Mortal Engines

• Title: Mortal Engines
• IMDb: link

Based on the sci-fi novel of the same name by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines is yet another post-apocalyptic teen flick with class warfare themes. Years after war devastated the Earth, people now live in traveling cities which are often the prey for even larger traveling cities which consume materials to keep them moving. It’s in the largest of these where we meet museum curator Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan) who saves the life of the city’s leader (Hugo Weaving) only to find himself expelled on the run with the would-be assassin (Hera Hilmar) while questioning everything he knows about the world.

The visual of the traveling predatory cities certainly works on film, but the story is often a mess spending far too long with Tom’s life in London and racing through Hester’s (Hilmar) backstory involving a cyborg killing machine (whose own existence is never adequately explained). There’s also the war between the traveling city and the lone surviving human colony which both Tom and Hester will ultimately become swept up in.

Available on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K, extras include a brief history of the world, featurettes on the film’s characters and cities, and behind-the-scenes featurettes on the making of the film. Also included is audio commentary from director Christian Rivers.

[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, $29.98 / $34.98 / $39.98]