I did not see Mortal Engines in theaters because I’m not into the steampunk aesthetic, but I love kickass women, and the trailer promised me at least two otherwise I knew nothing about the movie. I expected it to be wretched, but it wasn’t. While I’m thrilled that I didn’t spend money or make any effort to get to a theater, it was fine for a casual couch viewing.
Mortal Engines is set in the future, and when the characters refer to the Ancients, they’re talking about us. Unsurprisingly it is a dystopian future because of the environment and weapons of mysterious mass destruction. It is an adaptation of a novel that I have no desire to read. In the future, like the past, major cities are either mobile like a ship over the land or static. The bigger ships cannibalize smaller ones and seize the smaller ships or vulnerable static cities resources for their own. We mostly follow London’s progress, which is unsurprisingly reaching back to its imperialist roots with no empathy, zero consideration of the larger ramifications on humanity or moral code. London has a rigid class code, and we follow everyman Han Solo who is a historian who always wanted to fly and never questioned London’s relationship with the world until he encounters Hester as she attempts to assassinate Valentine, a historian and leader. Solo and Hester end up thrown together and try to survive harsh reality.
Mortal Engines is clearly vying to become a franchise, and the story feels complete at the end of this movie. My main compliment for this movie is that it makes its viewer ask a question then answers it. There are no dangling threads, which means that there is no reason to revisit this world, especially since if you’re like me and watch a lot of movies, you probably answered all your questions correctly before the movie answered your questions. It may be predictable and derivative, but considering how many movies unintentionally make criminal sins of omission in its narrative, it does satisfy and comfort like an often-told bedtime story to a child. The names, places and premise may change, but it will still feel familiar, including its well-intentioned critique of imperialism.
Mortal Engines could have created a franchise if it didn’t lack faith in its audience by following the dullest character, Han Solo. Instead it should have copied Terminator. The most interesting, tragic character who showed a depth of emotion in the film is the Shrike, voiced by Stephen Lang, and he should have been the main supporting character and antagonist of the person who should have been the protagonist of this installment, Anna Fang, played by Jihae, as she tries to save Hester from the Shrike and herself. Then at the end of the movie, we would be more invested in Hester and eager to know what life would be like for her now that she no longer has her mission. What would Hester look like as part of a community? Instead the movie is really invested in making her a part of a couple. I actually predicted fairly early her relationship to a minor character so I would have been more interested in seeing them navigate this relationship. It would tie each other to opposite worlds and bring those polarizing experiences closer. It was a missed opportunity. Then Han Solo could have been relegated to his rightful place, as a minor character, love interest and source of comedic relief. Not enough intriguing characters survive for me to want to revisit this world, and I have zero interest in watching Hester and Han Solo’s relationship develop. Most of this world is populated with characters that substitute character development with change in location. Two-dimensional characters are mostly separated as good versus bad, and no one really changes their moral makeup, just the depth of their knowledge.
While watching Mortal Engines, one thing annoyed me more than anything. No one knows how to kill a certain someone except one character. A stab in the gut apparently doesn’t do it. No matter how many times a certain character suffered a serious blow during an assassination attempt, that character survived, but everyone else died from far less egregious blows. It was ridiculous. Some of these people are supposed to be bad asses who have weathered far more extreme conditions, but they wilt like flowers, but the person living like a hot house flower in comfort is just dandy. Apparently that person is the only one who went to murder school. How did the others survive so long, especially since they fall for such obvious traps and get in danger so easily.
If I had a minor quibble, how is everyone so fit if they’re just eating the food of the Ancients, i.e. Twinkies? I guess that you’re expending tons of calories just navigating the rugged terrain. Also pour one out for my homie Summer Glau. I feel as if because of age double standards for women, Glau aged out of taking roles that should have gone to her. No disrespect intended to Hera Hilmar, but Glau would have made an amazing Hester, especially during her scenes with the Shrike. Everyone does a solid job, but other than Lang, no one did such an amazing job that they single handedly dragged Mortal Engines to another level. Even Hugo Weaving, who does his usual best, is not transcendent, but I’m happy that he didn’t have to spend hours in a makeup trailer or had to act through a mask because he got to show his face for most of the movie. Fun fact: Vincent D’Onofrio and Greta Scacchi’s kid is in this movie. No cheating-guess who their kid is without looking it up on IMDb. I couldn’t. I didn’t even know that D’Onofrio and Scacchi had a kid. This kind of gossip is what I want from tabloids!
Visually Mortal Engines feels like a sedate Terry Gilliam inspired adventure, but its producer is actually Peter Jackson. The director got his big break working with Jackson on King Kong, which would not inspire me to bankroll a project for him, but hey, it wasn’t awful. Hey, finally a vision of the future where people of color survived…at the periphery, but they’re there so progress! The narrative is told predominantly in the present with some sprinklings of Hester’s flashbacks, which I didn’t mind. While I think that the mysterious weapon of mass destruction was suitably built up, I do wish there was a smidge more exposition regarding what it actually did that distinguished it from others.
After seeing the preview for Mortal Engines, I expected a horrible movie, but it was just okay, and for someone with low expectations, it is the kind of entertaining diversion that feels more nutritious than it actually it is. I appreciated that it helped audiences see the ugly side of viewing life and death as if it was a sporting event and opens the door to criticizing systems of power that lack empathy or consider ramifications, but it is too bad that it is completely regressive in the way that it actually emphasizes with characters on screen. Anyone outside of the movie could have told the filmmakers that they were betting on the wrong horse.