Mortal Engines: A Major Locomotion Picture

Рет қаралды 326,995

Күн бұрын

In which I take a deep dive into the oddball film that meant the world to me and apparently nothing to so many others.
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Original article written during the film's development: oliverlugg.com/a-major-locomo...
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I've been working on this for a very long time, a video essay exploring my favourite book series and what became of its adaptation, so it's only fitting the end result is so outrageously long and rambling. Sit back and enjoy my explanation of the source material, analysis of the film, and general emotional trauma at what became of it.
I'm pretty proud of this one. Let's just hope Content ID lets me keep it.
0:00 Intro
2:49 Part I: A History of the Future
10:53 Part II: Heart, Humour and Hell on Earth
17:29 Part III: The Road to Adaptation
23:52 Part IV: Some Scars Never Heal
24:54 Part IV.1: Hester and the Scar
28:30 Part IV.2: The Tone
31:02 Part IV.3: The Pacing
34:31 Part IV.4: The Visuals
36:00 Part IV.5: The Music
37:56 Part IV.6: Theme
41:26 Part IV.7: Shrike
43:08 Part IV.8: MEDUSA
46:05 Part V: The Aftermath
53:59 Credits
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Turns out the credits were too long to fit in KZfaq's description, so I've moved them here: pastebin.com/m6uX0UsB

Пікірлер: 971

@OliverLugg 3 жыл бұрын

There are several blink-and-you'll-miss-them jokes hidden throughout this video. Can you find them all?

@brandonchan5387 3 жыл бұрын

"Shrike is love, Shrike is life" FTW!

@animationspace8550 3 жыл бұрын

No. No I can not.

@Mythtic 3 жыл бұрын

Looks like I won’t be blinking for the next 50 minutes

@martinconway8174 3 жыл бұрын

Still waiting for Hulk's return to f1

@supersmily5811 3 жыл бұрын

1:47 Oh yeah? Guardians of Ga'hoole. They smashed EIGHT BOOKS into a single movie and called it a day.

@kashsmith6181 3 жыл бұрын

Fun fact: Cities in Texas are actually legally allowed to eat each other. That's how Dallas got so big.

@mrladygray 3 жыл бұрын

Wait . . . That's illigeal in places?

@kashsmith6181 3 жыл бұрын

@@mrladygray Texas is the only state in the USA where a larger city can forcibly absorb another one around it without consent of the other town.

@gaiusfulmen 2 жыл бұрын

@@kashsmith6181 "Prepare to ingest"

@Copyright_Infringement 2 жыл бұрын

@@kashsmith6181 That seems really weird ...that other states don't allow that

@Kallixede 2 жыл бұрын

I've been living her my whole life and I don't even know that! So can Texas cities just take land from each other without repercussion?

@FalloutUgglan 2 жыл бұрын

"Hey does anyone remember Mortal Engines?" How could I forget! It was my favorite bookseries growing up and it still has a special place in my heart. Pity they never made anything more with it, like a show, game or a movie.

@villager736 11 ай бұрын

I mean there is a crappy rip off tv movie kind of similar to mortal engines.

@KevinJohnson-cv2no 9 ай бұрын

Look up some of the fan concept art for NYC as a traction city, it's nuts

@itstherealbrace6424 9 ай бұрын

Glad to see that the Mortal Engines and Eragon fandoms have the same philosophy on the movies

@tellmo25 9 ай бұрын

I remember all that minus the movie. (Knocks bown the biggie size coke on the tape) Oh well, was nice to see it once.

@cg6176 7 ай бұрын

The books are shit

@monsterno.definablenever.3484 3 жыл бұрын

I haven't even read the books, and in thirty minutes even I can tell that this grim apocalyptic setting was smashed into a chosen one mcguffin happy ending semi-okay setting that botches the books. It'd be like putting Attack On Titan into a cheery children's series about finding your inner worth.

@auspiciouscheetah 2 жыл бұрын

same thing that happend to artemis fowl, percy jackson and eragon, they just apparently all need to have a chosen one ect.

@monsterno.definablenever.3484 2 жыл бұрын

@@auspiciouscheetah To be fair, _The lightning thief_ follows a pretty basic chosen one stuff, prophecy quest, etc., find the mcguffin, save the world, but that's more of a setup for the setting than anything, and the vast majority of Rick Riordan's works subvert this wonderfully, up to the P.O.V. character in his "Magnus Chase and the gods of asgard" series being a healer, and one of his more stereotypical heroes even dying early in one of the more recent series (won't spoil it for ya) But yeah, that movie was a bastardization. Between that and the "avatar:the last airbender" movie, I'm convinced M. Night Shyamalan ruins every series he touches. Edit: Spellink ertors.

@marcusdaloia2974 2 жыл бұрын

The opposite of Made In Abyss?

