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I wasn’t quite sure what I was in for when I got a cinema ticket to Christian Rivers, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson’s action/adventure/fantasy movie “Mortal Engines”.

You more or less get tossed into the world and story of “Mortal Engines” in just a couple of seconds (the movie kicks-off with one hell off bang).

You see, I have never read any of the “Mortal Engines” books before (the “Mortal Engines” novels are written by Philip Reeve).

So the only thing that I knew from the movie was some of the stuff that was shown in the movie’s trailers, and that’s all there was to it.

Hester Shaw (played by Hera Hilmar) is one of the better and more memorable characters from the “Mortal engines” movie.

So from my point of view (as someone who hasn’t read the “Mortal Engines” books), “Mortal Engines” came of as something of a mixed bag as the movie felt very rushed, forced and cringe worthy at times.

Anna Fang (played by Jihae) is easily my favorite character from “Mortal Engines”, because she’s like a combo of a female Bruce Lee, Morpheus from “The Matrix” and Dante from “Devil May Cry”.

I mean, the movie starts off with a very briefly description of the movie’s story, and then before you know it, you get tossed directly into a world which I know nothing about at all.

Thaddeus Valentine (played by Hugo Weaving, aka “Agent Smith”) might just be the craziest and evil villain whom I’ve seen in a movie for a very long time.

Nevertheless, I did manage to keep up with the movie’s story, plot and characters as my brother Jonas have read the “Mortal Engines” books before (Jonas was with me at the cinemas, so he informed me about stuff that I didn’t know about “Mortal Engines” while we watched the movie together).

Anyways, the movie begins with a short introduction that let us know that “Mortal Engines” takes place in a very hostile post-apocalyptic world (think “Mad Max” meets “Bioshock”).

Tom Natsworthy (played by Robert Sheehan) is a rather charming but at the same time annoying character (Jar-Jar Binks comes to mind).

However, unlike other post-apocalyptic movies such as “Mad Max”, “The Post Man” and many others, “Mortal Engines” has a rather unique twist to it. As you get to witness how big cities (yes, actual cities) on wheels hunt and consume other cities on wheels in-order to survive.

Shrike (voiced by Stephen Lang) is with no doubt the coolest character in the movie.

In other words, it’s a dog eat dog kind of world…And in that harsh world, we get to follow a handful of good people (Hester Shaw, Anna Fang and Tom Natsworthy, to name a few) who are trying to stop Thaddeus Valentine (a scavenger/historian, and later the leader/ruler of London) from destroying what’s the little that’s left of the world.

The city of London is the big monster of “Mortal Engines”, as it hunts down and consumes other cities. Furthermore, later on in the movie London even wages war against other groups and survivors.

You know, on paper this sounds truly exciting, cool and all that. However, that’s not really the case with the movie adoption of “Mortal Engines”.

Why? Because the whole movie is one huge mixed bag of awesome, boring and cringe worthy moments. I also couldn’t help to feel like “Mortal Engines” is the fantasy genre’s answer to Michael Bay, and in my book, that’s not a good thing.

So, all in all, “Mortal Engines” is a pretty decent action/adventure/fantasy movie, but it’s not the kind of movie that will blow you away, nor is it the kind of movie that you will remember for many years to come.

That’s also why I would advise people to pick up the Blu-Ray and DVD edition once the price has dropped instead. As cinema tickets are rather expensive nowadays.

Pros:
+ The visuals are very impressive
+ Awesome soundtrack
+ The action parts are rather breathtaking
+ Jihae, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Lang and Hera Hilmar

Cons:
– The movie is rather boring at times
– Some parts are just confusing if you haven’t read the book
– The movie has a bad taste of Michael Bay even though he’s not involved at all
– The cringe levels are pretty high

Actors: 3/5
Story: 3/5
Sound/music: 4/5
Effects: 4/5
Viewing value: 3/5

tgg grade 3 out of 5

Verdict: 3/5
Peter Jackson and Christian Rivers “Mortal Engines” tries to be a lot, but the movie falls short as it feels like a rushed production with a Michael Bay-like formula (there’s a lot of explosions and stuff going on the screen).

So at best, “Mortal Engines” is a pretty decent action/adventure/fantasy movie, at worst, it’s a “meh-like” movie experience.

Title: Mortal Engines
Genre: Action/adventure/fantasy
Format: Cinema
Movie length: 2 hours and 8 minutes
Price: 7,35 pounds + the shipment cost via Amazon.co.uk
Producer: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Deborah Forte and Zane Weiner
Director: Christian Rivers
Release date: 2018-12-14
Average grade internationally: 6.5/10 imdb.com
PEGI age rating: +12
Movie stars: Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Lang, Hera Hilmar and Jihae