“Visionary filmmaker Peter Jackson presents a startling new adventure unlike any you’ve seen before. Hundreds of years after our civilisation was destroyed, a new world has emerged. A mysterious young woman named Hester Shaw leads a band of outcasts in the fight to stop London — now a giant predator city on wheels — from devouring everything in its path.”
[Promo text from the dvd sleeve]
>> Please, read the warning for possible spoilers <<
In an improbable but quite beautiful steampunk future, cities made themselves mobile in order to gather more ressources and survive the man-made apocalypse. Not much of the technology displayed seems realistic. I doubt that putting the city of London on wheels would be physically possible as the mechanical parts of the engine would crumble under its own weight… Despite the very simple and unoriginal story (young rebels, full of love and thirsty for vengeance, trying to defeat evil and power hungry madmen) the superb background settings and great special effects make this movie very entertaining. Unfortunately, it seems that it was not enough for the audience as it failed at the box office and received low ratings from the critics (6.1 on IMDb, 27% / 49% on Rotten Tomatoes). Interesting facts, the movie is directed by Christian Rivers but has the marks of Peter Jackson all over it (as one of the script writers and producers, sfx by Weta). It is also based on a series of YA novels written by Philip Reeve.
Some critic called it a “steampunk Star Wars”. I see it more as an allegory alluding to western societies which consume (in both meaning of eating and destroying) everything in their path, as opposed to more peaceful and nature-friendly eastern societies. Mortal engines is an intriguing movie that will feed your imagination and provide great entertainment. It’s certainly worth seeing. 
To learn more about this title you can consult the following web sites:
Also, you can check the official trailer on Youtube:
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