@Shenaldrac Жыл бұрын

The thing is, in the books the original does end on a fairly upbeat, happy ending note. The environmentalists win, the wall stands, London is stopped. Huzzah! Hester and what's his face have an airship and are off to explore what the rest of their lives will be together. Then book 2 starts and you realize that Reeves wanted something darker but the publishers wouldn't let him until he had one full book released, at which point they stopped paying attention. Shit goes downhill fast. Really, really dark stuff. I know no other series of children's books where the main female protagonist of the first two books goes on to try and *murder her own daughter because she's jealous of how much her husband pays attention to their child instead of her.* It's crazy, it's dark, and I _fucking love it._ Hester is a severely damaged woman and _it shows._

@combatwombat2134 11 ай бұрын

@@Shenaldracmate, right? The remnants of London, Brighton and the groups of boys, trying to turn Hester into a Stalker, even the backstory with the war and all the monstrous weapons that got used. The ending of a Darkling Plain, too. "Shrike woke up" after having watched Hester and Tom decompose and watching a tree grow from Hester's rob cage. That tie in to the first book was beautiful and made me choke up a bit, though. 😂

@Wilipeidia 3 жыл бұрын

It started with being randomly offered a video essay on Diplomacy and now it seems like I'm going to pick up that book series I never got through the first book of 16ish years ago all because I wanted to see someone roast a film I heard was bad. Dammit.

@StormForthcoming 3 жыл бұрын

wait, you mean the board game Diplomacy? wtf i just watched before this how did we have the same journey?

@Wilipeidia 3 жыл бұрын

@@StormForthcoming KZfaq decided this week it wanted to show people Oliver talking about the game of back stabbing your friends

@cassandratastrophe9000 3 жыл бұрын

This was exactly my journey, too.

@gobarn1877 3 жыл бұрын

IM ON THE SAME JOURNEY NOW HAHAHAH

@darthdangermouse1453 2 жыл бұрын

You too!?

@bluehairedemon 3 жыл бұрын

"Oh yeah, of course you don't" I actually watched it with a friend *remembers we were the only ones watching it that day* (we watched it at the cinema and no one else was sitting anywhere to be seen)

@jacobb5484 3 жыл бұрын

I unfortunately had the same experience with Kubo the day it came out.

@Jaydee-wd7wr 3 жыл бұрын

@@jacobb5484, Kubo was great and deserved better.

@bluehairedemon 3 жыл бұрын

@@Jaydee-wd7wr yeah, I watched that movie at least three times, and it's worth watching again

@cj3xps 9 ай бұрын

"Oh God. The most anticipated film of my entire life is a 6/10." I felt that in my soul

@alekz8580 3 ай бұрын

Eragon fans: could have been worse.

@LddStyx Жыл бұрын

I always imagined the cities as slow, but inevitable when I read the books. One creeping upon another taking weeks until the bigger catches up and then the smaller city is enveloped and then taken apart piece-by-piece as the bigger city "digests" it. Kind of like a corporate takeover where the bigger company gets all of the assets and then fires 90% of the smaller companies workers due to "redundancies".

@TheFleetOfOceans 8 ай бұрын

The bit about the corporate takeover is oddly accurate. Whilst it does vary from city to city most of the large well established predator cities will integrate populace rather than use them as slaves or forced labour.

@duncanurquhart5278 Ай бұрын

yeah, like bayreuth catching up to london takes a couple days, long enough for there to be riots

@ThePizzaDevourer 3 жыл бұрын

As someone who read the first book in the series as a child, I really appreciated this analysis. I feel like "near misses" of adaptations are often the most tragic, since they're not good enough to be successful but not so bad that everyone recognizes they failed to adapt the source material properly.

@rushi5638 11 ай бұрын

Missing the mark by just a little bit is ~always more soul crushing than just completely fucking up. Getting 1% percent below a passing grade. Your GPA being a fraction of a decimal below the threshold at which you'd qualify for a scholarship. Bah. Spotting the tantalizing unfulfilled potential in a final product that ended up being "meh" fits this mold, adaptation or no. Like Cyberpunk 2077 hurt me in ways I didn't know I could be hurt. I wasn't even on board the hype train! I had 0 expectations going in, and still left the game feeling hollow. It tells a concise little story, throws a bucket load of side content at you, and it does all that well enough that it's *close* to being something truly amazing, despite the bugs. And to be clear it's not even the bugs that are holding it back from greatness! (They aren't helping, but people can put up with all kinds of jank IF your janky ass software is cool enough, and Cyberpunk 2077... isn't). I would literally end lives if it meant CD Project Red would release a patch with Elder Scrolls-style mod support and a modding toolkit like the Construction Set. What the game needs is devoted fans, hand crafting more and better content for it. People unbeholden to studio execs, shareholders, etc, who can spend the rest of their lives fleshing out the world with all kinds of weird stuff studios don't have the time/resources or are too risk-averse to put in the game. Knowing that all the game will be remembered for is "failing to live up to hype" when - although lacking in features people expected for one reason or another - the game still has so much *there* for people to work with (had they the inclination/ability)... it hurts.😮‍💨Basically, 2077 is the reason that if I ever get off my ass and decide to make a game myself, I'll be doing so with mod support as a core design principle. If I make something decent (big "if") with the unrealized potential to be something amazing (the universe is not large enough to contain an "if" of this size), people should have the tools to at least go make that thing themselves.

@purplepenguin43 10 ай бұрын

"they had the money but missed the mark" or "they could have made it good, but chose not to", proboly the worst feeling as a fan anticipating any high budget adaptation. if it was low budget I woundt expect as much, if it was no budget (fan made films and art.) then Im litarly just glad it exists at all. but when you have the gold laid out before you and choose to polish the shit instead.... i have no words....

