MovieChat Forums > Mortal Engines (2018) Discussion > Much better than I had expected

Much better than I had expected

posted 4 years ago by Clouseau2 (152)
3 replies | jump to latest

I saw the negative reviews but because when I was a kid I used to dream about giant vehicles the size of small cities battling each other (I've never read the source novels so I'm sure I'm not the only one who had these thoughts) so I wanted to see this film.

Just saw it for the first time at home -- much better than the reviews let on IMHO. Sure the film isn't another "Parasite" but the main thing is that the world is really imagined and visualized well - the big budget really shows up on screen. That's what sold it for me. I thought the leads were good and there was plenty of variation in the film to keep me entertained and drawn in. Was it as good a fantasy movie as Princess Bride or Stardust? No ... But still it was entertaining enough.

[–] Torniojaws (102) 4 years ago

Same for me. Just finished watching it and it was a very nice combination of Terminator, steampunk, and scifi, with a fairly coherent and nicely tied script. Haven't read the books either, but perhaps I will. I was surprised to see a rating of 6.1 in IMDB, but ah well. For me, it was a solid 8/10. Even my 5 yo son liked it and it was the first movie he sat through without running here and there :D Other movies, like Jurassic Park, The Meg, and similar creature films that you would expect kids to like, he never finished :) I guess robots and machines will be his niche.

[–] Clouseau2 (152) 4 years ago

There are some movies that no matter how badly they are reviewed, I will always love. For example, I think the first two underworld movies are fantastic - I love the world in the film and the style and the look. These films got absolutely savaged by the critics but they must have done well because they keep making sequels :)

[–] Ace_Spade (9336) 3 years ago

The premise is wacky, ridiculous, preposterous, and zany fun. It made me curious enough to watch the film. I also liked the look of it, and the posters with the scarlet scarf girl were super-intriguing.

I haven't read the novels either.

The bad reviews didn't stop me because it's the kind of movie that reviewers don't like. In this case, I do think it was reasonable to pan the film, although it's a bit of a mixed bag for me.

The minuses were the atrocious dialogue and the lack of exploration into the really cool, interesting, rich world they were in. The pluses were the plot with Shrike and Hester, the aesthetics, and the vibe of the film.

They should have cut a bunch of the boring cliche stuff (the megalomaniac and the hero from the lower decks) and focused on the human stuff. Make Tom's plot more focused, for instance (he's a historian? An aviator? An explorer? What?), and shift the focus more onto Hester, who was way more interesting. They should have had a better romantic triad with Hester, Tom, and Katherine, too.

But, yeah, overall, it wasn't as bad as the reviews claimed. It was fun and full of potential - sometimes frustratingly unrealised, but potential nevertheless. Plus it was audacious enough to be entertaining on the braggadocio of it all.