Review of Mortal Engines (2018) by Xeroka — 14 Dec 2018

I can't recommend anyone see this movie. Even ignoring the source material, it is simply bad as a movie. I had high hopes seeing Peter Jackson attached to the movie, but it seems it did not help it outside the general visuals, which is really the only positive thing I can attribute to this movie. The general plot gave the impression they were just trying to rush me along from one pretty action scene to the next, while failing to actually make me care about, or be invested in, the characters, their motivations, or the world the story takes place in.

After going back and reviewing the plot of the book, I found that many of the central themes and events that made it interesting were also glossed over and prettied up in the movie. They managed to take a very interesting character in Shaw and reduce her to a basic pretty girl with generic motivations and personality. With the personalities of the main characters stripped away, the love story they attempt to shoe-in comes across as forced as I am left wondering why these people who just met look like they are already in love.