@jemm113 10 ай бұрын

This is me and Soul Eater. The anime was amazing, and even the redone second half was good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to where the manga went! Hopefully the author greenlights a complete remake. Granted the first half of the anime would still work as the beginning with little issue, but a while remake with modern animation quality would help make everything more consistent with itself. Ironically this is ALSO my issue with FMA Brotherhood! I feel that while Brotherhood delivered on telling the story we missed, it really took a big shortcut to get there and cut out a lot of Ed and Al’s journeying they did in the beginning (save for the stuff that was filler, that won’t be missed). Plus the fact that 2003 is no where to be seen in western streaming services is a damn shame for those looking for the slower-paced FMA episodes that told the story’s beginning.

@handlemonium 9 ай бұрын

Yep it took 3 tries to get Dune right. Hopefully the same for ENDER'S GAME and Mortal Engines 🤞

@paynepersons6147 3 жыл бұрын

After I finished mortal engines I played Homeworld: Deserts of Karak to get my giant ground vehicle fix.

@hallvardolai 3 жыл бұрын

The same way His Dark Materials were saved by making a new adaptation, maybe Mortal Engines will be saved the same way? Hope so.

@hera5614 2 жыл бұрын

learning that this movie not only used to be a book, but the fact that they PERCY JACKSONED the book is horrifying

@oliverturner1649 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this video. Seemingly the first mortal engines film review with a real understanding of the books. Turns out we share a lot of opinions, (including the, er, rare.. enjoyment of the minions gag) I really hope this gains the traction it deserves.

@captainmcderp4078 3 жыл бұрын

"Gains the traction", nice.

@oliverturner1649 3 жыл бұрын

@@captainmcderp4078 glad that didn't go unnoticed

@TiffinVStorm 2 жыл бұрын

@@oliverturner1649 Oh, it was noticed.

@UrFriendlyHoax 2 жыл бұрын

Ik right

@forkstaf1918 3 жыл бұрын

One of my friends once said: “mortal engines is a good setting, a bad story, could we make some kind of game out of it to play and have actual fun with?” Too bad that he doesn’t read books, at all. I still wanna make an rpg campaign around it even though I only have watched the movie, I guess that’s a testament to how cool those moving cities really are.

@alexandravalerious3274 3 жыл бұрын

completely agree! this setting was so cool in the movies i wish we got to see even more of the world

@jts.97 3 жыл бұрын

You could run a GURPS game in that setting pretty easily! There are some excellent steampunk modules, and I'm sure that GURPS: Starships could be reflavored to traction cities with minimal effort.

@konstantinkh 2 жыл бұрын

You know? I was thinking about that as well. But also, remembering an old game that's basically Mortal Engines the Game. Except it came out years before even the book did and the cities are flying islands instead. A big part of gameplay is demolishing other islands and using resources to expand and fortify your own, though, so it would fit the theme of Mortal Engines with minor changes to gameplay. The game was called Stratosphere: Conquest of the Skies. Good game. A bit aged, and likely unplayable on modern platforms, so probably just find some LPs if you're interested in exploring it a bit.

@forkstaf1918 2 жыл бұрын

@@konstantinkh sounds like airships conquer the skies

@Nostripe361 2 жыл бұрын

@@alexandravalerious3274 The books later in the series get even crazier with suicide bombers, laser satellite, and a fourth world war. I really hate that Hollywood screwed this one up

@trapsaltnburn 10 ай бұрын

Couple years late to the party, but here's my two cents: I got invited to see the movie by a couple friends. I'd never heard of the movie, never read the books (wasn't even aware of them when I went to see it). But it had Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh attached, and I loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I said yes. I have to say, I really enjoyed the movie for what it was. Having now read Mortal Engines (and planning on reading the rest ASAP), I'm glad I saw the movie first so I could enjoy it for its own thing. By the time I finished the first book (which I'm re-reading as of the posting of this comment), I was absolutely blown away with the changes they made. They felt so far beyond what was necessary for adaptation purposes, I was a little blown away. But I'm grateful for the movie, both for the breathtaking visuals, but because without it, I never would have discovered this book series. Thank you for doing this analysis. I couldn't find anything like this when I first went looking, and this was a welcome pop-up on my recommended page.

@monsterno.definablenever.3484 3 жыл бұрын

The quartet title, "Mortal Engines" gives away a plot point; to be considered mortal, something has to be alive. Therefore, the series includes living machines.

@alexandru26 3 жыл бұрын

I bet that Mortal Engines in 5-7 years will be resurected as a TV series exactly like snowpiercer or the golden compass.

@Synthonym 9 ай бұрын

The most recent His Dark Materials series is a masterpiece. I can only hope Mortal Engines gets the same treatment one day

@mrmorzan6 3 жыл бұрын

Hi, from all russian Mortal Engines community. That's the truly great video with really mortal engines vibe

@gagestah 3 жыл бұрын

As someone who watched Mortal Engines and just sort of lumped it in with so many of the other big beautiful disasters that have come out in the last few years (Valerion, Jupiter, etc.), I'm glad to see a video talking about the books, and by extension the movie, with a reasonable amount of respect. This was a well-thought-out analysis, and I particularly liked the insight into Shrike, who was by far the most nuanced character in the film. Great job, thank you for making this!

@JihadNinja 3 жыл бұрын

I got drunk with my brother a few weeks ago and watched this movie. We found it hilarious and thought it squandered a ton of potential. Now I find this channel through your video on one of my favorite board games, "Diplomacy" and you just recently reviewed it. Neat.

