Review of Mortal Engines

Review of Mortal Engines 

This review of the Mortal Engines film is long, over opinionated and full of unnessary concern about how The Last Jedi played out.

Deal with it.

Oh, and spoilers.

Making movies is a risky game of kind. For the studios, it's a numbers game. The successful movies fund and offset the duds. Sometimes you throw some celluloid at a wall to see what sticks.

But no movie is going to get a green light if it's a gonna be a dud on delivery.

So at the face of it, Mortal Engines being a love story set against the background of a post-apocalyptic Earth where some of the remaining humans live on giant traction cities that eat other for precious resources in some kind of zero-sum game called Municipal Darwinism perhaps does seems like it has dud potential (in the eyes of a risk adverse studio exec anyway).

Just throw that celluloid!

Anyways, Peter Jackson steps up to the plate along with his offsiders, Fran Walsh and Pippa Boyens so the royal they let him throw some celluloid.

I think this is a phrase I just made up. I'm copyrighting it just in case.

So anyways a trio from New Zealand that has more Oscars between them than most major Hollywood production teams stepped up.

And so, with a bit of American cash and some Kiwi splash, yet another Kiwi Oscar winner, Christian Rivers, was unleashed to direct the adaption of Reeve's YA novel.

And when the first trailer was released this author truly feared a dud was on the cards. We didn't say this publically (yeah, we know but wanted to support this film) but it looked like a cool idea with a wrong color palette that got zapped by a taser on acid.

Or something.

Details slowly came out which suggested promise and finally, we saw Shrike we were feeling a lot better about things.

Was a story about giant cities eating each other with Sir Peter Jackson's name splashed over it going to get a leg over the other hordes of films released this month (Mary Poppins, Aquaman, Bumblebee) or would it be a one and done?

For this reviewer, one who is closely attached to the books, the associated lore Reeve has built up through short stories and prequels and the fans, I can't quite bring myself rate it as a "That will do pig, that will do" but I can sneak in a "The battle of Helm's Deep is over; the battle for Middle Earth is about to begin."....

By that I mean, where's my damn sequel already?

I look at this film like I look at Transformers movie where giant robots kick each other in the head or giant Yeagar rise up out of the sea to kill everyone a la Pacific Rim. You accept it, buckle in for the ride and enjoy it for what it is.

Which is:

Some. 

Big. 

Dumb. 

Fun!

If you look at Mortal Engines as a concept any other way, you're probably going to end up feeling like the hordes of fan boys and girls who hated The Last Jedi.

Because this film is not about a box of err... Roses.

What are you looking at Dear Reader?

So after all these words, what of the damn movie?

It's probably the most spectacular train wreck of a movie that I've ever seen. And I saw the Transformers sequel twice.

THIS MEANS I LOVE IT!

That said, I'm pretty sure the haters are gonna hate, hate, hate, but the players...

The players will turn this major motion picture by a Hollywood studio into a cult film.

I'm certain there will be legions of book readers out there who have turned each page with fear and trepidation as to what would befall Tom and Hester next, who will want to see what it looks like when London calls and when they do, their mortal hearts will be happy.

So what of the movie then?

The Love Story

The story of Mortal Engines is often pitched as a Young Adult love story (of an inverse kind) but this movie has aged the characters into their mid-twenties so the love story that evolves is more natural in a sense but it certainly feels like Tom Natsworthy and Hera Hilamr didn't stay up all night together drinking Steinlager and working on their characters before they began rolling film.

Or pressing play on the record button or however they do it these days.

Both are clearly excellent actors but the relationship feels stilted (even despite the plot point of it)  - that's presumably what happens when you change the character dynamic of Hester by not making her the ugliest girl on any traction city... They sure took the feral out of that girl.

But by the ending of the movie, it's a believable enough relationship and leaves that nonsense with Rose saving Finn at the end of The Last Jedi in the sands of Crait...

The Heroes

You know how in Stranger Things, the guy that sings Sledgehammer sung Heroes by David Bowie?

That should be Anna Fang's theme song. Despite some hokey one-liners, the casting of Jihae is a triumph of the film.

In the novel, Fang was inspired by Han Solo from Star Wars and in this film, she treads those boards as a badass so well, she may as well star in the next couple of prequels...

Time will tell on that.

There's many a supporting player in ME that can be classed as a hero too.

Chudleigh Pomery (superbly played by Colin Salmon)

Yasmina

Captain Khora

Nihls, oh Nihls.

All just great characters and well played by the actors.

They all have a chance to shine and do so very well - indeed Fang's Anti-traction league team are possibly one of the most underrated crews to have flown in an airship in recent times.

Anna Fang, naturally gets a special mention in dispatches all of her own

In the novel, Anna Fang is a mysterious bad ass.

