What would it be like if Peter Jackson, the man who brought to life The Lord of the Rings trilogy over ten years ago, decided to partake in directing a post-apocalyptic, Mad Max-style adventure filled with cities on wheels that eat each other in order to survive? Well, I have no idea, at least for now. Despite what they say in the marketing, Jackson actually writes the screenplay while his most trusted visual effects supervisor Christian Rivers takes the helm on Mortal Engines. Sadly, however, the lack in experience is very noticeable. While Mortal Engines is grand in spectacle, visuals, world-building, and scope, it is minuscule in story and characters.
Set far into the future, the world had just come out of a “Sixty-Minute War,” resulting in the Earth’s plates shifting, reshaping the landscape completely. With survival more vital than ever, humanity has opted to traverse the vast terrain aboard massive mobile cities, regarded as traction cities. Under the principles of “Municipal Darwinism,” giant “predator” cities must consume smaller cities if they are to survive. The world has become a battleground for survival where only the strong will survive.
In the midst of it all, Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) makes it onto London, one such predator city, where she intends to assassinate Head of the Guild of Historians Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving). But after being thwarted by historian Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), she escapes custody, with Tom in hot pursuit across the mobile city. Hester barely escapes the confines of the city, but not before asking Tom to ask Thaddeus about her mother. Once he does so, he unfortunately shares Hester’s fate, with Thaddeus pushing him off. Now, alone in the vast hunting grounds, Hester and Tom must make it back to London if they are to stop Thaddeus from creating a weapon that’ll make London the top predator of the land.
As I was watching the film, I began to notice that it all seemed familiar, like I’ve seen all of this before. I don’t just mean I’ve seen it in other films in general but in one film specifically, and that’s when it hit me. All of my thoughts and feelings, what went right and what went wrong, what succeeded and what failed, of Mortal Engines are exactly the same as my thoughts and feelings of Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where so much of the spectacle, worlds, and visuals are beyond mesmerizing and astounding, but the dialogue, characters, and story are beyond bland, dull, and generic.
It’s sad to see Rivers’ lack of experience as a director on full display for over two hours. Both Hester and Tom go through the same kind of bickering-to-respect-to-love kind of journey we’ve seen many times before, and while that story can be told effectively and genuinely, it doesn’t help that the characters are further diminished by cringe-worthy, expositional dialogue and a jumbled plot. In a film that bolsters some of the best visuals of the year, it’s ironic that the film rather relies on the “tell, don’t show” strategy of storytelling.
Much of the bland storytelling doesn’t help the villain either, as Thaddeus is your typical one-dimensional, mustache-twirling villain who wants to create a weapon that’ll help him control the world. Even though everyone gives admirable performances, none of the characters are given any charm or depth that’ll make us want to journey along with them across this desolate wasteland. The character that I would say was not only the most intriguing, but also one of the best parts of the film, was the character of Shrike, a soldier brought back to life as a cybernetic zombie who obsesses over killing Hester. A mesh of the Terminator’s conviction and a zombie’s mentality with the physicality of both, Shrike’s slow pace, yet imposing figure, gave him an intimidating presence whenever he was on-screen.
But it’s satisfying to also see Rivers’ experience in the visual effects department on full display. Mortal Engines bolsters some of the most detailed, imaginative, and mesmerizing visuals of the year. From the sheer size of London to the tank treads left behind by London, and presumably other predator cities, and you truly achieve an epic scale for this dystopian wasteland. Through these visuals, we’re able to witness an expansive, richly immersive landscape. As a whole, what makes the journey of Hester and Tom isn’t the characters themselves, but rather the many wondrous and awe-inspiring locations and vehicles they come across.
Much of the world is brought to life with a variety of vast locations and technological innovations. From the imposing traction city of predatory London to a crab-like prison over the sea to an aerial balloon for all sorts of aircraft, the world is fully realized with creativity, ingenuity, and inspiration. The battles themselves are especially reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s previous work in “The Lord of the Rings” as well as the space and ground battles of Star Wars. At the same time, much of the visuals, locations, vehicles, and other aspects of the world design are evocative of the works of Luc Besson and Hayao Miyazaki.
Overall, Mortal Engines bolsters a strong visual aesthetic and vast collection of imagination and spectacle that is balanced out by a dull story led by bland, uninspiring characters. But despite the underwhelming characters as well as the unbearable dialogue, much of the film consists of a sense of adventure and wonder that is sure to satisfy those who crave ingenuity and imagination. I just wish that the world was further realized with genuine characters and a story that could take full advantage of the potential of an admittedly rich world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRsFc2gguEg&t=1s&w=585