Rating of
2.5/4
Pricy steampunk epic curiously running on fumes.
Indyfreak - wrote on 04/10/19
Visually ambitious but hampered by clunky narration, MORTAL ENGINES is one of the few Y/A fantasy movies that seems to have too much plot going on for once. There's rebellions, reanimated zombie soldiers, nifty airships, floating cities, and yes the colossal mobile metropolises. The visual effects are incredible. The acting? A mixed bag.
Hugo Weaving is delightfully hammy as the villain and Stephen Lang is most memorable as the distinctive undead soldier Shrike. The two leads unfortunately are mediocre. Robert Sheehan at least on paper seems like an interesting casting choice as this gawky bookworm who learns how to be brave. But Hera Hilmar is too wooden to lead a $100 million blockbuster.
The action set pieces are suitably grand and massive in scale. The central conflict boils down to another 'save Earth's resources' allegory mixed with the usual kumbaya stuff. But in between that, there's weird subplots thrown in that draw you back in. Unfortunately it seems that for all its expenses and clear aim to be a franchise kickstarter, MORTAL ENGINES is destined to remain a cult curiosity.
