Mortal Engines - Krieg der Städte

I loved the idea, cities eating each other, but it hardly happens, the idea is introduced and then forgotten. The concept was great but I think Peter Jackson has lost the ability to adapt books. Lord of the Rings worked because the kept to the story and adapted it for screen, the Hobbit didn't work because they extended it into a bloated monster for screen and Mortal Engines fails because they have changed the story so much to make a their movie version. I didn't mind it when I first saw it, it's an ok film with great ideas that it doesn't really capitalise on but then I read the book.....

The nuanced villain has become almost comic book, despite Hugo Weaving's best efforts and the changes to make the Star Wars like ending took the tragedy from the finale. Hester seems hollow and her affection for Tom seems forced. Tom doesn't get to be our unwitting hero, with all his bravery that breaks down Hester removed and the tragic end is turned into an explosive pyrotechnic fest. Even Shrike's story is broken for no good reason, just to make Valentine even more evil and Tom less heroic. What a shame.

So, if you've not read the book, give it a go - there are far worse films - if you have, beware.

First things first, I was lucky enough to be able to go to the pre-premier in Amsterdam and watched the movie in IMAX and I highly recomand watching it in this format.

Basicly what you are watching is a movie that almost seems to aim to be the next terrible tween trilogy. But... the story is not half bad. Filled with plotholes, obnoxious characters and refusing to explain just WHY THEY HAVE TO DRIVE THEIR CITIES!? but overall enjoyable.

The true attrection however is the scenery and boy is it worth it. The cities look amazing, the planes, buildings and everything in the film is dressed to impress. It made me want to crawl through the screen and just marvel at the beauty of it all.

So yeah! The movie is kinda like watching an anime like Howls moving castle without subtitles. I have no idee what they are trying to say but it sure looks nice.

I enjoyed this movie mostly for the novel concept. Something really upsetting has happened to the Earth, there is some mention of a 60-minute war, perhaps nuclear. Now, at least 1000 years into the future, or as one character says, 1700 years after the big destruction, cities large and small are on very, very large traction devices, they travel the landscape and gobble up smaller cities for the food and supplies. The featured city is London with its many levels, the lowest for grunt work and the highest for the elite.

So the hook here isn't unlike many other fantasy movies, there is always one powerful man who wants to be all-powerful. And there are one or two ordinary people who need to stop him. Here it is a female and a male, 30-ish young adults.

The movie is loaded with action, especially the last third or so. It is entertaining as a futuristic action flick, I suppose one could draw parables about the human condition and caring for each other. I watched it on BluRay from my public library, my wife skipped.

The disc has a number of very interesting extras showing how they built the sets and made certain parts of the movie.

Pros: -Gorgeous Visuals -Steam punk vibe -Cinematography -Third act battle sequence

Cons: -Villain/Antagonist motivation is weak and also its backstory -Supporting characters are flat -Unnecessary sub plots

Score: -2.5/5 Chili Peppers

Verdict:

• The story itself has some flaws, it has a weak world building. It's antagonist has weak qualities of a good villain where you could hate him in the entire film. The movie also suffers from the lack of good backstory for the supporting characters and some of its protagonist motivation. Some subplots are not needed in the film , it just make the film longer and dragging.

Better than I was expecting. Most sci-fi fans should like this. Lots of reviewers seem to look too deep and over-analyse. Just sit back and enjoy the ride!