Review of Mortal Engines (2018) by Deusexcritica — 17 Feb 2019

Pleasantly surprised after watching this. While the critics burried it under negative reviews, I found it thoroughly entertaining. The most interesting thing about the movie is probably the world it takes place in. A very interesting take on post-apocalyptia, where most of humanity inhabits massive roaming cities, makes for a backdrop that never fails to amaze. Although the fact that this post-apocalyptic world isn't ravaged by radiation or zombies, is interesting and fresh enough on its own. The world isn't only interesting as a concept, it's also fantastic to look at. The CGI is top-notch, and the attention that has been put in the design detail is stagering, making almost every shot look downright beautiful.

The story isn't without its plotholes, but they're not the kind of plotholes that make you pause and scratch your head in confusion. The pacing of the story makes sure there aren't any undeveloped arcs by the time the credits roll, and manages to hit just the right spot in term of making the movie feel neither rushed, nor slow.

The action scenes are a pure joy to watch, as the editing manages to bring tension to every shot. The plot isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it is serviceable and does a good enough job at keeping you interested in it.

Where the movie fails for me is the acting and dialogue. While not always present, the cheesy dialogue, and forced exposition (especially in the flashbacks scenes) are enough to take you out of it. As for the acting, perhaps the best term to describe it would be "all over the place". Hugo Weaving is amazing in every line he delivers, the female lead struggles to appear natural throughout most of the movie, and the male lead is somehwere in between. The same dynamic can be applied to the secondary characters as well, making the delivery of already cheesy lines ("It has no heart *dramatic pause* like me, *dun dun DUN*" comes to mind) be trully jarring at times, often forcing you to have to cringe your way through the worst scenes.

In coclusion, an interesting and visually beautiful world, mixed with an entertaining, well-pased story, that's sadly brought down by bad dialogue and (sometimes) bad acting.