Honest Trailers Commentary | Mortal Engines

The writers of Honest Trailers review Mortal Engines while reacting to their latest trailer - it's Honest Trailers Commentary for Mortal Engines!
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Original HT: • Honest Trailers - Mort...
Honest Trailers Commentary | Mortal Engines
Hosted by Joe Starr & Dan Murrell
Featuring Danielle Radford and Lon Harris
Produced by Max Dionne
Tech Director: Josh "JTE" Tapia
Assistant Editor: Emin Bassavand

[@fandomentertainment]

What did Mortal Engines make you feel? POOL RULES One: Speak up and join the conversation- we encourage respectful debate. Two: Respect your community- racism, misogyny, homophobia and hate speech aren’t tolerated. Three: Don’t go looking for fights. Four: “Be nice.” - Dalton from Roadhouse

[@SilverBack_Props]

ScreenJunkies News I feel as if this movie should of been titled. Exposition: the movie , the ride , the game . I honestly haven’t seen it yet , but I know the plot

[@blackkcinamacritic]

Do Vox Lux

[@elementsarethekey9019]

Hay guys! I love your channel! Also i loved the movie and went to theaters and met stephen lang

[@asherkahtan3914]

Have u read the books?

[@nickshane9314]

I think Mortal Engines should have been a t.v show or like four or five movies because its got several good ideals but way to cramed with way to much stuff

[@alexmott507]

10/10 Dan face in the thumbnail

[@multiverse_media2023]

He’s all like: “You for real Hollywood?”

[@danj8048]

Joe's always talking about the weird stuff they make him take out...release the Starr cut!

[@andrewfeistner3384]

The Snyder Cut of the Screen Junkies fandom

[@LaurenTheorist]

I want this!!!

[@Towkeeyoh]

Release it!!!!!

[@starcraftfavsongs]

+1 vote for a Starr Cut

[@thecatmeowsalot6791]

I bet more people are going to watch this trailer than saw the actual movie

[@averytiredlady]

I didn't know this movie even existed until about a month ago, when I was looking up Robert Sheehan stuff to watch.

[@JonSaul]

This is the Honest Trailer Way

[@charlesajones77]

I wish they were doing these commentaries back when the Honest Trailer for Jupiter Ascending came out.

[@TheCrayonMaster]

Maybe they can look back at some older ones?

[@emmal2932]

Nerf balls were introduced to the world in 1970, before Star Wars. They were called Nerf because it's a slang term for the foam padding that's used in off road racing. So the Nerf toys existed before Star Wars used Nerf Herder in Empire. I hope this is interesting, I don't want to bore you or jump on an unimportant detail, just thought it might be interesting. Loved the trailer, the ones for stupid movies always make me laugh :)

[@adamten1192]

Emma L NERF like the darts stands for Non Expanding Recreational Foam

[@haggus71]

Yup. I owned a NERF football two years before Empire came out.

[@rozafrrozafr]

The op is correct. Nerf isn't an acronym for anything. That "non expanding recreational foam" thing was made up after the word was already being used

[@drmattconrad77]

I think every creative writing degree should require a semester of Honest Trailer Commentary before graduation.

[@kaylinanne9315]

Why does Joe saying “Danithon” make me laugh so much?!

[@julietrc15]

I loved it so much!

[@reggiethelion]

"Mortal Engines" comes from a line in Shakespeare's Othello III.iii.352.

[@pieter_kok]

I loved that mini Bumblebee trailer snippet. You could do a 20 minute compilation of improvised Honest Trailers for movies that you don't think warrant a full trailer. I'd definitely watch that.

[@benabramowitz18]

I hope you guys are working on an Avengers (1998) Honest Trailer in time for Endgame!

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

They should do Bohemian Rhapsody first. Or if you really want them to do another stupid comic book related thing, then how about the 60s Marvel cartoons? There is a lot material from that to go from

[@poposterous236]

Bohemian Rhapsody might work if they have enough material, but they shouldn't do it just because it's popular. Whatever works best for their style. Your comparison to "just another stupid comic book related thing," is equal to, "just another stupid musical biopic thing". Try not to disrespect when, seriously, none of this matters. Whatever works for them and their style is what's important. I was also dead sure that they already did an honest trailer for the '98 Avengers, but I can't find it. Must have been a hell of a dream.

