"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.
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 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.
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._
@@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. 😂
"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)
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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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....
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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..._
This is easily the best Mortal Engines review on UA-cam 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
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
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.
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
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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).
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
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 .
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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).
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 😊
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
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.
@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."
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.
@@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
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.
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 UA-cam 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.
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.
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
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.
Oh shit you also made the last two videos I watched and enjoyed: the 5d chess and Diplomacy one. Praise UA-cam for recommending me such a good and low sub creator
it made me sad and mad that this didnt get the attention and success it deserved, the movie was so good on so many levels it truly was something special
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!
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!
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
I do remember it! I remember being upset that I missed its release at my local theater and that I didn't get to see it. "If you do in fact remember this movie, you likely know two things: 1) It features motorized cities jousting with one another. 2) " For me it's just the first one. I never heard of it after it left the theaters surprisingly quickly. I wondered why, but now I guess I know. Or rather, I'm about to learn.
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!
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.
I love the mortal engines quartet in the process of reading all of the books. I'm 55 years old. The movie was good. they did change things that bothered me. But I did buy it so that I can watch it over and over.
It’s 2023 and this video has popped into my recommendations a few times. And I ignored it, I didn’t really care about the movie despite finding that first trailer interesting. I never saw it and after people talked about it I saw little reason to care. So I ignored this video. But it was a chill day and after watching some videos on Dune and SCP monsters this popped up again and I watched it. And well I was inspired to not only type all this but to also check out the books. I can’t guarantee I will actually find the time to read them but they will be on my mind and now I know Mortal Engines is a book series loved by its fans and more then a movie. I found the fan art used in this video compelling and in the end I am glad I watched it.
okfine, didn't really care much for the first book but I'll give the series a chance because you're passionate and articulate and gave me many good reasons to give it another chance
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!
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!
Ngl, I kinda hope they make a tv series on mortal engines. The longer run time should be more accommodating to exploring the plot and might be more suitable for following multiple books
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 😢
I got my cool card when Philip Reeve followed me on Twitter for making a funny tweet about how the Princess Diana musical reminded me of the opera from Mortal Engines, "Diana, Princess of Whales" and its famous Harpoon Aria.
Amazing video, nice to know I'm not the only person who really loves Mortal Engines despite the film (which I really enjoyed, although my heart did sink upon rewatching with friends when towards the end one said 'wait, isn't this just Star Wars')
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.
There are several blink-and-you'll-miss-them jokes hidden throughout this video. Can you find them all?
"Shrike is love, Shrike is life" FTW!
No. No I can not.
Looks like I won’t be blinking for the next 50 minutes
Still waiting for Hulk's return to f1
1:47 Oh yeah? Guardians of Ga'hoole. They smashed EIGHT BOOKS into a single movie and called it a day.
Fun fact: Cities in Texas are actually legally allowed to eat each other. That's how Dallas got so big.
Wait . . . That's illigeal in places?
@@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.
@@kashsmith6181 "Prepare to ingest"
@@kashsmith6181 That seems really weird
...that other states don't allow that
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?
"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.
I mean there is a crappy rip off tv movie kind of similar to mortal engines.
Look up some of the fan concept art for NYC as a traction city, it's nuts
Glad to see that the Mortal Engines and Eragon fandoms have the same philosophy on the movies
I remember all that minus the movie. (Knocks bown the biggie size coke on the tape) Oh well, was nice to see it once.
The books are shit
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.
same thing that happend to artemis fowl, percy jackson and eragon, they just apparently all need to have a chosen one ect.
@@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.
The opposite of Made In Abyss?
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._
@@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. 😂
"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)
I unfortunately had the same experience with Kubo the day it came out.
@@jacobb5484, Kubo was great and deserved better.
@@Jaydee-wd7wr yeah, I watched that movie at least three times, and it's worth watching again
"Oh God. The most anticipated film of my entire life is a 6/10." I felt that in my soul
Eragon fans: could have been worse.
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".
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.
yeah, like bayreuth catching up to london takes a couple days, long enough for there to be riots
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.
wait, you mean the board game Diplomacy? wtf i just watched before this how did we have the same journey?
@@StormForthcoming UA-cam decided this week it wanted to show people Oliver talking about the game of back stabbing your friends
This was exactly my journey, too.
IM ON THE SAME JOURNEY NOW HAHAHAH
You too!?
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.
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.
"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....
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.
Yep it took 3 tries to get Dune right.
Hopefully the same for ENDER'S GAME and Mortal Engines 🤞
After I finished mortal engines I played Homeworld: Deserts of Karak to get my giant ground vehicle fix.
learning that this movie not only used to be a book, but the fact that they PERCY JACKSONED the book is horrifying
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.
completely agree! this setting was so cool in the movies i wish we got to see even more of the world
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.
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.
@@konstantinkh sounds like airships conquer the skies
@@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
The same way His Dark Materials were saved by making a new adaptation, maybe Mortal Engines will be saved the same way? Hope so.
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.
"Gains the traction", nice.
