It’s set in a
future where an apocalyptic war ravaged the world, and somehow led the remnants
of humanity to turn entire cities into gigantic, mobile vehicles. This inevitability creates the philosophy of “Municipal
Darwinism”, in which large “predator” cities hunt down and devour smaller cities
to cannibalize their resources.
The plot centers on a brooding
young woman named Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) who is driven by the desire of avenging
her mother against her murderer, Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving). When Valentine re-constructs a devastating
ancient superweapon called the “Medusa” and leads the great predator city of
London toward conquering the peaceful “static settlements” of the Anti-Traction
League, Hester has to team up with Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), an
apprentice historian exiled from London, and Anna Fang (Jihae), an
Anti-Traction League operative with a large bounty on her head, to stop
Valentine. Meanwhile, a “Stalker” – a zombie
cyborg – named Shrike (Stephen Lang) is out to get Hester for his own
mysterious reasons.
This movie is a disastrous box
office flop, estimated to have lost more than a hundred million dollars. And it’s easy to see why. Not only was it foolishly released in the
same time as Aquaman, Mary Poppins Returns, and Bumblebee,
but it’s also simply a rather boring, cluttered, forgettable film.
Its “cities on wheels”-hunting-down-each-other
premise is dumb but honestly fascinating (reminded me somewhat of Howl’s Moving Castle). Unfortunately, the appeal from this wears off quickly. On top of that, the storyline never really
gives this aspect much focus after the first couple of minutes.
The story is both all over the
place and bland. A lot of stuff happen,
but nothing of legit interest does.
Characters lack depth, and it doesn’t require any deep thought to
realize that a couple of their decisions and motivations don’t make sense. None of the plot threads are given the chance
to marinate well. And thus, it’s just
impossible to care for what’s happening on screen.
I watched Mortal Engines to give it a chance; I really hoped I would find enjoyment from it. After all, it does happen from time to time that I get to like movies that didn’t fare well in reviews and/or ticket sales (and, usually, they’re sci-fi like Mortal Engines, e.g. John Carter, Battleship, and Jupiter Ascending). However, in this case, I didn’t.
I watched Mortal Engines to give it a chance; I really hoped I would find enjoyment from it. After all, it does happen from time to time that I get to like movies that didn’t fare well in reviews and/or ticket sales (and, usually, they’re sci-fi like Mortal Engines, e.g. John Carter, Battleship, and Jupiter Ascending). However, in this case, I didn’t.
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