Sensing a fine character in the making, Peter Jackson kept her as less mysterious but upped the ante in the bass add department.

The character is great fun.

It was wonderful to see the books' Jenny Hanniver come to life. Piloted by Fang, the airship is a central part of all four original novels so it was great to see it in action, even if it's now powered to be as fast and deadly as an F14 Tomcat.

Jiahe's delivery of a few lines is pretty loose (which heads into Star Wars' I hate sand territory) but if you can get past that, you'll see Anna Fang is one of the hearts of the movie that pumps along quite nicely, especially with a triple powered shotgun in hand...

The Villains

Mrrrrr Anderrrrsooon.

That was my proper introduction to Hugo Weaving as the Agent in The Matrix.

A Lord of the Rings alumni, Peter Jackson and team clearly love working with the man and why wouldn't you want to when he can turn on a dime as Elrond or Agent Smith and become this horrible, horrible man.

Have you seen The Lovely Bones where Transformers alumni Stanley Tucci plays a horrible child killer? Every scene with Tucch was in felt like I was being violated by the mere force of his acting.

Weaving does the same thing here.

He's a fucking psycho yet he doesn't even know it. He thinks that he is the good guy in all of this.

Sure, he knows he's cut a few corners here and there or the odd young girl's faces or murdered his lover to get where he's going but he's done it all for London.

So it's OK then, you see?

Magnus Chrome, Mayor London. 

I expected good things but this was a kind of a by the numbers caricature of the character in a way.

Patrick Malahides's Chrome didn't feel like he was as dangerous as he did in the novel and the plot point change for this character doesn't help, but makes for a good movie.

Shrike

Did you know a shrike is a bird that impales captured insects on cactus thorns? It's very helpful if you know this going into the film...

When you ask a man with the gravitas of Stephan Lang to play Shrike, you hope that this is a casting that will flow on perfectly into the sequel films...

And it is.

Shrike is perfectly played by Lang.

Judging from interviews with him prior to the film's release, he really got into the lore of the character (we suspect he read ALL the novels) and put his achting heart into a character that in many ways literally and figuratively has no heart (or does he?!)

Lang's green-eyed version of The Terminator is a chilling representation of what could be humanity's future: an embryonic cyborg where feelings might matter, but killing is a preference. Make no mistake though, this character is not a retread of a classic 1980's robot killer, it's a whole new take on love, which the film's ending sequences slowly reveal in a most poignant manner. It's like Peter Jackson has read the books or something...

I loved the look and feel of the character and the action sequences that featured Shrike are just bang on the money, and reason enough to see the film alone.

What about the look and feel of the movie?

Being a Peter Jackson produced film where all the elements of his empire in Miramar, Wellington, NZ have been brought to bear, you'd expect this film to be a CGI gore fest.

And yes it is just that, but frankly, that's probably why PJ wanted to do this movie as there has never been ANYTHING like this on screen before (Can all those people talking about Howl's Moving Castle now please quietly shuffle along?).

This movie's effects are arguably the best that Weta Digital have ever produced. I'm not an expert at all but I suspect they are certainly some of the most complicated, apes aside.

Let's talk London.

When London is framed as a hulking metal mass, the angles are so menacing. When starring up at the screen in the opening chase, I felt like I was about to get squashed by the damn thing.

How do you show and project a city that's 2.5 kilometers long chasing a smaller traction city? This is not Darth Vader's Executor ship in Empire that just sittings unmoving in space, this city needs contrast around it as otherwise how will you believe what you are seeing?

And: Holy Cow Batman >> when that city rolled by as I sat in my seat, I truly felt I was about to be monstered by 100000 tonnes of cold British Steel.

So, it looks great.

Shrike as a CGI motion capture is some fine work and gosh, the ending where the Medusa weapon comes alive is just magical.

Airhaven was a visual spectacle and seems like a fun place to hang out, despite it being a little too easy for robot assassins to turn up and try and kill everybody.

The soundtrack

The music of Mortal Engines is composed by Tom Holkenborg and it is simply superb. One of the things that has infuriated me about the development of Mortal Engines is the comparisons people make to Mad Max: Fury Road.

Mortal Engines is not Mad Max, it's just Mad, Max.

But they do now share a composer.

Holkenborg is clearly one talented composer. The film soars with his music as it needs and there's some crucial, heart breaking moments in the film where it feels like his music is the thing that is turning the dagger in one's heart.

So what's bad about it?

If we're to get critical for a moment, and remember, we are accepting this movie as just some big dumb fun!, the acting is pretty clunky in parts - have a think to some of the early Star Wars films and you're on the mark. Indeed, the film has some key plot points from Star Wars.

