MORTAL ENGINES (12A)

★★★ ★★ FRAN WALSH, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, the Oscarwinning trio responsible for The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, co-write the screenplay for this big budget screen adaptation of the novel of the same title penned by Philip Reeve.

It is the first book in a four-part adventure set in a dystopian future world where the survivors of the Sixty Minute War live in mobile cities bolted together from scavenged parts.

The largest of these motorised metropolises is London, commanded by Mayor Magnus Crome (Patrick Malahide) with guidance from proud historian Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving).

A masked assassin called Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) sneaks aboard London and attempts to murder Thaddeus.

Apprentice historian Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan, pictured) intervenes before the fatal blow can be struck and during the subsequent chase, he tumbles off a gangway and regains consciousness next to Hester in the wilderness. They become fugitives and must survive in savage wastelands, where one wrong move can be deadly.

As they search for refuge, Hester and Tom encounter Anti-Traction League pilot Anna Fang ( Jihae) and a half-human, half-machine warrior called Shrike (Stephen Lang).

Mortal Engines is a solid opening chapter, which trades in gob-smacking set-pieces.