Mortal Engines

If you want science fiction that respects its own premise, Mortal Engines is available in Australia on Netflix, and in the UK on Netflix right now. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. 5,221 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Hera Hilmar leads a cast that never lets the concept overwhelm the characters. Start it on Netflix whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

Mortal Engines arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Mortal Engines treats its concept seriously enough to follow it all the way through. Many thousands of years in the future, Earth’s cities roam the globe on huge wheels, devouring each other in a struggle for ever diminishing resources. On one of these massive traction cities, the old London, Tom Natsworthy has an unexpected encounter with a mysterious young woman from the wastelands who will change the course of his life forever. Hera Hilmar and Robert Sheehan lead a cast that keeps the bigger ideas grounded in something human. It was released in 2018. What separates Mortal Engines from lesser genre entertainment is a willingness to let the concept cost the characters something. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Viewers burned by ambitious sci-fi that could not sustain its premise should give Mortal Engines a chance. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Hera Hilmar grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Once you are in, you will want to talk about it.