Some of Anna Fang's revelatory speech to Hester is a bit OTT. I'd rather replace a broken LG dryer lint catcher than go through that again in a hurry.

There's also several plot points that have been changed which have some drastic effects on the story - so much so that in the film premiere the author Philip Reeve had to pause to figure out what was happening.

This is basically to say, Mortal Engines the movie has a very different ending than the book, but it works, even if it sneaks a moment which allows Tom Natsworthy to pull a Lando Calrissian move out of the Return of the Jedi playbook cross with a bit of The Guns of Navarone.

Katherine Valentine - well played as a character but went simplynowheree in terms of plot, like you could cut the character (and Bevis) and have no consequnce to the ending of the movie, which is completely different to the ending of the novel. 

If you've followed this site, you'll know we lamented that Hester's scar was toned down from 11 to 4. We got over it and enjoyed Hera Hilmar's version of Hester for what it is. FUN. Not FERAL. FUN.

The verdict?

Mortal Engines is a fun ride, a visual treat to enjoy while you eat overpriced popcorn.

We rate it a strong 7.5 out of 10.

It features a lot of talent on screen and behind it. While it differs from the book in many ways, this feels like the best version of the world of Mortal Engines that we ever could expect to see on the silver screen. 

Christian Rivers has done a fine job on his first gig as director and should be commended for making a decent BIG DUMB FUN! film. 

Sadly it appears the movie is a box office flop, on the level of John Carter of Mars.

Leave a Comment anna fang, christian rivers, hera hilmar, review, stephen lang

The Sheehab interviews Philip Reeve about his thoughts on the Mortal Engines film

Republished with the kind permission of The Sheehab, who are undoubtably & indisputably Robert Sheehan's best and biggest fans!

The Sheehab talks to the Mortal Engines Author Philip Reeve-Take Two

Last March Philip Reeve very kindly talked to us about his Mortal Engines books and his hopes for the film. We asked him at the time if he would talk to us again after he saw the film with whatever non-spoilery thoughts he could share. Thanks to Philip for sparing the time so soon after the premiere to answer our questions again.

How was the premiere and how did you feel seeing your book transferred to film?

PR: It was very fancy and on a huge screen - the IMAX screen at Cineworld, Leicester Square, so it was quite overwhelming.

Everyone looked extremely smart at the premiere, did you enjoy the evening?

PR: I was a bit nervous tbh, it’s not really my type of thing.

Hear you saw Mortal Engines twice. Do you think everyone should see it more than once?

PR: The first time was at the Premiere - it was on a massive screen & very spectacular,but I was slightly distracted by tracking the changes they’d made to the story world - it’s like an alternate universe Mortal Engines. I enjoyed it though!

On my second viewing I was able to ignore that and focus more on the details and the nuances, so think I liked it more. I spotted my cameo too, my son and I share the screen with Robbie (for about 0.5 seconds!).It was on a smaller screen, but it had Dolby Atmos sound which made me aware of how good the music and sound design is. Of course, everyone should see it as many times as possible.

You particularly mentioned Robert & Hera, Jihae and Stephen Lang as stand-outs in the film.They all seemed genuinely thrilled with the film and the story.That must be gratifying?

PR: Yes, I mean they are actors and I guess being excited about the project in Press Week is part of the job, but there does seem to be a genuine family feeling among the cast, I think they really bonded down in Wellington

Rob said in an interview that he thought he now knew who Tom Natsworthy was based on. Do you see much of yourself in Tom?

PR: Did he? I don’t know- Tom is just meant to be an ordinary person who’s caught up in the middle of this wild adventure with all these strange, extreme characters.I suppose I was imagining how I’d react in those situations,so there must be a bit of me in him.But there’s a bit of me in the others too, especially Hester.

Obviously we are all hoping for sequels to the film. If you had to summarise the film in a few words to encourage people to see it, what would you say?

PR: It’s a huge and exciting new world, lots of exciting action, but it has a heart, it’s surprisingly moving. Christian Rivers and his team have done an amazing job.

If you had to sum up your response to the film in one word what would it be?

PR: Phew!

Apart from the fact that Tom and Hester have been ‘aged up’ do you think Rob and Hera are good representatives of your Tom and Hester? Did you talk to them about their characters when you first met them on set?

PR: They’d already been shooting for about a month when I visited, so I think they knew their characters pretty well. The ‘ageing up’ doesn’t bother me at all- it’s their status that defines them, not their age, and that hasn’t changed. Tom’s still a lowly apprentice, Hester’s an outcast. They’re not the characters from the book and I wouldn’t expect them to be, but there are plenty of similarities.

Robbie is much more attractive than book-Tom, both in looks and personality, but he still managed to capture Tom’s awkwardness, and he’s very funny at times-little physical moments, a sort of earnestness.

