Mortal Instruments

‘Mortal Engines’ is just a month away from release, and Universal Pictures has rolled out a new extended trailer that helps establish the film’s general plot.  After a catastrophe, wherein the Earth’s crust was shattered, followed by a massive war, Earth is left decimated, with the survivors transforming the remains of the cities of the world into huge mechanical battle craft.  As the voiceover in the clip reveals, these cities were rebuilt “on the seas, in the skies, but the deadliest ones were built on wheels.”

The new trailer also gives a better look at the cast and offers previously unseen footage.  Check it out below:

 

Many years after the “Sixty Minute War,” cities survive a now desolate Earth by moving around on giant wheels attacking and devouring smaller towns to replenish their resources.

‘Mortal Instruments’ is based on the novel series by Philip Reeve and directed by newcomer Christian Rivers, who has spent years working on Peter Jackson‘s myriad projects.  Jackson co-wrote the script with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and serves as producer.  The film stars Hera Hilmar (‘Da Vinci’s Demons’), Robert Sheehan (‘The Umbrella Academy’), Hugo Weaving (‘The Hobbit’), Jihae (‘Mars’), Ronan Raftery (‘The Terror’), Leila George (‘Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?’), Patrick Malahide (‘Game of Thrones’) and Stephen Lang (‘Into the Badlands’).

While ‘Mortal Engines’ appears to be one of the most original films to come along in a while, it may not be scrappy enough to take on the onslaught of big budget franchise projects storming theaters in December.  It’s opening on the same weekend as ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, while the following week/weekend will see the releases of ‘Aquaman’, ‘Bumblebee’ and ‘Mary Poppins Returns’.  However, ‘Mortal Engines’, a brand new property, with a first-time director and a cast lacking any major stars would probably be a hard sell any time of the year, except for maybe in January or August/September.

What do you think?  Does this film look appealing to you?  If so, ‘Mortal Engines’ opens on December 14.