@courtlandfargo5251 Жыл бұрын

I remember watching Mortal Engines and thinking, "Incredible premise, terrible story. I've gotta check out the books." And yeah, the books are pretty good.

@UrFriendlyHoax 2 жыл бұрын

I love your phrase "Great Quirke kill it with fire" a great acknowledgement to the book.

@oneone425270 Жыл бұрын

My main issue with this film is that it should have been dark and grim both narratively and visually. Most of the shots are so bright and saturated (especially in London), they feel like they should be in Charlie and the chocolate factory. It matches with their obsession with making it have a happy ending. This was such a missed opportunity.

@dashiellgillingham4579 2 жыл бұрын

Now knowing what the Sunbeam 2000 actually was (and is), I understand the film obsessing over that toaster. I now obsess over that toaster. It is better than your toaster in every possible way and it’s so mechanically simple that it’s functionally immortal.

@deevee5327 Жыл бұрын

As a massive Brandon Sanderson fan - with the news of his works getting their own movies/TV series - this feels like a bit of a window into the future. I'm just hoping it turns out better than the whole Eragon situation. _They couldn't even be bothered getting the hair colour right, I still can't believe it..._

@Riley-uy5pe 11 ай бұрын

he's a weird homophobic Mormon so I do hope they fail miserably. no hate for you just him

@RandomPerson-rt8zt 2 жыл бұрын

This is easily the best Mortal Engines review on KZfaq because of the passion you have for the source material and how in depth it goes. I was thoroughly invested in what you had to say. I hope more people get this video, and I would actually be interested in you discussing other things related to the books too, for instance Tom and Hester’s relationship or the prequel series. Thank you for making this

@Raykkie 2 жыл бұрын

Rule of thumb: Stories thematically built around vehicules are always a metaphor for something. Mechas are the ability for someone to influence the world around their through their willpower, lonesome cars in the desert are basically the same, big city-eating cities are represensation of sprawling cities/human greed.

@vylbird8014 10 ай бұрын

Yes, but you need them to be Really Cool in themselves, not just when acting as a metaphor. They have to work on both levels. That's part of what made Fury Road a success: They didn't just CGI in all the cars, they were actually built as functioning vehicles, which really sold the stuntwork.

@Jebsucks 9 ай бұрын

@@vylbird8014 I mean hey, I don't think anyone is going to try to say that having a giant carnivorous tank that is litterally an entire city *isn't* cool. Because it is. It's really, *really* cool actually.

@KevinJohnson-cv2no 9 ай бұрын

@@vylbird8014 Look up some of the concept art for NYC as a traction city, it's nuts

@chronicmusiclistener5572 7 ай бұрын

Bro discovered metaphors, good for you chap! Themes next perhaps?

@Practicallypreposterous 3 жыл бұрын

1:48 : buddy, I'm a long time fan of the Artemis Fowl book series, I know exactly how you're feeling...

@corbeccolm6250 3 жыл бұрын

The beauty of the internet: just had the same feeling.

@catastrophicatack6974 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it really is unfortunate.

@robbiejames1540 2 жыл бұрын

I love both :( :(

@Practicallypreposterous 2 жыл бұрын

@@robbiejames1540 you sound like you need a hug, buddy

@robbiejames1540 2 жыл бұрын

Don't worry, I've managed keep going thanks to the Expanse books and their excellent Tv show adaptation. It really is a shame, though.

@Dorsidwarf Жыл бұрын

I think its easy to forget what an incredibly dark series mortal engines is. Its so unimaginably GRIM and there is never a happy ending that lasts.

@aaronkersh 3 жыл бұрын

As a huge fan of the Inheritance and Percy Jackson books, I am all too familiar with disappointing film adaptations. Also Inheritance is REALLY GOOD I AM SO GLAD YOUVE ALSO READ IT

@herald8765 3 жыл бұрын

inheritance gang inheritance gang

@IroneaterFinya 3 жыл бұрын

It's been a good solid 2 months since I watched that movie with my Boyfriend and I do have to say that during it's watchhtime I have become more abnd more aggrevated at its design decisions until we reached the Happy End and just said to myself "This is a shitty book adaptation isn't it?" Sure enough after a quick Google Search I found the answer and was honestly really surprised. The world building alone was already so vastly interesting that all the lows just feel even lower. The breakneck speed at which the plot progresses is astonishingly fast that you miss half of the things by just blinking. I love your passion for the series and hope that one day we will get a faithful adaptation and that the Mortal Engines Movie is quickly forgotten as an early flop of an adaptation.

@reapthewhirlwind6915 7 ай бұрын

3ys

@ehrenmurdick 2 жыл бұрын

The ODIN concept dates back to the 60s at least! I knew it as "rods from the gods" aka "kinetic bombardment"

@ileutur6863 11 ай бұрын

As somebody who has had at least 3 childhood books absolutely butchered by clueless corporate adaptations, I can empathize deeply with this vide. Mortal engines came on the TV in my work's break room a few weeks ago. We laughed out loud at how shallow and tropey it is, now I'm kinda sad knowing the full story

@erdngtn9942 9 ай бұрын

22:41 “Adaptation anxiety” yeah that’s perfect description. For me it was Altered Carbon, written by Richard K Morgan, sold 15 years ago to Steven speilburg, then sold to Netflix. I’m obsessed with the series like you and this set of books. They changed so much like renaming people who are so important and deleting others making sequels nor making sense an impossibility. That is all. Carry on.