There’s a bit where he puts himself between Hester and another character and says ‘I’ll handle this’ which is just perfect- because we know that a) he can’t handle it and b) Hester’s perfectly capable of looking after herself. He’s very loveable.

Two more things, when did you first fall in love with writing and would you be up for a cameo again in a sequel?

PR: I guess I was 6 or 7 when I first fell in love with writing. And yes, I’d do another cameo- I’m holding out for a full second next time!

Thanks to Philip Reeve for taking the time to talk to us again. Please go and see the film as many times as you like and remember he has several other books in the Mortal Engines series available to buy.

Philip Reeve also wrote up his own thoughts on the movie of his book!

Leave a Comment philip reeve, robbie sheehan

Philip Reeve enjoyed the movie of his book!

Which is great because imagine how one would feel if one hated it! And trust us, there's a tired road of book authors who hated what Hollywood did to their movies... so this is great news.

Here's what Reeve had to say of Christian River's version of Mortal Engines.

"Well, it IS. Christian, writer/producers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and the rest of the (huge) team have done a fantastic job. They’ve made a lot of changes to the world, characters, and themes of the book, (and the weather is nicer) but it’s still basically the same story.

The opening twenty minutes or so are essentially what I wrote all those years ago, and even when it takes its own path later on there are lots of moments and images which come straight from the book (like the valley littered with smashed cities in front of the Shield Wall, and the glorious vertical city on its far side). 

All the sets and costumes seem to have been designed by people who know the books at least as well as I do. The effects are, as you’d expect, utterly convincing.

The film has a kind of family resemblance to The Lord of the Rings movies, as you’d expect, but it’s shorter than any of those (about two hours, plus credits). It reminded me of the original Star Wars too (no surprise there, the opening models ANH and Anna Fang is based on Han Solo - ED). 

It’s tremendously well paced; intense action sequences come at you pretty regularly but don’t hang around long enough to outstay their welcome, and they’re punctuated by quieter bits which are often surprisingly affecting.

That’s partly thanks to the actors, who are amazingly good. Robbie Sheehan is much more attractive and good-looking than Tom is in the book, so I hadn’t expected much resemblance, but somehow he still manages to suggest a bit of Tom’s well-meaning uselessness – there are some lovely bits where he manfully tries to put himself between Hester and danger, as if Hera Hilmar’s fierce, competent Hester needs his help. 

Everything Jihae does as Anna Fang is perfect. 

My only worry about Stephen Lang’s Shrike is that he might be too scary: he’s terrifying at times, but the flashbacks to Hester’s childhood are beautiful (and the fact that he does the opening narration is a cute touch for anyone who’s read all the way to the end of A Darkling Plain).

Hugo Weaving is great as a more villainous Valentine, Leila George and Ronan Raftery make a glamorous Katherine and a smouldering, non-bald Bevis. Colin Salmon is a great Chudleigh Pomeroy, Patrick Malahide is pure patrician class as Crome, and Sophie Cox makes a very chipper Clytie Potts.

Regé Jean Page, Menik Gooneratne, Frankie Adams, Leifur Sigurdarson are the gang of aviators we watched at work in the Gasbag & Gondola when I visited the set last year: the long days of filming have yielded only a few minutes of screen time, but they still manage to impress. I wish we saw more of them, but then I wish we saw more of all these characters – fingers crossed for some sequels.

Inevitably lots of scenes and characters from my version get left out completely, or reduced to a passing mention, but hopefully the film will send lots of people to the books, and they can find them there."

Having observed Mr Reeve in action of the last few years, we know he is absolutely genuine in his online dealings so what here's saying here is all his real views and not spin for the sake of promoting the movie. 

Reeve's working partner Sarah McIntyre, had a great time at the London Premiere!

Leave a Comment gasbag and gondola, philip reeve

That should go straight to the pool room!

Lucky biamino7 got to attended the London Mortal Engines premiere tonight - and got her ticket stamped by NZ's favourite Hobbit, Sir Peter Jackson!

Leave a Comment mortal engines movie news

11 reasons why Mortal Engines could suck

If we're being honest with ourselves there's a few things that could go wrong with Mortal Engines. 

There's a lot of factors and variables why the movie could suck. I've put together a list of the possisble reasons why:

• The pop corn could be quite expensive
• Someone next to you could fart excessively and often
• It's too loud
• You go blind at its majesty
• You have a heart attack
• You get caught sneaking in MacDonalds
• You have to take your mother in law
• The movie projector stops working
• It rains on the way to the theatre and you get your hair a little wet
• The trailers go on a bit too long
• You eat your expensive pop corn too quickly

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Those who have seen Mortal Engines say it's epic!!

There's been some nervous fans, sifting through the tea leaves trying to figure out if Mortal Engines will be any good.