[@benabramowitz18]

@@poposterous236 Maybe if they *sang* their Honest opinion on Bohemian Rhapsody to the tune of the titular song, it could work.

[@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051]

@@poposterous236 I am someone who usually never gives up on something completely irrelevent and pointless. I would also like to see an honest trailer for The Sixth Sense and the 60s Marvel Cartoons

[@benabramowitz18]

@@thevfxmancolorizationvfxex4051 Imagine how hilarious it would be when the writers/viewers/Epic Voice Guy discovered that The Avengers (1998) exists, has nothing to do with Marvel, and makes no sense at all.

[@jedimoonkitty3747]

Damn dan’s getting sassier by the minute

[@EFZUBIAGA]

I did think Danielle put in the Mortal Kombat joke

[@SilverAlaunt]

Snorlax Used Rest does she mention Mortal Kombat a lot? I can’t say that I’ve ever heard her make a reference, so that moment was very confusing to listen to.

[@FestArc]

Honest Trailer Bumblebee Snippets "Is this a remake of E.T.?" "I was told Jon Cena was in this movie.... but I can't see him anywhere!" "What is the fascination with Transformers hanging out in junkyards?" "Hey Hollywood, you know the first ten mins of this movie, make that an hour longer and you got yourself a great Transformers film."

[@boytechnichian]

You know the worst thing about this? Being one of the much fewer people who read the books to death and knowing all about these plots and subplots and not being able to explain why so much of this works in the books. These guys are absolutely right, the film should stand on its own legs but it's painful for people not to know how awesome this series really is. (EDIT Absolutely nothing in the books that I know of that describes why it's called mortal engines)

[@GoldZephonian]

It is such a good book series! And the movie is perfect for fans like us, but terrible for every one else

[@boytechnichian]

@@PacMonster0 just read a comment that says it's called Mortal Engines because the whole system of Municipal Darwinism is unsustainable and dying, hence the "mortal" part.

[@METALUNICORNLTD]

After watching the film, I had to know what the books were like. They are amazing. I feel like they lost their nerve when making the film.

[@alastairamos]

My feelings exactly.

[@michaels4917]

They don't know about Minions. The apocalypse dosen't sound so bad.

[@RobertoMatos01]

When you guys do “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” I’m gonna feel so sorry for Joe Starr 😂😂😂😂

[@Phelie315]

Honestly I only just realized those are apparently two different IPs 😂

[@benzaiten933]

young adult stuff sound all so much alike, engines, instruments, throw in some 'dark' and be done with it.

[@rubitard]

You say "it's cool" to just watch the commentary show, but we all know you judge us.

[@daniellemhall1358]

I know right

[@ieatgremlins]

I feel judged.

[@KINGPINm22]

SJ should have an illusion-ruin jar where they have to put a dollar in everytime they screw up the day of filming vs upload.

[@stiimuli]

I found that creepy undead dad robot a really interesting concept but, I agree, he made no sense in this movie's plot. Would have worked better as an end credits reveal (sequel tease) or a mysterious background stalker that is never really explained fully.

[@michaelcampbell8843]

🚨New Dan thumbnail photo alert🚨

[@benzaiten933]

Joe hasn't said "show" nearly enough times!

[@DerekJohnsonMuses]

Great commentary! I enjoy when you break down a bad-to-mediocre movie, like the Robin Hood commentary. Lon is very good in this commentary, keep him on!

[@kriskringle3662]

I think Lon missed it a little, Cyborg dad was created before the disaster and survived the apocalypse. And he was an honest trailer fan.

[@geeksontapshow]

Me, Five years later: "ESTER!!!"

[@toxicgaming003]

The positioning of Lon’s Coke gives me anxiety lol how do you not knock that off?

[@poposterous236]

the dramatic tension is so thick you could cut it with scissors

[@keyveehill]

The worst movies make the best Honest trailer. Please do Freejack, Bio-Dome, Vertical Limit, or Sphere

[@kriskringle3662]

Omg, freejack spittle be epic. The thing is, they are all too young for the cyberpunk thing, their bladerunner one killed me. They entirely missed the concept of "more human than human" and were calling replicatants robots.