@datDrowningFish 2 жыл бұрын

It’s genuinely so good to hear a review from someone passionate about the source material. I’ve never read these books, watched the movie, or consumed anything related to Mortal Engines, but I was thoroughly invested in what you had to say. Great work!

@You-fools Жыл бұрын

Figured I'd bite the bullet and read the full quartet after watching this. It was absolutely brilliant, well worth it. You can't help but get emotional nearing the end, especially how they finish off the story of Shrike. A great series, incredible setting and unique story.

@lukelikessharks 3 жыл бұрын

I remember Mortal Engines but not the film, it was one of the first book series I ever read properly and gave me a bit of a reading phase, it’ll always have a spot in my heart.

@Smithurene Жыл бұрын

I do - I remember this movie! I did NOT know it was based off a book series, so thank you. I tried it out on Netflix thinking it would be so stupid, but I love dystopias/sci-fi. I liked it enough to show my family. We all cried when Shrike died. I’m sure the books are way better, but I am impressed that the movie squished in enough back story to make us care for him. He started out a mysterious but one-dimensional villain who continued to get more and more complex until your heart goes out for him. Thanks for the video; it was really fun. Also, as book adaptations go, it was almost there - could have been much much worse (ahem - Eragon).

@tcmbricks4872 3 жыл бұрын

What an absolute masterpiece. I've been waiting to someone to do a comprehensive review of this movie since it came out. I saw the movie first and absolutely loved it and wanted to read the books. It was unfortunate that this movie, as well as many others, has fallen into the book is better than the movie category. You did a good job though of still highlighting the positives. It would have been very easy to make this a negative review bashing the movie. Thank you for not doing that. Keep up the good work.

@Pine_of_England Жыл бұрын

I was a How to Train Your Dragon fan as a kid. Then the movies came along, changed so much that it's honestly baffling they even bought the rights to an existing franchise, and now THATS the definitive version everyone knows A special place in hell is reserved for book adaptors

@maxvanleeuwen9104 2 жыл бұрын

To me the city's weren't big enough. London in the film looked like a team/water park. When in the book it seamed like a 40k hive city, built up generation after generation. Tom's parents died when one of those major levels slipped at a corner die to the rich having to much waying the supports down.

@LeoButScreaming 11 ай бұрын

It's taken me my whole life until right now to find out someone else could relate to me on this Those books were absolutely the best I was gutted to see what the film turned out to be

@colboy1fish 2 жыл бұрын

As a fan of over the top, rule of cool stuff (long time 40k fan. Roughly 14 years at this point) I loved the world of mortal engines. The effects pulled me right in and basicly I was waiting for more effects troughout the entire movie. I unfortunatly agree the characters where bad in the movies, but it did get me intrested in reading the books. I feel bad for you that people didn't like your favorite franchise. I saw my favorite franchise (warhammer, which I discovered rougly 16 years ago) grow to become a very popular franchise and now there is a lot of content covering it. I kinda wish mortal engines got the same treatment, because the setting looks very cool.

@SardonicSays Жыл бұрын

God, thank you for being a 'Remembering Machine' of the series, so to speak. I was a huge fan growing up as well and my heart sank when I saw the reception of the movie. I didn't even have the courage to see it myself in theater. You've effectively captured my feelings on it perfectly. Given the changes I had heard about I can't imagine it would have kept the darkness of the later parts of the series, but damned if I still didn't want to see an attempt. The imagery of the final scene of the series felt full Zardoz (in a good way). Especially hard agree on the discussion of Hester's scarring. That was a pretty big tipoff to me when I watched the trailer where things were going. I still refuse to watch the 'The Magicians' series because I think they should have cast Quentin way more on the 'v' side of the virgin/chad dichotomy.

@bjzaba 2 жыл бұрын

As a fan of the books through the 2000s, and somebody who still thinks back to A Darkling Plain, I was wary of the adaptation and so didn't follow the film's development too closely, but was hopeful knowing that Peter Jackson was involved. Even with the amount of emotional distance I tried to have, I still had similar feelings to you after seeing the film. Thanks for for helping me process and understand these feelings, it means a lot to me!

@UrFriendlyHoax 2 жыл бұрын

Finally a youtuber who has read the books unlike a bunch of people who criticise the film without having an understanding. Like how people dont understand why they dont live on the ground.

@callukcraft 3 жыл бұрын

ironically the movie got me into the books given i look up what everything is based off , and really enjoyed the books cant wait to read more of them at some point. i also have all the same worry's as you did for mortal engines movie for the new dune adaptation .

@kaljakad 3 жыл бұрын

Same, I kinda liked the movie and the theme was so cool so I started reading the books. I have finished the 3rd but haven’t started with the 4th.

@oliviapg 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah that's the one blessing with the numerous mediocre-to-awful book-to-movie adaptations today, they introduce people to a lot of great books they likely missed out on.

@Romanticanime4ever 3 жыл бұрын

Ah, I should have watched this review earlier. I'm glad you made this video and that fans of the books are talking about it, especially Hester and her scar. Reading about a genuinely grey, flawed, ugly female protagonist made a big impression on me as a teenage girl. And when I saw they'd nerfed her in the film, I knew the producers had missed the point. SPOILERS FOR LATER BOOKS when I saw the movie poster I IMMEDIATELY thought of that scene where it was revealed Pennyroyal had treated her character in the same way. It was so on the nose. Truth imitating fiction. I dunno.