@@captainmcderp4078 glad that didn't go unnoticed
@@oliverturner1649 Oh, it was noticed.
Ik right
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.
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.
I bet that Mortal Engines in 5-7 years will be resurected as a TV series exactly like snowpiercer or the golden compass.
The most recent His Dark Materials series is a masterpiece. I can only hope Mortal Engines gets the same treatment one day
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!
I love your phrase "Great Quirke kill it with fire" a great acknowledgement to the book.
Hi, from all russian Mortal Engines community. That's the truly great video with really mortal engines vibe
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
@@vylbird8014 Look up some of the concept art for NYC as a traction city, it's nuts
Bro discovered metaphors, good for you chap! Themes next perhaps?
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.
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.
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.
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..._
he's a weird homophobic Mormon so I do hope they fail miserably. no hate for you just him
This is easily the best Mortal Engines review on UA-cam 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
1:48 : buddy, I'm a long time fan of the Artemis Fowl book series, I know exactly how you're feeling...
The beauty of the internet: just had the same feeling.
Yeah, it really is unfortunate.
I love both :( :(
@@robbiejames1540 you sound like you need a hug, buddy
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.
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
inheritance gang
inheritance gang
The ODIN concept dates back to the 60s at least! I knew it as "rods from the gods" aka "kinetic bombardment"
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.
3ys
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
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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).
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
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 .
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
Oh he brought this up in the follow up RIP XD
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.
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!
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.
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.
Thank you for sharing so many thoughts I've also had about the books and movie. My all time favorite series!
This video essay made me watch Mortal Engines and read the whole series and get my friends to do the same. Thank you!
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.
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
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).
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 😊
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
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.
@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."
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.
@@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
I remember trying to watch this movie multiple times but never ever finished it. Every time I just get bored before the end.
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.
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 UA-cam 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.
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.
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
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
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.
Oh shit you also made the last two videos I watched and enjoyed: the 5d chess and Diplomacy one. Praise UA-cam for recommending me such a good and low sub creator
it made me sad and mad that this didnt get the attention and success it deserved, the movie was so good on so many levels it truly was something special
Thank you for that awesome piece of content. Let's make Mortal engines great again.
Have a nice time and stay healthy ✌
I welt home with my friends after watching it in cinema and we were brainstorming how awesome a mortal engine videogame would be
You should do a video on FTL
I’ve started reading the books because of this video and I regret nothing
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!
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!
The book is wayy better than the movie. I thought it was horrible.
I know your pain, I waited for an adaption of priest and then they dropped the words "vampires" and "dystopian future"...then I screamed!
Seeing this video about something so dear to me genuinely brightened my day.
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
im so glad seeing someone validate the violent frustration i felt at people just calling the concept and especially the name stupid
I do remember it! I remember being upset that I missed its release at my local theater and that I didn't get to see it.
"If you do in fact remember this movie, you likely know two things:
1) It features motorized cities jousting with one another.
2) "
For me it's just the first one. I never heard of it after it left the theaters surprisingly quickly. I wondered why, but now I guess I know. Or rather, I'm about to learn.
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!
“It’s not until the third and fourth book that the series truly earns its permanent spot in my heart.”
Oh so it’s like the Inheritance Cycle.
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.
I love the mortal engines quartet in the process of reading all of the books. I'm 55 years old. The movie was good. they did change things that bothered me. But I did buy it so that I can watch it over and over.
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
I was so infuriated when this film came out, because I loved the books
It’s 2023 and this video has popped into my recommendations a few times. And I ignored it, I didn’t really care about the movie despite finding that first trailer interesting. I never saw it and after people talked about it I saw little reason to care. So I ignored this video.
But it was a chill day and after watching some videos on Dune and SCP monsters this popped up again and I watched it.
And well I was inspired to not only type all this but to also check out the books. I can’t guarantee I will actually find the time to read them but they will be on my mind and now I know Mortal Engines is a book series loved by its fans and more then a movie. I found the fan art used in this video compelling and in the end I am glad I watched it.
Well actually I just bought the 8 book box set.
okfine, didn't really care much for the first book but I'll give the series a chance because you're passionate and articulate and gave me many good reasons to give it another chance
Thank you for giving me an hour to remember a movie i forgot about from 2018. It was very enjoyable.
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!
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!
I love how the first sentence is a direct shout-out to Bulwer-Lytton. Might have to read the books just for that.
Ngl, I kinda hope they make a tv series on mortal engines. The longer run time should be more accommodating to exploring the plot and might be more suitable for following multiple books
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 😢
I got my cool card when Philip Reeve followed me on Twitter for making a funny tweet about how the Princess Diana musical reminded me of the opera from Mortal Engines, "Diana, Princess of Whales" and its famous Harpoon Aria.
>Inheritance
DON'T
JUST HIT ME WITH THAT
OUT OF NOWHERE
THE ENDING STILL HURTS
Amazing video, nice to know I'm not the only person who really loves Mortal Engines despite the film (which I really enjoyed, although my heart did sink upon rewatching with friends when towards the end one said 'wait, isn't this just Star Wars')
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.