[@JonSaul]

Wing Commander

[@athegreat9970]

Screen junkies knows MK11 is 3 weeks away I love the reference, also I love Dan but everyone does so that’s nothing new

[@ItsKimOlson]

When Joe said "lets watch this trailer" a WEIRD commercial for Rockstar @ AM/PM started. 😂😂😂

[@ShaytheFae]

Favorite line: "Is it though???"

[@Xperian13]

Great show talking about their show talking about someone else show.

[@geneburnsed6958]

Yesss a BioShock reference. Thanks Joe.

[@nailsaberov4962]

I feel that Shrike (Zombie Dad) is the most memorable part of the movie

[@TheLowBrassDude]

So basically we have the Peter Jackson equivalent of Jupiter Ascending?

[@AndrewPasq]

OK, I hate to pull the "well actually," but the Movie/Novels is called "Mortal Engines" because the civilization of Municipal Darwinism is dying. It is an unsustainable existence. They have to blow up the Wall (Death Star style) & move to new hunting grounds, because there is less and less "prey/cities" where they are. That is what Red Scull keeps harping on. It's that thing the characters keep looking at the audience about. The premise is purposefully ridiculous, because why would you be so wasteful and stubborn when all evidence points to the fact that your way of life is unsustainable & will destroy everything? There are countless better/obvious ways to approach any of their problems to everyone not brainwashed by their culture. Changing their way of life is simply not an option to these people, no matter how small or reasonable the change. :: cough:: Climate Change :: cough :: Also, the fact that refusing to adapt is pretty much their civilizations' driving principle, while literally calling their society "Darwinism" is supposed to be Ironic... (if i know what irony means) You can learn about this and other horrible books turned into movies on our Pod Cast "The Book Club Was Better" where we literally got an anthropologist to examine the movie/book. thebookclubwasbetter.simplecast.com/episodes/tbcwb-book-50-introduction-to-mortal-9b012e05

[@williestyle35]

Good work. Nice deep dive on the lore of a book series. Danielle said it best.

[@TommyTheCat83]

Yes please release the full undead dad take!

[@CommanderJaneShepard]

Hester! He's like the boogeyman in a horror film. Why is he in mortal engines?

[@arceuslordofcreation8824]

To yell HESTER

[@bethperforms6191]

Someone in the comments on the honest trailer itself said that you should have gone with MOTOR KOMBAT for the title. I do agree :)

[@raidenxthunder8151]

Hey, that Mortal Kombat one was great.

[@katesometimeslate158]

12:52 the fact that this gave me goosebumps just confirms how fucking crazy good LOTR is. (off topic)

[@thatdamnbradley]

It's been six weeks, and Joe still starts with "What's up, party people."

[@fredrikgranath7154]

I wonder if Lon knew it’s the 56th anniversary of the first appearance of Doctor Strange today (April 9)

[@iriandia]

Wait till these guys find out cyborg dad is the only one alive at the end of the fourth book.

[@boytechnichian]

I almost cried at the ending to that book. Can't believe I spotted it in Poundland though 😂

[@Markusmoose603]

from wikipedia: Explanation of the novel's title The title is a quotation from Act III, Scene iii of William Shakespeare's play Othello ("Othello: And O you mortal engines whose rude throats/Th'immortal Jove's dread clamors counterfeit..." - Line 352). It refers to the fact that the society of Municipal Darwinism is not sustainable living and that the cities' engines are indeed mortal. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Engines

[@AHulbertArtist]

Hearing everyone talk in Shrike voice will kill me from laughter.

[@gallaghim]

It's a real shame this movie wasn't better. One of the main reasons I went to the cinema to see it was that it was doing so badly and I felt bad for the director. I've read the books too and was curious about adaptation. It felt muddled to me, that too much was fitted in and at least in the movie Shrike seemed irrelevant. I'd encourage ppl to read the books, they're better, but overall they're not that ground breaking either.

[@voodoomoss]

LOL! I was in Dan's pocket universe for a second there, too. Like, wait, is a Nerfherder like a German Shepard? An animal, unto itself?! Wait ........ Did Leia call Han a scruffy bitch?!