This fear of failure was because the first trailer was a bit hokey and come across as a Young Adult film like Twilight or The Maze Runner.

Adapting a crazy book about giant cities roving the country side eating each other is a bit of a gamble in Hollywood so it's pleasing to see that early exit reports of those leaving preview showings of the film are very positive.

Here's what some lucky folks who have seen the film in previews have to say:

Richard Hill, a featured extra saw it with the Weta crew:

"I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of Mortal Engines today. It was epic, vast and very cool. It does not disappoint. See it in a good cinema, you'll be pleased you did!"

Dane Illfield got to see it in Sydney:

" But in short: the film is fantastic. It has a strong emotional core to back up the extraordinary visuals and cinematography. I'd also say it's the most original and creative film released this year"

Magnificant Giraffe posted on Reddit:

"I was really impressed with the movie. its pretty much a fantasy version of the Star Wars OT in terms of story yet i wasn't bored. the screenplay isn't brilliant but it was serviceable. the visual effects are incredible, when they fire the super weapon at the end it blew me away. All the Air battles were awesome too.

Overall id give it a 7.5/10, i'm really surprised by it and it should be seen purely for the visual effects (although the plot and character did interest me)"

Sonya chipped in on Twitter:

"Had a great night at Sydney premier of #MortalEngines last night- an epic ride!"

Henry had a diss at the advertising because he enjoyed it:

"Saw mortal engines and it is really good, the advertising does it a great disservice. Well worth a watch!"

Greg also thinks it's epic:

"So privileged to have seen the pre-screening of #MortalEngines and a very subtle homage to Bowie I slipped in there. Such an EPIC film - can't wait to see it again."

I've also read that Shrike is too scary for kids so that sounds great! I have not seen a bad word about said about the film by anyone who has seen it!

Sounds like everything is coming up Millhouse!

Leave a Comment mortal engines movie news

Why Stephen Fry should play Professor Pennyroyal in the Mortal Engines sequel

If you take the Mortal Engines novel as a singular book, it is a grand adventure set literally on the tracks of giant traction citites.

It sets up a world of wonder and opened up a realm of possibilties for future story telling and the success of Mortal Engines led to Philip Reeve being able to write a sequel, Predator's Gold. 

That book, steps up the action, steps up the pain and steps up the comedy gold with the introduction of Professor Nimrod Pennyroyal. 

On paper, this character is a cliched sterotype that any seasonsed reader can see a mile off. Except Reeve managed to imbue Pennyroyal with such a nagging charm that the character feels wholly real. 

Pennyroyal is a player, a book writer who talls tall tales about his adventures around the world. He makes himself out to be the hero when he's a coward. He makes himself out to be a the man of the world and in a fake-it-till-you-make-it style of living, he's been painting the town red. 

So should the Mortal Engines film be hit a genuine hit and give rise to a sequel, it would seem only natural that the good Professor should have a role to play. 

But who could capture this fellow? 

Enter Stephen Fry. 

Stephen Fry is a marvel. A national treasure in the UK, he's a sucessful writer, actor and all round good guy. 

And he would be perfect. 

He's got the charm, the confidence and the talent to play the part.

Did you ever see Fry as the dectective in Gosford Park? He was brilliant as the dectective with an ego writing cheques he his ego could never cash. 

If Fry channelled those instincts into Pennyroyal, the character would come to life.

The beauty of this casting suggestion is that Fry has an existing working relationship with Peter Jackon. He featured in two Hobbit films and wrote the script for the as yet unrealised remake of The Dam Busters. 

Peter Jackson loves to surround himself with talent he's used before (see Hugo Weaving as Valentine and all the LOTR films) so if he's fond of a fry up, Stephen is his Professor.

As a fun aside, check out our April Fool's hoax involving Pennyroyal.

Leave a Comment nimrod pennyroyal, predator's gold, stephen fry

TV promo spots for Mortal Engines are so hot, 'they're playing with fire'

Several televisison spots have been released to promote Mortal Engines.

We lead with Valentine suggesting the kids are 'playing with fire'.



This second one features a line change where Hester has a turn:



This third one features Sir Peter Jackson waxing lyrical over the movie:



Personally we feel the marketing should focuss very heavily on Shrike as many punters are starting to see this as a boring old youth love story.

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Actor Richard Mills says Mortal Engines is 'epic, vast and very cool'

Wellington actor Richard Mills had a fair bit of time on the set of Mortal Engines as an extra.

Based on his post to the Mortal Engines is a work of genius Facebook group, it appears the cast and crew have had a screening just for them:

Mills said in a soundbite review: "I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of Mortal Engines today. It was epic, vast and very cool. It does not disappoint. See it in a good cinema, you'll be pleased you did!"

