Review of Mortal Engines (2018) by Joseph D — 14 Dec 2018

Has the Young Adult Fantasy genre jumped the shark yet, 'cause I can't tell at this point!

MORTAL ENGINES.

At a little over 2 hours, it was surprisingly engaging, despite my complete ignorance of the source material. This was a solidly, if slightly paint-by-numbers, epic fantasy. It did feel a bit too long, but it never felt slow.

The cast was definitely running on all cylinders. Hugo Weaving plays a good hero, but he NEVER fails to give us an entertaining & grounded villain. Our heroes, played by add names, were pretty standard, but were never the less an enjoyable sight. I didn't just watch them, I wanted to watch them. The rest of the cast really sold the realness of the world, the class divides both outside London, & within, the tenuous structure of everything, & the humanity on display; it was very organic.

The effects were awesome! I know the cities in this movie can't really exist, but their movements & inner workings gave you just enough reality to believe the fantasy; the same goes for vehicles &....other stuff we see. Props to the props & set designers, I couldn't tell what was practical, & what was CGI, it was pretty seamless. A lot of care went into all the subtle details that helped world-build this place; a good bit of show, don't tell. Plus, the references to Greek myth weren't lost on me.

The music was equal parts epic fantasy, & British pride, which makes me think this story started out as an idea for Dr Who, 'cause it woulda fit great in that franchise!

I went into Mortal Engines with kinda low expectations, & they have been happily shattered. Some folks might not like how cut-&-paste this film might seem at first, but I'll take a cut-&-past that's entertaining over something new, but boring any day; & Mortal Engines could never be called boring. 4 stars outta 5, roll on!