The quintessential guide to Mortal Engines
The Anti-Traction League's objective is to eradicate the culture of predatory cities in Mortal Engines. Photos and stills: Universal Pictures
As one of Peter Jackson’s characters announced in The Lord of The Rings: “The world is changed.” While Galadriel will not be making an appearance in Mortal Engines, you can be sure the scale of this movie about an imagined world is even bigger than any of Jackson’s previous films.
The epic story, based on Philip Reeve’s novel series, is produced by the award-winning team that made The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit, including three-time Academy Award winner Jackson himself as co-writer and producer. But this sci-fi title also holds a lot of concepts and jargon, so you might want to get up to speed before it hits cinemas on Dec 6.
Here are seven things you need to know about Mortal Engines.
1. IT ALL BEGAN HERE
They called it the 60-minute war. And that one hour was all it took to turn the world into a wasteland. After a cataclysmic conflict between nations thousands of years ago, survivors had to weather through the nuclear clash and the natural disasters that ensued. This led to a nomadic lifestyle where most used their wits and instincts to gather limited resources, until the Traction Era came to be.
2. THE EVOLUTION OF MANKIND
The Traction Era is based on the concept of Municipal Darwinism, a play on Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory. With the world largely destroyed and all technological relics treated as objects of advancement, the scavenging of these items brought great knowledge and power to the finder. Over the centuries, the gathered knowledge gave birth to small populations in vehicular cluster cities that consumed others for resources. If a city wasn’t fast or strong enough, it would get “eaten” by the predator.
3. LITERALLY HOUSE MOVING
The film begins with London reborn as a Traction City. You’ll recognise distinct Victorian touches as it was built from the ruins of actual London itself, with three levels: The Gut, where the blue-collar workers strip ingested cities for parts; the Second Tier where the general public and Historians reside; and the First Tier for the aristocratic elite. As one of the biggest and most advanced Traction Cities, London rampages the lands for smaller cities to consume.
4. OF HISTORIANS AND ENGINEERS
A large city can’t run by itself. Guilds were formed to maintain the gargantuan machine to ensure its smooth running. Merchants funded the enterprise while Navigators steered it, but it was the Historians and Engineers who wielded the power – one greatly respected for their knowledge of Ancient technology, the other for their skills in keeping London moving.
5. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
Thaddeus Valentine has a vision. As a firm believer of Municipal Darwinism, he wishes to scour the lands clean in order to keep London thriving. As Head Historian leading the charge, he is popular in the city but despised by others outside. As he works on his secret plans to make an unstoppable weapon, he falls prey to an assassination but is saved by an apprentice from his guild, Tom Natsworthy. Valentine repays the favour – with a kick to send the lad to his doom.
6. THE REBELLION
The assassination was one of the many plans from the Anti-Traction League. This opposition force believes that Municipal Darwinism is the reason the world is becoming worse for wear. Largely made up of static cultures in the Himalayan regions where mobile cities have yet to invade due to the terrain, their constant efforts to eradicate the culture of predatory cities become the main opposing force to Traction Cities.
7. WHO RUNS THE WORLD
So who made the attempt on Valentine? Her name is Hester Shaw, and she has a bone to grind. In the course of getting the plans for the mystery weapon that will make London unstoppable, Valentine not only killed her mother but scarred her face as well. This makes Shaw go rogue, especially after being adopted by Shrike who’s a Stalker – a humanoid race invented to endure the harsh conditions. But with the failed attempt, Shaw ends up meeting Anti-Tractionist Anna Fang, a pilot who helps her with her mission.
Rendered in spectacular CGI landscapes, this massive production of mechanical wonders and an emotionally-complex ensemble will no doubt bring to life the fantastical sci-fi world Peter Jackson has created. Are you ready for the wild ride?
Watch the trailer of the artists behind Mortal Engines here:
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Mortal Engines opens in IMAX 3D and cinemas on Dec 6.
