Movie · 2018 · Adventure, Science Fiction · 2h 8m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 0.5/10 (156.8K ratings)
Some scars never heal
Overview
Many thousands of years in the future, Earth’s cities roam the globe on huge wheels, devouring each other in a struggle for ever diminishing resources. On one of these massive traction cities, the old London, Tom Natsworthy has an unexpected encounter with a mysterious young woman from the wastelands who will change the course of his life forever.
Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide, Stephen Lang, Colin Salmon, Mark Mitchinson, Regé-Jean Page, Menik Gooneratne, Frankie Adams, Leifur Sigurdarson, Kahn West, Andrew Lees, Sophie Cox, Kee Chan, Sarah Peirse, Mark Hadlow
Curator Review
Verdict
A visually ambitious, frequently imaginative steampunk blockbuster that earns points for scale, production design, and a few memorable creations, but it’s weighed down by thin characterization, overstuffed mythology, and a story that often feels like it’s sprinting to keep up with its own world-building.
Best for
viewers who prioritize world-building and production design over plot
fans of post-apocalyptic adventure with a YA sheen
audiences curious about big-budget oddities and concept-heavy spectacle
people who enjoy dieselpunk/steampunk imagery and elaborate vehicles
Skip if
you want tightly written characters and clean emotional stakes
you’re allergic to exposition-heavy fantasy lore
you prefer grounded sci-fi over maximalist comic-book-style spectacle
you need a movie that fully pays off its premise
Overview
Mortal Engines is the kind of expensive, overbuilt fantasy blockbuster that can feel both exhilarating and slightly embarrassing at the same time. The core hook is irresistible: cities on wheels hunting each other across a ruined Earth. The movie absolutely commits to that image, and the production design, scale, and movement of the traction cities give it a weird, bruised grandeur that’s easy to admire even when the story is stumbling.
Worth noting
What keeps it from becoming a cult classic on the spot is that it’s constantly trying to explain itself while also racing through plot beats borrowed from better, cleaner adventures. The characters are serviceable rather than vivid, and the emotional arcs never quite match the ambition of the setting. Still, there’s enough invention here — especially in the machinery, the aerial combat, and a few striking supporting figures — to make the film feel like a sincere swing rather than a cynical one.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for a lavish misfire with real imagination behind it, this is a worthwhile watch. If you need narrative precision or a strong dramatic center, the movie’s sheer volume of ideas may end up feeling more exhausting than thrilling.
Top Letterboxd reviews
mich (2.5★) · 2431 likes
No one's gonna believe me but there were actual fucken Minions in this movie
Patrick Willems (3★) · 579 likes
I'm into traction cities now
David Sims (3.5★) · 565 likes
I LIKE SHRIKE
davidehrlich (2.5★) · 521 likes
“Mortal Engines” might not be a particularly good movie, but it’s a BIG one, and sometimes that can be even more important. Adapted (on steroids) from Philip Reeves’ neo-Victorian steampunk fantasy of the same name, this class="h-100"00 million holiday-season event starts off like a supersized remake of “Fury Road,” as two mobile cities shoot massive harpoons at each other in a death race through the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Europe as Junkie XL’s bombastic score yowls in the background. Yes, mobile… more “Mortal Engines” might not be a particularly good movie, but it’s a BIG one, and sometimes that can be even more important. Adapted (on steroids) from Philip Reeves’ neo-Victorian steampunk fantasy of the same name, this class="h-100"00 million holiday-season event starts off like a supersized remake of “Fury Road,” as two mobile cities shoot massive harpoons at each other in a death race through the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Europe as Junkie XL’s bombastic score yowls in the background. Yes, mobile… more
fran hoepfner (3★) · 431 likes
exactly the kind of inarticulate nonsense I gobble up