Review of Mortal Engines (2018) by Jin W — 26 Dec 2018

Steampunk Star Wars. That's what I thought when I watched this movie. Mortal Engines is a little bit like Star Wars in that it creates an entire (steampunk) world from scratch and introduces us to a whole bunch of new, nuanced characters whom we are unfamiliar with, all of them with some backstory, which makes things interesting. It's a whole new world.

What I really like about the world of Mortal Engines is that it is unlike any other worlds I've seen before in the movies, so the mechanics of the world is totally different. It's a semi-post apocalyptic world, with a hint of dystopia (yet not dark like many of the modern boring dystopian movies we see today) coupled with a dash of hope and humanity. On the one hand you have the humans which, true to life, want to destroy each other and then on the other hand you have the unquenchability of the human spirit found in steampunk itself told through what is likely the coolest steampunk character I've seen in the movies, Shrike (I won't spoil it for you, but you'll know what I mean when you see the movie).

With Weta's involvement and Peter Jackson & co, it is no surprise how real they managed to create this steampunk world, in excellent CGI glory. London on wheels is simply so cool and intimidating. The actors all fit into this world well. I reckon they could make this movie even more interesting by fleshing out the characters quite a bit more. All in all, it is simply such a cool movie. Personally, this is one of the most unexpected movies I've seen in 2018 and it is a pleasant surprise, being so different from the other movies. I love it, my kids loved it too. Highly recommended.