[@betts3985]

This honest trailer was so on point! I tried watching the movie and I got so confused and didn't understand or care who people were and then it ended. But it had action...so I guess it was okay?! Glad I didn't see it in theaters though. No way I was spending my money on that.

[@j.erinquist9751]

Cant believe you didn't do a Howels Moving Castle reference

[@GoldZephonian]

I was listening to this commentary at the gym...I had to stop myself from bursting into laughter at HESTAAAAAA

[@joelreschke6200]

The Anti-Traction League sounds like a slippery slope to me.

[@boytechnichian]

Think of them like Greenpeace. In the series they actually get replaced by a hardcore faction that's way more aggressive.

[@joelreschke6200]

While I appreciate the info, the comment was for the pun.

[@boytechnichian]

Ah yes, how did I miss that 🤦

[@Betta66]

Honest Trailer for Glass, eh?

[@TheAgentPi]

I loved this movie. Granted I was like the perfect target audience. I read all the books and prequel books. Luckily it was long enough that I don't remember the details. But I know the basic plot points and background.

[@KherMoon]

I love it when you do trash movies like this one😍 this is what Honest Trailers are all about (?) I feel kinda guilty because I now wanna see this movie based solely on the fact that Robert Sheehan’a in it 😳dammit number four!

[@boytechnichian]

Do yourself a solid and read the books Instead, far better use of your time.

[@guitaraholic]

The fun you had with this makes me wanna watch mortal engines .... is it just me?

[@Wolvesarechasingme]

Ok. I read the books as I was curious with why this earth looks ok. First the books are darker but skew younger. Like 8 year olds. After the war tectonics plates shattered so for 100s of years you got surprise mega volcanoes; tsunamis, mega earthquakes, posioned water, new massive mountain ranges so they moved the cities on to tracks to move quickly away from these problems. So cities started to join together; people get used to living on machines; don't want to change their lifestyle; eat other cities to keep going. Secondly, so much slavery. City get eaten; people get stuck in the toilets - which gets very Fury Road for a tiny bit - or leave to go walk and get taken as slaves again. Life is very cheap. Also, there is more of a Terry Gilliam Brazil feel to the planet in the book. Hester is a lot crazier in the books. Spoilers!!!! ----- Schike is the narrator because by the end, he can remember his past; is found 1000s of years later and is telling these future people THIS story. Ta dah.

[@birdmoney]

Can you do a commentary for the older honest trailers?

[@Ladykyra101]

Do: Big Trouble In Little China, Dr. Detroit, Flight of The Navigator.

[@pretends2know]

Please post the Shrike Super Cut.

[@BirthquakeRecords]

"Southie Scabs" are people who cross the picket line in South Boston.

[@poposterous236]

Alright, I might actually watch the movie now.

[@sneggleblech]

0:45 There was never an illusion.😜

[@studentfilmed]

I had no idea that this was even a movie before this Honest Trailer lmao

[@BNOBNO14]

Again, you got me Joe. I'm here and not watching the actual honest trailer.

[@MrShaunhunter]

I'm sorry but I haven't watched a honest trailer since you guys came out with the commentary 😂

[@elijahtaylor4698]

After reading the book, the fact that Hester only has a small facial scar annoys me.

[@corvus2512]

I agree with everything they said, the story was such a mess. Yet i liked the film, i really like the world, the cities, the airships... idk id like to see a sequel if the story can match the coolness of the setting

[@jclebourdais10]

"mortal engines" is a Shakespeare quote

[@darkhawk4863]

So... There's a few schools of thoughts on using future-sounding terminology to make your world feel lived-in... The referenced good version, Star Wars, where you drop the new words in piecemeal and we can figure it out from context because we recognize the rest of the words; the bad version, The Force Awakens, which just starts talking without even trying to explain why anything is happening, so you're lost the whole time; or the Jupiter Ascending school - which it sounds like this movie does - where there's made-up words for things we have real words for, but we use the made-up words for everything, so people have to pause and have lengthy scenes of exposition so the audience can know literally *any* of these words... so we're not only lost, but also bored.

