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The post-apocalyptic steampunk film "Mortal Engines" bombed at the box office but had a praised cast and intriguing story. Similar films like "Valerian," "City of Ember," and "Blade Runner 2049" also faced box-office challenges. "Oblivion," "The Chronicles Of Riddick," "Mad Max: Fury Road," and others contain similar themes to "Mortal Engines."

Mortal Engines chronicles a very unique tale, making it difficult to find films, but, thankfully, numerous post-apocalyptic, steampunk, and fantasy movies have been made over the years. The 2018 post-apocalyptic steampunk film, directed by Christian Rivers and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson, depicts a world set more than a thousand years in the future where cities have become motorized on wheels and try to destroy one another following the Sixty Minute War. Although it is based on Philip Reeve's 2001 novel of the same name, Mortal Engines contains several changes from the book.

The cast of...

Mortal Engines is a fun action-packed sci-fi flick with a cool steampunk world and intriguing characters. Despite box office flop, the film offers an entertaining post-apocalyptic adventure with unique cities on wheels. The cast of international veterans and Hollywood newcomers deliver standout performances in this visually stunning movie.

Mortal Engines, while flopping in theaters when it was released in 2018, is nonetheless an enjoyable action sci-fi-fantasy romp thanks to its great cast of characters. Based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Philip Reeve, the 2018 movie adaptation of Mortal Engines was directed by Christian Rivers after Peter Jackson purchased the rights to the book. Unfortunately, Mortal Engines bombed at the box office, which is a shame as the interesting story and world had promise.

Mortal Engines takes place in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where giant, moving cities known as "Traction Cities" roam the land and consume smaller traction cities and settlements as predators.

Imagine if New York was completely mobile. Not “if everyone in the five boroughs (which, for those of you who have not seen Gotti, are: Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx) had mobile phones” — that’s not very hard to imagine at all. More along the lines of: What if the entire city was on wheels, roaming through some sort of post-nuclear wasteland tundra? And what if it had the ability to take a similarly moving smaller town — say, Hazard, Kentucky, or maybe Monrovia, Indiana — and just swallow it up?...

As the last few days of the year float past, the studios want to give us a glimpse into the next few years. And, surprise, things aren’t looking good. Could the reason be this new film’s source material? Why, well it’s from the “young adult novel’ section of your local bookstore. Most works of that genre could have a similar subtitle: “back to the bad ole’ future”. As usual, the world’s gone “down the tubes” thanks to the oldsters and its only hope is a group of determined teens. This movie year began with the (thankfully) last entry in The Maze Runner series, then stumbled in the Summer The Darkest Minds (first and last hopefully). Now, this literary adaptation has some heavy hitters involved: the New Zealand studio behind The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Will these box offices champs bestow their “golden” touch on Mortal Engines?...

From the team behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises comes Mortal Engines, crashing into cinemas up and down the country this weekend. To celebrate the film’s release we had an epic time at an epic junket, speaking to producer, and the legend that is Peter Jackson, as well as writer Philipa Boyens and stars Rob Sheehan, Leila George, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Lang, Jihae and Hera Hilmar. We also spoke to the film’s director, the debutant Christian Rivers. Told it was a big one.

Watch all interviews below:

Synopsis

Hundreds of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, a mysterious young woman, Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar), emerges as the only one who can stop London — now a giant, predator city on wheels — from devouring everything in its path. Feral, and fiercely driven by the memory of her mother, Hester joins forces with Tom...

Jihae, a musician turned actress, was trained by an eight-time tae kwon do champion to prepare for her fight scenes in Mortal Engines. She plays Anna Fang, a pilot and resistance fighter in Christian Rivers' feature-film directorial debut, based on Philip Reeve's 2001 novel. Her character opposes the predatory "moving cities" that populate the film, which premiered on a drizzly Wednesday night in Westwood's Regency Village Theatre.

"I love the fact that it's a rare opportunity to find a role that embodies the kind of strength and power that Anna Fang beholds. Usually we see ...

Jihae, a musician turned actress, was trained by an eight-time tae kwon do champion to prepare for her fight scenes in Mortal Engines. She plays Anna Fang, a pilot and resistance fighter in Christian Rivers' feature-film directorial debut, based on Philip Reeve's 2001 novel. Her character opposes the predatory "moving cities" that populate the film, which premiered on a drizzly Wednesday night in Westwood's Regency Village Theatre.