Looks like everything is coming up Milhouse!

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Have you seen this woman?

Looks like the city of London has an issue with Hester Shaw!

Poster supplied by the official Mortal Engines Facebook page when you take part in the game with the mysterious Antonia Critt.

Leave a Comment antonia critt, hester shaw

Philip Reeve - 'The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines'

As a tie-in of sorts to the Mortal Engines movie, author Philip Reeve has published 'The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines'.

This work is to a super-dooper rework of The Traction Codex which was published some years ago as an e-book with collaborator Jeremy Levett. Levett is back again for this more comprehensive exploration of the world of traction cities. 

Reeve said of the work:

"With the Mortal Engines movie looming, it seemed a good opportunity to revise and expand the old Mortal Engines Codex, which had a very patchy e-book release a few years ago.

Jeremy Levett knows far more about history and technology than I ever will, and he’s come up with an impressively plausible account of the centuries which separate the Fever Crumb books from the beginning of Mortal Engines, as well as lots of extra details about the cities, airships and characters who inhabit the books. 

There are glimpses of what the Traction era means for Australia, South America, and other bits of the world my stories never managed to encompass.

The book features the artwork of many well-known concept art designers including Ian McQue who recently redid all the covers for the original book series, David Wyatt and Amir Zand.

Jeremy Levett did an Ask Me Anything Session on Reddit about the guide.

it's important to note this work expands on the canon of the novels and does not necessarily tie into the movie version of the original book.

Here are some images from the book:

David Wyatt's version of Air Haven:

Amir Zand's effort at a predator city:

The artwork above is some concept work that Ian did when he was inspired by the Mortal Engines book AND seemingly before he had a working relationship with Philip Reeve! I like how life works out!

Order your copy from Amazon now!

Leave a Comment ian mcque, Illustrated Guide to the World of Mortal Engines, jeremy levett, philip reeve

Moving Cities featurette reveals Magnus Chrome

One month to go till the release of Mortal Engines and the featurettes are popping up like Pokemon.

Gotta catch 'em all so here's the Moving Cities featurette, with a first look at Magnus Chrome, the mayor of London.

Chrome is played by Patrick Malahide.



"Run it down!"

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Anna Fang's 'in movie' wanted poster is from ... the movie

If you've spied that the Mortal Engines marketing has tracked up a notch, you'd be right and you may have seen this shot of Palt's Yard Dairy which supplies the city of London with cheese derived from algae.

Check out the picture of the wanted picture of Anna Fang on the video screen on the top right. Anna Fang is a spy and leader in the Anti Traction League and if you've read Night Flights or the original novel, you'll know she's no friend of London.

So having a wanted video of Anna Fang all makes sense.

What makes little sense is that the shot of Anna appears to be from within the actual movie, not at a time in the past.

See, here's a movie shot of Anna as played by Jihae:

It would seem a shot similar to this has been used by the production team for the Palt's Dairy warning sign - however, it's of Anna in 'movie real time' - presumably, the shot was supposed to be a warning for people prior to the events of the movie. Thus it's kind of an anachronism.

I could be wrong, Anna could stand around all day on London for pictures wearing the same coat with the collar in the same position against her neck, the same undergarment, and same glasses every time she visits London...

Or of course it could be a real time warning but where's the fun in that... we also know Anna often wears a red coat...

Leave a Comment anna fang, palt's yard dairy

New York and its portable liberty...

In the Mortal Engines novels, America is referred to as the Dead Continent, suggesting there was little there of interest.

But what if New York survived the Sixty Minute War?

This art reminicent of Mortal Engines was made by the talented Longque Chan.

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Stephen Lang suggests Mortal Engines will be a trilogy rather than four films

Peter Jackson and company have made it very clear they hope that with the launch of the Mortal Engines film they are creating a new franchise.

For this to occur, the film needs a big opening, so when online tickets open up, buy too eh?

We have wondered how the sequels would be approached. The last two books are arguably one great big story. And the last book could arguable be broken into two films.

So what's the deal?

Stephen Land, who's playing Shrike, seems to know the good oil on the story:

Currently promoting his famed one man show called, Beyond Glory, Lang spoke briefly of the movie:

"This is a sci-fi film that’s created a unique world from four books by Philip Reeve that will be three movies."

So that's that, three movies is the intention.

I personal had wondered if they could skip Predator's Gold and go straight onto Infernal Devices but the reality is there is so much set up in Predator's Gold, they'd need to do most of it if the last arc of the story is to play out well.

Either way, that last film will need to be four hours long!

Truth is, if this thing turns out to be a juggernaught like Harry Potter, anything could happen.

