Warning: Spoilers aplenty if you click “Continue reading”
I should probably take back that title. I have seen many well-crafted, cinematic cutscenes in video games over the years, and comparing Mortal Engines to them is an insult to the video games. The visuals look good, but the movie fails on every single level otherwise. It’s an empty package with a nice wrapper IF you’re still into the steampunk vibe. If you, like me, think steampunk has been played out for a decade, then the visuals might not even hold that much appeal.
The setup is a standard “nations started a war and blew themselves up” post-apocalyptic dystopia. The twist here is that survivors mounted their cities on gigantic tank treads to make them mobile, leading to a condition of “municipal Darwinism” whereby larger cities hunt down smaller communities and consume them for resources. To the east, the members of the Anti-Traction League, who don’t think mounting their cities on treads is a good idea, live in relatively good conditions, protected by an impregnable shield wall. It’s an interesting idea, and so much could have been done with it. Unfortunately, Mortal Engines does very little.
London in Mortal Engines. IMDb.com.