@Romanticanime4ever 3 жыл бұрын

Oh he brought this up in the follow up RIP XD

@egreaterthan753 2 жыл бұрын

i remember reading the mortal engines series, actually because i saw a trailer for the movie. i thought it looked cool, then saw it was biased on a book, so i went to go read it. i ended up reading the whole series before watching the movie. today, i hardly remember the movie but have very fond memories of the books.

@e.r___2060 3 жыл бұрын

i remember, i think it was last year, i was reminiscing over the brilliance of the books and i thought 'damn, they'd make a great movie' then, a few minutes later, i realised 'oh, there is a movie' and was filled with unimaginable sadness

@milanzhi 3 жыл бұрын

Wonderful video, captures all my thoughts and feelings of my own. Really inspiring work and it gives me peace of mind to know there are passionate fans out there dedicated to the masterpiece that is the Mortal Engines world. Perhaps one day the franchise will get another chance to fully express its themes more faithfully. It does pain me that all the loving work the production team put into the movie was let down by the directing. But perhaps it could be recycled into a streaming series of some kind. I think a longer running time of a series would allow the story to breath and develop, a season for each book perhaps. Seeing moving cities eat each other on screen will never get old. Hell I was even excited of the prospect of getting a Mortal Engines Lego line produced if it got enough success. I want models of each traction city and Jenny on my shelf! Maybe even a video game where you grow your own traction town set in the world. Anyway, great video and looking forward to more. Perhaps you could make some videos that delve deeper into the world and lore, would love to see that. Keep up the great work and hope your hearing gets better :)

@devalk_ 9 ай бұрын

I've just now noticed that the FTL and 5D chess videos youtube's been trying to force me to watch for over a year come from your channel. But after all that time it was this video on a mostly forgotten film that made actually check your channel out. You did a really excellent job summing up the feeling about waiting for this film for so long only for it to turn out incredibly mediocre. As someone with reading problems Mortal Engines numbers among less that 5 book series I read through to completion without assistance or audiobook. Thank you for making it.

@Artofjoe 2 жыл бұрын

You almost made me cry, homie. I saw the trailer for this movie and I instantly fell in love with the concept. Mobile cities on wheels! DRIVING AROUND EATING EACH OTHER! It sounds so stupid and so cool at the same time. At the first chance I had, I tried to check out the book at the library, but it was always unavailable. I waited months and months before finally, I was able to check it out. But I was very busy during that time so I was only able to read the very beginning of the book. So I shelved it for later and decided I would watch the movie first. I loved it. Even if the plot felt basic and the characters weren't written too well, the movie was every bit of awesome that I expected from the trailer. And while I definitely noticed some stupid mishaps that were different from what little of the book I was able to read, I had a really good time. I felt like I'd seen StarWars, but better, haha. And yeah, I bought the movie in a bargain DVD bin at Walmart afterwards and it physically hurt me inside to know that this movie had ended up in that bin. I'm excited to go back and read the books someday.

@jenniferdavis8659 3 жыл бұрын

Combine this with Lindsay Ellis' video essay on how the hobbit went to crap because of executive interference and you can see how both series ended up getting the short end of the stick.

@michaeltodd343 9 ай бұрын

Excellent video! As someone who grew up on the Percy Jackson series, i know this exact pain; never before has a movie adaptation ever gut-punched me like that one did. I watched Mortal Engines with my sister when we had a mutual day off and nothong to do, and we were in love with it! The worldbuilding, the characters, the sheer imagination on display drew us in. Knowing now that the film which excited us so is really a pale reflection of the book series, well... it just makes me excited to pick up the books and read them!

@achanceofclouds 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing so many thoughts I've also had about the books and movie. My all time favorite series!

@bluehairedemon 2 жыл бұрын

A few days ago I was at a friend's house, and saw the book, and the only reason I decided to check it out was this video. so thank you for letting me know the book is worth picking up even if I already watched the movie, now I'm going to spend way to much money on ordering all of the other books since only the first one is avaliable in my country

@Iyiouseismouse 2 жыл бұрын

I feel your pain. I was fascinated by the idea of zombies and the book World War Z which had an interviewer methodically interviewing people around the world giving excruciating detail about how the zombie apocalypse was won in the past 20 years, and how it reshaped the social and geopolitical order of the whole world. Each interview giving details about how different cultures adapted and/or reacted. Detailing which countries were now barely existing if at at all, and which rose up as economic powerhouses due to the shakeup of the social order and so many billions being killed. Showing things like how the millionaire stockbroker was now shoveling shit, but the expert mechanic, janitor, or outdoorsman was now the big boss since the whole system of things had collapsed, and only practical things really mattered now. Then……… well…… read the book (or listen) then watch the shitty vapid movie consisting of Brad Pitt globetrotting the crisis then presumably saving the day. Seems like the same thing

@howmuchmorecanItake 10 ай бұрын

When I heard World War Z was getting a screen adaptation, I was fully ready to binge a 20 episode HBO series that faithfully follows the book. What a tragic adaptation. The movie isn't bad, per se, just kind of bland. World War Z, the book, deserves so much more.