Leave a Comment stephen lang

David Wyatt's concept art from The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines

Concept design of Mortal Engines by David Wyatt

You may have heard the Philip Reeve has released The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines as a tie-in to celebrate the release of the film. Written in conjunction with Jeremy Levett, the book features concept art by several artists such as Amir Zand and Ian McQue. 

Featured here though is the work of David Wyatt.

Wyatt has had a long relationship with Philip Reeve and Mortal Engines having designed a many of the book covers for reprints and the prequels. 

Above is his impression of Thaddues Valentine's airship, the 13th Elevator. 

And his impression of Airhaven feels delightfully orderly!

Finally a real treat from Fever Crumb, the Cloutie Tree

This art is quite different from the movie's look and feel.

Leave a Comment david wyatt, Illustrated World of Mortal Engines, jeremy levett, philip reeve

Fantastic Mortal Engines cosplay costumes

Mortal Engines movie and book Cosplay Costumes

Let's face it, while Mortal Engines was a book, there wasn't much cosplay of the amazing characters that come from the book. There didn't seem to be too many Ana Fangs running around the Comic Conventions or monstrous Shrikes lurking in dark corridors.

That said, there was this pretty awesome version of Shrike which comes from a very cool short film.

Cosplay inspired by the Mortal Engines book and movie

But now that Mortal Engines is a movie and the characters have been visually brought to life, cosplayers now have something to focus and get into.

Everyone loves Hester Shaw cosplay! Check out this extreme facial scarring!

Hester Shaw with an awesome scar across the face

Another fine Hester

Kids seem to love dressing up as Hester!

 

Shrike cosplay 

While the great Stephen Lang plays Mr Shrike, this lasses' mum made a wonderful Shrike costume.

Mum AKA Sarah, said that she made the costume for her daughter to celebrate World Book Day!  and that "This costume was bought with great pain, I can tell you."

Indeed, here's the building of the costume which the Sarah said "This #WorldBookDay costume is a complete bitch to make." Amused to see that bottle of Gorilla Glue!

Leave a Comment cosplay, hester shaw

This crazy theory about Peter Jackson stealing a whale...

Bear with me, I have a theory.

A crazy theory.

It's so crazy you should just skip this post.

The wife and I took the kids to the Te Papa Museum in Wellington and noticed that the blue whale that hangs from the ceiling was missing. I was a bit disappointed as it's really cool, even more, impressive than the colossal squid they have as an attraction.

And then I moved on.

Later as the kids were having fluffies, this concept art popped into my head:

And I was like to my wife "Peter Jackson has stolen the whale to use in Mortal Engines!" She looked at me like I was some kind of loon and handed out some crackers to the kids.

Here are the facts:

Peter Jackson and Christian Rivers made the Mortal Engines movie in Wellington.

They needed a whale skeleton for the museum scene in Mortal Engines.

The whale disappeared.

Read between the lines people!

THERE CAN BE NO OTHER PLAUSIBLE REASON FOR THE WHALE'S DISAPPEARANCE!

We note Te Papa refused to comment so this just confirms the conspiracy.

2 comments christian rivers, peter jackson

Amir Zand's 'Ark' draft compared to final of Arkangel from Predator's Gold

Artist Amir Zand has revealed to the world that he has done some work for the “The Illustrated world of Mortal Engines” which is being released next month to coincide with the Mortal Engines film release.

Zand said "A fantastic project that I’m so proud to be a part of. such an amazing universe with amazing people.

I thought to share one of my early sketches that i’ve made for one of the Mortal Engine's illustration a few months back, the reason that i share this is because that piece didnt make the cut and the final Illustration changed so much, so I’ve changed this early conception in to a futuristic theme, ships going through an Ark, so basically its not ME anymore, cant wait to show you all the pieces that I've made for this awesome project".

Zand has now released what became the final version of Arkangel, his vision of the traction city from Predator's Gold:

Order The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines from Amazon.

Leave a Comment amir zand, concept art, predator's gold

Why Phillip Reeve disfigured Hester Shaw's face with a grotesque scar in the Mortal Engines book

Why Hester Shaw is deeply scarred in the Mortal Engines novel 

A little while ago I found a website called 'tall tales & short stories' and it featured an interview with Mortal Engines author Philip Reeve.

The article was six years old and the site is now defunct but I did copy Reeve's thoughts on Hester Shaw and her scar with the view to using it somehow one day. 

So here we go...

The interview reveals quite the insight into why Reeve did the role reversal that many books and film shy from i.e. making the female lead quite genuinely ugly.

Let me repeat that for you. Ugly, disfigured and NOT PRETTY.

Name a famous movie or book in the last 10 years where the main character is truly hideously ugly.

I'll wait.

If you found one, good on ya. Maybe Aileen Wuornos in Monster?

One example. Yippe Kay Aye.

