Review: Mortal Engines

Mortal Engines might be the most spectacular work of hogwash ever immortalised on the silver screen. It's genuinely ridiculous, frequently bad, and almost unapologetically derivative, yet there is no denying that the film is also a remarkable cinematic experience.

Based on Philip Reeve's 2001 novel, Mortal Engines takes place some 1,000 years in the future, after most of the world was decimated during a cataclysmic war, leading to an age where entire cities roam the earth, ingesting similarly motorised cities for their population, any technology they may have and, most importantly, using their husks as fuel. One such chase and ingestion opens the film, and it is certainly something to behold. The vibe is a little bit Snowpiercer, a little bit Mad Max, a little Howl's Moving Castle. It's clear that the spectacle is the thing and, for a time, the film's fascination with playing with proportions and for framing human flesh against steampunk machinery captures the imagination. Unfortunately, once the novelty wears off, interest quickly, almost vertiginously, drops.

Part of the problem lies in the familiarity of characters and predictability of narrative. There's Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar), a scarred assassin thwarted in her attempt to murder government figurehead Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving) by apprentice historian Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan). Hester holds Thaddeus accountable for her mother's death and, though Thaddeus is transparently villainous, he's held in high esteem by the citizens of London. Tom definitely idolises Thaddeus, though he is quickly disabused of that when his hero pushes Tom into a gigantic garbage shoot after the hapless historian shares Hester's warning that Thaddeus is up to no good.

From there, the film spills into several narrative strands, none of which remotely merits attention. Lone wolf Hester and bookish Tom bicker then bond as they navigate a hellish landscape to journey back to London, meeting rebel leader Anna Fang (Jihae) along the way and banding with her and her crew to bring down Thaddeus, who is ever closer to pulling off his evil plan. Meanwhile, Hester is being pursued by Shrike (voiced by Stephen Lang), a part-Terminator, part-zombie who proves a pivotal figure in Hester's back story. It's all nonsense, and obviously very expensively produced nonsense at that.

That there is no care or consideration in the development of its characters is a surprise, considering that the film was scripted by Peter Jackson (who also produced the film), Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, the same team responsible for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, a golden example of how depth of characterisation contributes to large-scale epics. With Mortal Engines, they seem content to hit the most expected of beats and rely on style rather than substance. Christian Rivers, making his directorial debut after working for Jackson as a storyboard artist and in various other capacities, presents the film's numerous moving elements well enough, but the film fails to be anything other than a leaden mess.

Mortal Engines

Directed by: Christian Rivers

Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson; adapted from the novel by Philip Reeve

Starring: Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide, Stephen Lang, Colin Salmon, Caren Pistorius