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Insight Horizon Media

What was wrong with Mortal Engines?

Author

Emma Martin

Published Feb 27, 2026

What was wrong with Mortal Engines?

Believe it or not, the single biggest problem with the premise of Mortal Engines might just be that it doesn’t go far enough. After asking its audience to buy into a world where London is the apex predator of “Municipal Darwinism,” the film doesn’t actually do a lot with that idea.

Is it worth watching Mortal Engines?

Mortal Engines is more of a fantasy adventure movie but one that has quite a decent plot, even if some questions are left a little unanswered. It has all the elements of a decent action movie and is visually very impressive. However, it just felt very much like a tween movie. Like if Mad Max had been made for kids.

Is Mortal Engines a flop?

“Mortal Engines,” a steampunk fantasy adventure, is also an epic flop. With a budget of just over $100 million and tens of millions in global marketing costs, executives at rival studios estimate that the movie will lose upwards of $100 million. “Mortal Engines” has so far made a paltry $42 million globally.

What caused the apocalypse in Mortal Engines?

Setting. Mortal Engines is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by the Sixty Minute War, which caused mass geological upheaval.

Is Mortal Engines realistic?

Mortal Engines is also about humanity’s failure to learn from history. In this way, Mortal Engines is realistic; Tom and Hester are just two individuals who mostly remain unable to change the grand events of the story.

Does Peter Jackson appear in Mortal Engines?

Peter Jackson reveals why he chose not to serve as the director on the upcoming post-apocalyptic fantasy adaptation of The Mortal Engines. Peter Jackson has revealed why he chose not to direct the upcoming Mortal Engines adaptation.

Does Mortal Engines have a narrator?

What we really, really want though is for Stephen Lang to narrate the line over the actual scene as his character Shrike. There’s precedent for an opening narration as Cate Blanchett did one for The Fellowship of the Ring and practically the whole of The Lovely Bones was narrated by Saoirse Ronan.

Is Mortal Engines on Netflix?

Mortal Engines | Now Streaming | Netflix.

Does Mortal Engines have romance?

There’s an extremely tame romance between the main female and male characters; they touch hands, gaze into each other’s eyes, and finally hug.

Will they make Mortal Engines 2?

Mortal Engines 2 will not happen, the reasons why there won’t be a sequel. Mortal Engines, based on the novel of the same name by author Philip Reeve. It would be time for the Mortal Engines sequel to be filmed, however, this is not happening. A critically acclaimed book series becoming a box office bomb.

What was the quantum weapon in Mortal Engines?

M.E.D.U.S.A
M.E.D.U.S.A, which stands for “Military Energy Department United States of America”, is a ground-based, quantum energy weapon, controlled by an artificially-intelligent computer system.

What is the Sixty Minute war in Mortal Engines?

The Sixty Minute War was a global battle that took place thousands of years before the events of the Mortal Engines Quartet and the Fever Crumb Series. The 60 minute name conveys that the war took only an hour to begin and end – this was due to the speed and efficiency of the weapons of mass destruction used.

What is Mortal Engines about?

Mortal Engines is a forthcoming post-apocalyptic movie about giant mobile cities roaming the Earth in search of smaller cities to scavenge.

What is the Shrike in Mortal Engines?

In the Mortal Engines quartet, ‘Shrike’ is a ruthless killing machine . Originally a dead man by the name of Kit Solent, Shrike was re-animated and brought back to life. You could hardly call it life, as he is more machine than man and programmed to follow his orders.

What age are Tom and Hester in Mortal Engines?

At the beginning of Infernal Devices Tom and Hester have been married 16 years and have a daughter, Wren of about the same age. This means that Tom and Hester are about 33 years old.

Who is in the movie Mortal Engines?

Mortal Engines (film) It is based on the novel of the same name by Philip Reeve. An American-New Zealand co-production, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where entire cities have been mounted on wheels and motorised, and prey on one another. It stars Hugo Weaving , Hera Hilmar , Robert Sheehan , Jihae , Ronan Raftery , Leila George ,…