Line #1 YMMV/MortalEngines


1	!!The Books:
2	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Many, considering the large cast:
3	** Shrike. What part of "[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot zombie robot assassin]] with WolverineClaws and [[AntiVillain redeeming qualities]]" isn't awesome and memorable? So much so that [[spoiler:he was rebuilt in ''Infernal Devices'']] and then turned out to be the [[spoiler:NarratorAllAlong]].
4	** Anna Fang, badass airship pilot and swordswoman extraordinaire. [[spoiler:Like Shrike, she was not only resurrected as a Stalker but eventually became the BigBad.]]
5	** Although General Naga appeared briefly in ''Infernal Devices'', he became a major character in ''A Darkling Plain'', thanks to being a badass and [[AFatherToHisMen likable general]] and his [[spoiler: epic HeroicSacrifice.]]
6	* HarsherInHindsight: The ShowWithinAShow features Hester being made conventionally attractive, a process which included reducing her scarring to a small cut. The film adaptation would end up doing ''exactly this'', with the director and Peter Jackson saying that the character not being pretty made Tom being in love with her unrealistic, even though that's what happened in the book. Even worse, WordOfGod says Hester was made heavily scarred precisely so Tom would come to love her in spite of it, finding it more interesting than two glamorous people falling in love.
7	* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: In ''A Darkling Plain'', the scenes where Fishcake and Anna find Sathya's hermitage in the mountains, and start acting like a family... Especially the scene where Anna carves a toy horse for Fishcake, and he acts like it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. ''Sniff.''
8	* LesYay: Plenty between Sathya and Anna Fang. Sathya created the Green Storm and [[spoiler:revives Anna Fang]] because of this. Even the [[spoiler: Stalkerized]] Anna goes back to Sathya. Confirmed by General Naga in the last book.
9	* NeverLiveItDown:
10	** Hester killed one person with a typewriter, the fandom acts like it's her favorite weapon.
11	** Fever only said "mating rituals" once.
12	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: ''Scrivener's Moon'' falls perilously close to this, seeing as everyone who hasn't [[AnyoneCanDie died]] or been PutOnABus has, with the exception of Fever Crumb, [[TookALevelInJerkass has taken quite a few levels in jerkass]] (and a good number of them weren't very pleasant people to start with). Additionally, being a prequel series means that the story is a ForegoneConclusion.
13	* TooCoolToLive: Shrike and Anna Fang in the first book. [[spoiler: In fact, Too Cool To Die as they're both resurrected in the sequels.]]
14	* TheWoobie:
15	** Throughout ''Mortal Engines'', Katherine Valentine discovers that the city she calls her home is not as shiny as she thought, that most inhabitants don't consider her as one of them anyway, and that the person she trusted the most is [[spoiler:a liar, a thief and a murderer]]. [[spoiler:Add the death of anyone else whom she ever cared for]] and by the end of the book, she's become a {{Determinator}} to the point it's heartwrenching.
16	** Tom and Hester also count as one too.
17	** [[spoiler: Valentine]] might be a JerkassWoobie; he did terrible things, but he wanted to [[spoiler: make a better world for Katherine, and this backfired spectacularly.]]
18
19	!!The Film:
20	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The movie never stood a chance in finding an audience given its premise. It was based on a niche YoungAdultLiterature book series whose premise of "city on wheels" seems too ludicrous for non-fans, while it also lacked popular actors besides Creator/HugoWeaving and Creator/StephenLang. All of these issues hurt the marketing, which had to rely more on the promise of spectacle and Creator/PeterJackson's involvement.
21	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/JunkieXL put together a fantastic score for the film; some highlights include ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2QMbn2jCNQ London Suite in C Major]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVrFklhvBXI No Going Back]]''.
22	* ClicheStorm: The movie was strongly criticized for its bland story, which took many, many common plot elements from other sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, or fantasy works, in particular ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Film/MadMax'', without really doing anything new or unique with them.
23	* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Thaddeus Valentine]] is the Deputy Lord Mayor of London who seeks the weapon [=MEDUSA=] for [[AmbitionIsEvil his own twisted ambitions]]. Prior to the story, Thaddeus murdered Pandora Shaw, the mother of his daughter Hester, before scarring Hester's face. To stop the heroes from interfering with his plans, Thaddeus unleashes the dangerous criminal [[PsychoForHire Shrike]] to tail and dispose of them. Thaddeus's ultimate plan with [=MEDUSA=] is to use its power to turn the settlement of Shan Guo into his hunting ground, later killing London's Lord Mayor Magnus Crome when Crome discovers his plans. With his plans of utilizing [=MEDUSA=] rendered for naught, Thaddeus has the London control crew slaughtered and attempts to ram London into Shan Guo's wall, uncaring of the countless innocents that would be wiped out in the ensuing destruction.
24	* DirectorDisplacement: The name of producer and co-writer Peter Jackson showed up more in advertising and discussions than that of the actual director, Christian Rivers.
25	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments:
26	** In the museum archives, during the chase of Seltzberg, Pomeroy shows concern over the "[[AllHailTheGreatGodMickey American deities]]" getting tipped over. The camera pans over to rusted over statues of [[Franchise/DespicableMe two Minions]].
27	** While showing Kate around the museum, Tom briefly explains to her the Screen Age, AKA, our current modern age. Tom mentions to her that their tech was considered advanced enough that they might've forgotten how to read and write... [[TakeThat while the camera pans to some iPhones in the display]].
28	* SpiritualAdaptation: The film owes a lot to the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' franchise's mix of SwordAndGun and SteamPunk including ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld. There's even "extradimensional energies" that act as MagicByAnyOtherName.
29	%% ** There's also a strong Nausicaa vibe with a sprinkling of Robot Carnival.
30	* TearJerker: [[spoiler:Shrike]], of all people. If the yearning in his eyes when is working on his collection of mechanical puppets does not get to you, [[spoiler:then his death certainly will]].
31	* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: One very common criticism of the film adaptation is how closely it apes ''Franchise/StarWars'', with the last act being a nearly shot-for-shot reenactment of the Death Star run from ''Film/ANewHope'', and TheReveal that [[spoiler:the villain is the main character's father]], giving the impression the producers had little faith in the story's premise standing on its own, so it just rode on the coattails the most iconic ScienceFantasy film franchise in an attempt to make itself more palatable to general audiences. If this was the intent, it backfired ''massively'' because one of the chief criticisms of the film was its weak and derivative story, and it became the largest confirmed financial bomb in cinema history.
32	* WTHCostumingDepartment: A number of fans were quite vocally displeased with Hester’s AdaptationalAttractiveness, believing that it lessened the arc of Tom coming to love her in spite of the (much more) disfiguring scars she had in the book.

Context YMMV / MortalEngines