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Mortal Engines

Play trailer Poster for Mortal Engines PG-13 2018 2h 8m Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure Action Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
26% Tomatometer 188 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Hundreds of years after a cataclysmic event destroyed civilization, mysterious young Hester Shaw emerges as the only one who can stop the city of London -- now a giant predator on wheels -- from devouring everything in its path.
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Mortal Engines

Mortal Engines

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Critics Consensus

Mortal Engines has no shortage of eye-catching special effects, but lacks enough high-octane narrative fuel to give this futuristic fantasy sufficient cinematic combustion.

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Critics Reviews

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Claudia Puig FilmWeek (LAist) 09/12/2019
It's got an interesting look, but it's a bloated story. Go to Full Review
David Fear Rolling Stone 12/24/2018
2.5/5
They want to give you a steampunk-on-steroids Metropocalypse Now! And they're willing to use the spare parts of dozens of other movies to make it happen. Go to Full Review
Chris Stuckmann ChrisStuckmann.com 12/21/2018
C-
This should've been amazing. Even the ending owes itself to another film...it feels like a bunch of movies we've seen before, that are better than this. Go to Full Review
Calum Cooper Source (Scotland) 07/14/2024
2/5
Its concept is too daft to take seriously, and the action and narrative isn’t exciting enough to be a decent shut-your-brain-off experience. Go to Full Review
Nyle Coleman InSession Film 05/09/2024
D+
As much as I wanted to enjoy Mortal Engines, it did very little to move me and keep me captivated. Go to Full Review
Lonita Cook KCTV5 News at 9 06/16/2021
It's actually a little bit more soulful than it lets on. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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B P @Bradster69 5h Not Bad, but Not My Favorite See more Samar R @RT21985915 14h Horrible. Infuriatingly anemic performances from Hera Hilmar and Jihae are the lowlights of this bloated corpse of a film. Both phone in performances that contain such little uniqueness, charisma, or basic human emotion that I'm led to believe that if their family were killed in front of them, they wouldn't react much more than a bleak, lingering look to the camera. The plot is incredibly weak, with a confusing timeline and twists that can be seen coming from a country mile away. You don't see so much as a single nuanced or fleshed out character in the movie. The father-daughter relationship between Kate and Thaddeus falls especially flat. There are attempts to hint at deep worldbuilding and history here, but the script is so lackluster that it drains your curiosity of any background lore immediately. They must have had Hugo Weaving at gunpoint to force his participation. Christian Rivers should quit his job and sell vegetables in Mumbai. See more @RT53112396 Aug 13 فلم فكره حلوه جيد يستحق مشاهدة See more David J @RT79522248 Aug 11 It was a good plot. Good picture, the acting was also very good. Hope they finish the series.. They didnt market it very good. I feel like if more people watched it they would of had a better turnout and made alot more money but they didn't sell the movie very good. See more Chris S @Janomi Aug 10 Mortal Engines has plenty to like because the central idea is fantastic. Giant mobile cities hunting and consuming smaller towns is weird, imaginative, and instantly cinematic. London on wheels, airships, trading towns, machinery, scavenger culture, and post-apocalyptic geography give the movie a huge visual identity. Hera Hilmar gives the story its strongest emotional thread as Hester Shaw. Her scars, anger, trauma, and revenge mission make her stand out inside a very effects-heavy movie. Shrike is also one of the more memorable pieces, bringing a tragic, darker edge through his connection to Hester. The problem is that the movie throws too much at the audience: moving cities, class conflict, ancient technology, revenge, romance, air battles, corruption, and mythology. The world is interesting, but the storytelling feels crowded. It has potential, but it feels more like a franchise starter than a complete film. See more Madam D @Madam1948 Aug 10 Great special effects. Imagine the entire city of London coming at you for capture? See more Read all reviews
Mortal Engines

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Mortal Engines

Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Eating a City Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Eating a City 2:02 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Cannibal Auction FIght Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Cannibal Auction FIght 2:56 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Destroying London's Engines Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Destroying London's Engines 3:49 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Airship Fight Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Airship Fight 4:07 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Zombie Cyborg Attack Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Zombie Cyborg Attack 3:17 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Sword Fight Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Sword Fight 2:55 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Escape from the City Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Escape from the City 3:14 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Land Pirates Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Land Pirates 2:51 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Air Assault on London Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Air Assault on London 2:40 Now Playing Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Shrike's Story Mortal Engines: Official Clip - Shrike's Story 3:20 Now Playing View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Hundreds of years after a cataclysmic event destroyed civilization, mysterious young Hester Shaw emerges as the only one who can stop the city of London -- now a giant predator on wheels -- from devouring everything in its path.
Director
Christian Rivers
Producer
Zane Weiner, Amanda Walker, Deborah A. Forte, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Screenwriter
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
WingNut Films
Rating
PG-13 (Futuristic Violence and Action)
Genre
Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adventure, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 14, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 19, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$15.9M
Runtime
2h 8m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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