An artist's impression of Hester

Regardless, Hester Shaw is the clear fan favourite when it comes to the Mortal Engines series. While part of her might want to live a happy, healthy life, the Hyde to her Jackal is that she is a murderous wee thing with a hair trigger for some good old fashioned ultraviolence.

And she's a bad mother...

She has also bad typing skills.

There, I said it.

So with that in mind, here's what Reeve said of Hester's scar after this interview question:

The main female character, Hester, in the Mortal Engines series is facially disfigured which I find an interesting, but welcome, choice for a female lead.

Was this a conscious decision made at the outset of writing the first book or did it evolve along the way? And what prompted this decision? 

Reeve's answer:

Women warriors are a bit of a cliche in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and they tend to be very glamorous or at least good looking.

But it struck me that people who live by their wits in wastelands tend not to be that glamorous or good-looking, and who cares about beautiful people anyway?

So I decided right from the start to make Hester ugly, and I liked the idea that the hero would slowly fall in love with her anyway, which is far more interesting than having two gorgeous people seeing each other across a crowded room and falling in love.

Then it seemed to make sense to give Hester a scar, which she's received at the hands of the villain, so there's her initial motivation - revenge - right there on her face; she's like Captain Ahab with his missing leg!

But I didn't want it to be a little cosmetic scar - the Hollywood way of dealing with facial disfigurement is always to have somebody who's a bit messed up seen from one angle but is still gorgeous from most others.

So Hester's scar is really grotesque; I didn't want her to be pretty from any angle!

I think in the first book my idea was that actually, under this hideous exterior, she's lovely and sweet, but when I went back to write the sequel I thought that someone who had been through what she has, and looks as she does, probably wouldn't be sweet and well-adjusted, so she goes further and further off the rails as the series progresses, though I hope she remains sympathetic, and even attractive in a Ripley-ish way (Tom Ripley, that is, not Ellen*).

-

When the first trailer came out, we raised concerns that the trailer shows Hester with two eyes - but we now know that Reeve's honorable vision of a key female character been trumped by Hollywood's needs for beauty. It's actually stirred quite a few people up!

*As in Ellen Ripley from the Alien films. 

1 comment hester shaw, interview

The Mortal Engines film crew

Found on the Instagrams, this is an on-set photo of the Mortal Engines film crew. Taken I think at Stone Street Studios in Wellington, NZ.

You can see PJ in the front and Christian Rivers is across two over on the right.

Stone Street Studios recently posted this picture to their Facebook page - note the whiteboard to the right making reference to Thaddeus and Katherine Valentine...

And we found the note of thanks from Christian and the producers to the film crew when filming wrapped:

For those so curious, the word Arohanui is Maori for 'a lot of love'.

2 comments film crew, katherine valentine, set, stone street studios, thaddeus valentine

One perfect shot:

A shot of Hester Shaw and her new boyfriend.

Mortal Engines may be not been many things but visually it was a feast of colour and big hulking mechanical monsters!

1 comment hester shaw, tom natsworthy

How Mortal Engines fared at NY Comic Con

What a day featuring some of the cast and crew of Mortal Engines at New York Comic Con!

We and a few other fans have rumbled about how light on promotional activity there has been for the Christian Rivers directed film produced by Peter Jackson and finally, the dial has been turned close to 11.

Today we had the panel and we saw and learned a lot about the movie. In fact, those present got to watch the first 25 minutes! This seems unprecedented, as often it's only the first 5 -  8 minutes are shown, if at all.

First up, we got the trailer! #ShrikewillStrike! As expected the film will place a large amount of focus on the back story of Hester Shaw and Thaddeus Valentine and what drives Hester so much 

We finally had the character of Shrike revealed to us, and crikey the wait was worth it. After months of teases from actor Stephen Land, here's Shrike in all his
hideous glory:

The 60 Minute War is discussed.

Producer Peter Jackson said:

 “It’s set about 3000 years from now, so it’s in our future,” said Jackson. “And what I like to think of it is it’s not post-apocalyptic, but it’s post-post apocalyptic. … [The war] redefined the map of the world, and many, many centuries passed, which was a pretty nasty time, and civilization eventually rebuilds itself. … And they wind up on these wheels, chasing each other. There are no more countries anymore, there are no more borders.”


Director Christian Rivers said:

 "First of all, it’s an amazing book,” Rives said. “It’s sort of the beginning of their relationship and this journey in this unique world. Mortal Engines itself…it’s about Hester Shaw, who’s a fierce outcast in our world, and she’s sort of driven by the memory of her murdered mother…She glides with Tom Matsworthy, who’s a charming young man, who has a story and lives on London…They go on this great adventure and find a bond together…She has the key to stopping London which is on the verge of becoming an unstoppable dangerous force which is going to destroy the world!”

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