@Iyiouseismouse 10 ай бұрын

@howmuchmorecanItake If they didn't use the World War Z name and just called it something else then that would have been cool. This movie though I think really did a huge disservice to the book and I'm sure many people who would have picked up the book after a 20 episode HBO or the like just didn't even consider it. Also if they would have been interested in the book independent of a different named movie now thought "oh, seen the movie, it was cool. Whatever."

@waymire01 6 ай бұрын

I adore the book and have reread it multiple times. It would be amazing on screen. There is an excellent audiobook with a full cast narration which is about as close as we are going to get.

@Iyiouseismouse 6 ай бұрын

@@waymire01 I have that one on Audible. I agree, it’s a great cast and having voice actors with accents from the different regions is awesome. It’s funny though, when the American military guy talked about how the modern stuff was useless and they eventually used Kevlar jumpers “bite proof threads”, and the equivalent of an M1 rifle made of recycled materials it spoiled so many other zombie stories for me lol

@qwerty2008100 10 ай бұрын

Mortal Engines was the only film I ever saw in theaters on opening day. I had never read the books at that point and I enjoyed the movie. It was friggin gorgeous in a setting that gets too little screen time. Fast forward a year or so and I started reading the books. They didn't lessen my enjoyment of the movie but instead improved it. I had the visuals of the movie mingling in my mind with the story of the book and it was great.

@largeshrimpin3407 3 жыл бұрын

Wow this brought back so many memories of this series, I've been watching some of your other videos and you really deserve more subscribers

@robopope7584 11 ай бұрын

It’s so funny to me when people try to say “Mortal Engines is bad because moving cities waste vast amounts of resources and are unsustainable! The entire system would collapse before long!” As if that isn’t the entire point of the books. Edit: Eyyy! I also read Mortal Engines after finding the first book at my school library after I’d read the Inheritance Cycle as a teen (well, tween. I was in sixth grade).

@Peasant_of_Pontus 2 жыл бұрын

I went to see it in the theaters at a time when I literally watched 70-80% of movie releases (cinema subscription). It was mediocre for the most part, but I liked the world building. Easily the most creative YA setting I've seen on a big screen. Wasn't really worse than a lot of the other YA flicks that rake in the big bucks (Maze Runner, Hunger Games). What killed it in my opinion is the complete lack of marketing. If I didn't consume almost every movie premier at the time I wouldn't even know that this film existed. The studio condemned the film to failure before it launched.

@oisinhennessy9557 11 ай бұрын

I'm only seeing this video now, but as someone who shares this book series as their favourite and also obsessed over that one line on the Wikipedia page, I really appreciate this existing and voicing so many similar opinions to my own thoughts and feelings on the matter. I especially resonated with the feeling you described, watching what seemed to be everyone casting judgement on a world that was so special to me.

@cookies23z 2 жыл бұрын

omfg "the only part I laughed at" me sitting there waiting to see what it was, not having seen the movie camera pans, I laugh

@saflam Жыл бұрын

I just finished the book last week and the movie last night and I can't help but a synthesis of the two could make an amazing TV show. I love how the movie looks and its score is fantastic, but like you said, the writing in the book is more focused on the building the characters and the world. Imagine Mortal Engines the Animated series. Every episode is two chapters (half dedicated to Tom and Hester and the other dedicated to Bevis and Kathrine), and the finale explores the last couple of chapters. I prefer the movies version of Valentine, but also love the ending where he kills his beloved daughter. Maybe one day HBO will pick it up or something but until then I gotta finish the books!

@Practicallypreposterous 3 жыл бұрын

Oh shit you also made the last two videos I watched and enjoyed: the 5d chess and Diplomacy one. Praise KZfaq for recommending me such a good and low sub creator

@thepedrothethethe6151 3 жыл бұрын

This channel is honestly soo underrated. Keep up with your great reviews!!!

@kevincostello3856 2 жыл бұрын

OMG never knew of this: Incredible, just love the whole concept and what little Ive seen here , Im loving it. Watching the the mechanics of these huge machines!!! Great, thsnk you , Im going to have to delve into this work.THANK YOU, I love creativity like this and so seldom seen.

@thebaku818 3 жыл бұрын

as a new viewer who discovered this channel thorugh 5d chess with multi dimensional time travel and has only watched 5 of his videos, as well as someone who is deeply in love with the concept of railguns, 21:58 prompts up the question: why does this oliver guy hate railguns? it also adds the name "Oliver Lugg" to my "cool guys i could hate if they fuck up again" list

@scorpionarthur 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for that awesome piece of content. Let's make Mortal engines great again. Have a nice time and stay healthy ✌

@jacksudds2831 10 ай бұрын

Thank you, the books were fundamental to my childhood and you have captured my thoughts on the film beautifully, off to re-read them next time I visit my parents 😊

@rmt3589 6 ай бұрын

When I saw Mortal Engines on the thumbnail, I had to click it. Loved the movie so much! Had no idea it was based on a book. It was either the first or second movie that me and some dear friends watched at our regular movie nights. Started in 2022, and the host put the movie in high marks. Besides what I heard from him, and from actually watching it, I knew nothing until today. I had no idea it was a flop, and that honestly surprises me. It's an inspiration for a lot of worldbuilding I want to do, and it x astroboy finalized how I want the floating cities in one game I want to make. Anywho, thank you for refreshing the lovely memories, and giving me more information on this amazing movie!

@stalwartteakettlepotato9879 3 жыл бұрын

You should do a video on FTL

@thespacemanfil4921 2 жыл бұрын

The book is wayy better than the movie. I thought it was horrible.

