The danger of urban sprawl
There are lots of moving parts under the chassis of “Mortal Engines,” a sci-fi fantasy in which a young woman seeks revenge in a world of predator cities that roam the barren landscape in search of smaller communities to devour. The film is a reasonably entertaining trifle, though it’s overstuffed with battle sequences and peripheral characters that often consume the main story line.
The main urban menace on wheels is London, and though the tale takes place 1,000 years from now, the former city on the Thames has a decidedly non-futuristic look. Most things tech have been tossed on the junk heap of history, with smashed iPhones serving as museum relics.
It’s an absurd yet original premise, and the opening sequence is satisfying, as London — literally hungry for resources on a ravaged Earth — chases down its prey: a small cluster of buildings that futilely tries to escape before becoming fodder for the big-city engine. In short order, we meet Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar, beguiling), who sneaks aboard the London contraption and attempts to kill greedy leader Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving, solid), who murdered Hester’s mother for his own nefarious purposes.
Hester is unsuccessful in her scheme, and she soon falls down a chute and into the outlands, a wasteland where danger lurks everywhere. Accompanying her is the nerdish adventurer Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan, engaging), who has been banished from London because he knows the truth about what Thaddeus did to Hester’s mother.
The looming showdown between Hester and Thaddeus is at the crux of “Mortal Engines,” but director Christian Rivers throws a monkey wrench into things by adding too many battles, chases, subplots, and exposition. Key characters disappear for long stretches, and even the conceit of predator cities gets lost in all the traffic.
But Rivers still makes his movie watchable — the set design is always interesting, and the battles are deftly executed. When Tom chases Hester through the mechanical innards of London, “Mortal Engines” is in a high gear. Perhaps the biggest thing in Rivers’ favor is Hilmar, a talented actress who creates an interesting screen presence out of almost nothing. Indeed, there seems to have been much more focus on the storyboards than the characters, but the entire cast is game and does fine with the little they have been given to work with.
That’s the thing with “Mortal Engines”: There is fine craftsmanship on the screen, and the acting is competent, but the movie never quite reaches magical heights. Indeed, some of the set pieces in the final half turn into an endurance test in which the narrative gets less and less cohesive. A pruned-down plot line would have done wonders.
There are unmistakable allusions to modern technology, which has become one of the biggest bogeymen in the movies. That’s one of the most clever touches of this film: The future world has a disdain for technology — it’s a curse from the ancient past — and the villain here tries to bring it back. We can all guess what his fate will be.