"I love the fact that it's a rare opportunity to find a role that embodies the kind of strength and power that Anna Fang beholds. Usually we see ...

Adam Shepherd Dec 5, 2018

This Peter Jackson produced Mortal Engines excels at world-building but stalls when it comes to character development

For a story that revolves around giant motorized cities, flying airships, and steampunk cyborgs, Mortal Engines is puzzlingly forgettable. As the latest project from Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, Mortal Engines has had a troubled genesis. Adapted from a somewhat unknown young adult novel by Philip Reeve, the film has been in development for almost a decade after Jackson had to shelve the project in order to work on The Hobbit and its sequels.

The premise is an engaging one: In the future, a catastrophic war has forced settlements to uproot themselves and become mobile, strapping engines and wheels to themselves in order to hunt for resources. Larger cities eat smaller ones in a system known as "municipal Darwinism." The central axis of the story is London--or a version of it,...

Opening in St. Louis on December 14, 2018, is Mortal Engines.

Enter for your chance to win two free passes to the St. Louis advance screening. The theatrical sneak preview will be on December 11 at 7pm.

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No Purchase Required. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house.

Hundreds of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, a mysterious young woman, Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar), emerges as the only one who can stop London — now a giant, predator city on wheels — from devouring everything in its path. Feral, and fiercely driven by the memory of her mother, Hester joins forces with Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), an outcast from London, along with Anna Fang (Jihae), a dangerous outlaw with a bounty on her head.

Philip Reeve’s Mortal Engines has a huge fan base across the world and is the perfect setting for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit man Peter Jackson and his team to create an action filled VFX blockbuster. The film has its World Premiere in London this evening and we were on the red carpet.

Attending from the film were Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, Leila George, Jihae, Stephen Lang as well as Producer/screenwriter Peter Jackson, Co-producer/screenwriter Philippa Boyens and Director Christian Rivers.

Hera Hilmar talked about the honour of getting to play Hester Shaw as such a strong female character and praised the rounded nuanced character she is on the page and screen, as well as noting the scar which as a physical disfigurement in a leading heroine is rare in Hollywood.

Jihae (Anna Fang) talks about the theme of freedom and the various real...

Peter Jackson's Mortal Engines is preparing to release a new trailer this weekend for New York Comic-Con and they have unveiled a new character poster as well as a featurette on Hera Hilmar's Hester Shaw character. The post-apocalyptic adventure film was directed by Christian Rivers from a screenplay written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson. It's based on a novel by Phillip Reeve and is set in a steampunk world where cities have been put on wheels, moving around to prey on one another.

Mortal Engines takes place hundreds of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event. A mysterious young woman, Hester Shaw, is the only one who can stop London, which is now a giant city on wheels that tries to take down and conquer everything in its path. Hester is feral and is driven by the memory of her mother, who was murdered.

Joseph Baxter Nov 8, 2018

Mortal Engines, a sci-fi epic written by Peter Jackson, depicts an apocalyptic world of giant roving cities.

The 2018 film adaptation of Philip Reeve’s popular teen-aimed apocalyptic novel series Mortal Engines appears to be running on all cylinders. With the legendary visionary of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies Peter Jackson working on the script with his repertory team of (his wife) Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, we know the screenplay is being tackled by a trio who understand what it takes to adapt epic fantasies.

Here's everything we know so far!

Mortal Engines Trailer

Another Mortal Engines trailer has arrived, this time in the form of an "extended look" clip, showcasing more of the film's post-apocalyptic Steampunk aesthetics.

Video of Mortal Engines - Extended Look (HD)

You can check out the previous trailer below:

Video of Mortal Engines - Official Trailer 2 (HD...

Joseph Baxter Oct 5, 2018

Mortal Engines, a sci-fi epic written by Peter Jackson, depicts an apocalyptic world of giant roving cities.

The 2018 film adaptation of Philip Reeve’s popular teen-aimed apocalyptic novel series Mortal Engines appears to be running on all cylinders. With the legendary visionary of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies Peter Jackson working on the script with his repertory team of (his wife) Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, we know the screenplay is being tackled by a trio who understand what it takes to adapt epic fantasies.

Here's everything we know so far!

Mortal Engines Trailer

The new Mortal Engines trailer has arrived!

Video of Mortal Engines - Official Trailer 2 (HD)

You can check out the previous trailer below:

Video of Mortal Engines Official Trailer [HD]

While some people can claim to have been swallowed by London, the post-apocalyptic existence of characters in Mortal Engines...