@jessehughes8274 6 ай бұрын

This video essay made me watch Mortal Engines and read the whole series and get my friends to do the same. Thank you!

@EasilyDistractedPlanner 10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this video! I watched the movie this summer and liked it, but was confused by some of the pacing problems, so I looked it up and found it was based on a book series. Since the idea of the story did interest me, I put the books on my to-read list. Since the list is pretty long, I hadn't gotten around to reading it yet (or, in my case, listen to the audiobook), but after this video, it's definitely going to the top of my list because your excitement about it made me even more interested in the books. Great video!

@shadyart 3 ай бұрын

I know this may be a bit late 6 years after the movie came out and 3 from when this video came out. I was hoping that the movie was going to turn into something good. I figured that someone out on the KZfaq would have a in-depth analysis of it and this was it! you made the series a great service and making a huge case for me to read the books.

@samuel_mpontes 3 жыл бұрын

Man, just discovered your channel and you're a total hidden gem, keep up the good work!

@peterjozsef448 7 ай бұрын

What a brilliantly put together video this was😂 For me, it happened the other way around. Saw the trailer, saw the movie and I absolutely loved it. I’ll forever be grateful for this movie because it led me to the books. I read the first book shortly after the movie and after a year, I read the other three. (Translated versions because I didn’t trust my English) I ordered all the 8 books in August (English this time) and finished the last yesterday. Safe to say I’ve become obsessed with it as well, and now the movie truly hits different. It did hurt a lot even without the book knowledge back then. Let’s hope someone will do justice to the series in the future, as much as it truly deserves. Once again, amazing video on the topic. It’s great to find other fans because just as you mentioned the community is as scattered as London’s ruins 😢

@milesbossons8886 Жыл бұрын

How did I end up here? What wonderful story-telling, excellent editing, and this colorful this rather random movie lived in. A casual interlude on youtube turned into an amazing deep dive into a fandom and universe I didn't know anything about but really wanted to.

@dr.sommercamp3435 11 ай бұрын

I know your pain, I waited for an adaption of priest and then they dropped the words "vampires" and "dystopian future"...then I screamed!

@StormForthcoming 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for giving me an hour to remember a movie i forgot about from 2018. It was very enjoyable.

@phangkuanhoong7967 11 ай бұрын

your editing for this vid is brilliant! love the breakdown too.

@zydeas 3 жыл бұрын

Really great video essay. Deserves more recognition!

@King24223 Жыл бұрын

I found your channel and ended up binging 3 hours of your content in a row lol. Good work man

@tawumpas 3 жыл бұрын

Can't believe I found your channel from the Thrive Swamp OST, I often use it in d&d and it's a favorite amongst my players! .. now this epic ;) I can't wait to see if there's an audiobook

@Draconis_Eltanin 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, yes I do remember that film... The heartbreak at the cinema, the internal screaming due to two other people in the whole room. Unfortunately where I'm from only two out of four books were translated but you have convinced me to pick the series up again: my first encounter was almost exactly the same, excluding a boring maths class instead. I came for 5D chess but I found, oh, so much more! I think I'll stick around to see. I know it's been a while but I hope your ear's better now.

@Dieselnaut16 3 жыл бұрын

Great video my dude. We need more mortal engines youtube videos like this (or more mortal engines videos in general)

@noahphillips8007 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome essay. Made me cry. I also picked up those books in my primary school library and they changed my life.

@liam9947 Жыл бұрын

Seeing this video about something so dear to me genuinely brightened my day.

@elieleblanc120 2 жыл бұрын

LIES, I REMEMBER MORTAL ENGINES. In fact, I've remembered it for most of my life. As a kid, I distinctly remember reading a recommendation for the mortal engines book!

@hannahfordmorgan 11 ай бұрын

I lol’d at the cafe when the Mortal Engines Mortal Kombat music started. Thank you for helping me terrify innocent bystanders with sudden laughter

@IceBrys 3 жыл бұрын

I never saw the movie, but I remember the spectacle of the trailer and thinking it wouldn't have a story. I needed a book series, so thank you so much for convincing me there was more to the story than spectacle

@mrii114 3 жыл бұрын

I remember trying to watch this movie multiple times but never ever finished it. Every time I just get bored before the end.

@mossup- 8 ай бұрын

I havnt seen His Dark Materials, Might have to add that to my playlist, thankyou, was an excellent video ♥

@nujuat 11 ай бұрын

Hey, so you convinced me to watch the movie before watching this. And I liked it. And now that you've said that the books are way better, you've convinced me to start on them too. Thanks for the recommendation!

@alangreene5776 Жыл бұрын

The first Mortal Engines book shaped my life. I read it like 30 times or more maybe. I am a total mobile city nerd. Thiss video explains how i feel about the movie perfectly. Thank you

@2ethefirst318 9 ай бұрын

im so glad seeing someone validate the violent frustration i felt at people just calling the concept and especially the name stupid

@jo8422 2 жыл бұрын

What a great video, I was a fan of the books too, so this was a very interesting watch + I feel your pain

@Dakota844 10 ай бұрын

Good job on this video essay. I to grew up with the books and have fond memories of them. Gave the film a miss like many did and was glad for it as well as a bit sad. Maybe one day we could get a nice little 9-parter or something to grace our media screens.