[@wdfrelo]

I'm glad Spencer is done being a dad

[@Fawkes2574]

I want him back. I miss it just being Joe, Spencer, and Dan. I can't stand Lon. I won't watch these if he's on the panel.

[@poppyseed1987]

Sometimes I watch the Honest Trailer so that I can watch this show and have it make sense.

[@azop]

"mortal engines" is Shakespeare reference

[@ItsKimOlson]

I've never seen this movie. I just wanted to watch this because I love these people.

[@SilverBack_Props]

Exposition: the movie , the ride , the game

[@haggus71]

You guys made a great point. It's not my job to read the book. It's their job to make a movie I can follow without a fucking index or wiki. You can enjoy The Lord of the Rings movies without reading the books. The same goes for Harry Potter. I don't give a fuck what character that is in the book. He or she is boring as fuck in the movie, and that's all that matters. And I don't care if they cut out someone's favorite character in the movie. As an example, yeah, Tom Bombadil was great. Did having him not in the movie make any difference? Yes. It shaved 30 minutes off the film. That's it.

[@taurinstraiter2325]

3:16 Am I the only one who's not surprised that Scree Junkies did a Honest Trailer for this movie. I mean I did not predict it for this week, but since they've done Robin Hood (2018) it was only a matter of time. Also back to its roots? Because it's a bad and dumb movie? Yeah, right, but if Screen Junkies wants to REALLY SURPRISE us then they should do a Honest Trailer about a movie that's much older than maximum two years and/or not part of a franchise (that stil keeps going!). When was the last time Screen Junkies did actually one of those Honest Trailers, is all I am asking?

[@alexlogue2505]

Looking back, this feels like the changing of the guard... I miss Joe and Dan but lon and dani are great.

[@Carollnn]

I watch the commentary without watching the trailer first because you see the trailer anyway during the commentary.

[@sauravsaha7465]

Just to clarify: Weren't the Death Star & Techno-Zombie created pre-apocalypse? Kinda like "The Star of Sorrow" & "The Iblis" from Trinity Blood?

[@irian42]

I always thought "Mortal Engines" was coming from "Mortal Enemies" so the traction cities are engines that bring death to each other?

[@AntonAdelson]

Bumblee is just ET, like it's ET almost shot by shot, but with robots fighting!!

[@festo8756]

Anton Adelson Bumblebee is more Iron Giant than ET.

[@superfortressstudios]

Shrike's narration at the beginning is one of those things that totally works in the books, but makes ZERO sense in the movie. In the books, that narration is the first line in Mortal Engines, and the final line in the last book, where Shrike has survived long past all the other characters and is rediscovered by some children. (of course, awesome as it is, the more you think about the call back, the less it makes sense)

[@ryanandres7936]

For someone that had read the book, I didn't even finish the movie

[@AnimalLover101195]

This is amazing!

[@DariusLoki]

Shrike narrating the intro makes sense in the books once you finish them all. However i doubt it will pay off given how they took the story in movie and how likely another one will be

[@SilverAlaunt]

...I've never heard Danielle reference Mortal Kombat before.

[@corvus2512]

Me either, i thought that was a weird moment

[@NateBeeman]

Nice Buffy theme reference

[@jenanncreates1262]

17:35 We need to coin the term “living in the mouth of a flerken.”

[@BoydofZINJ]

I am one of those wildlings that never watched the movie nor the honest trailer version of it - before I watch the commentary of it. OOooOOooOOooo

[@Ironbat92]

I hope we get a Bumblebee Honest Trailer.

[@job3rg]

Yep

[@petergamer5630]

To be honest I read the books and the characters don’t get any better.

[@boytechnichian]

You can't have done more than a few pages then. Hester alone had about 50 times more character development than anyone in the film. Hell, even Shrike changed.

[@jonathangriffin5093]

You should do The Greatest American Hero.

[@thegreyinitiate3680]

The first sequence of the movie up until the title card is fantastic. It should have just ended there...... but it didn’t.

[@ritiksharma1263]

11:49 somebody got the paycheck.

[@calebmccarthy7298]

“Fragile egos” Glass?

[@darylmorse]

I watched mortal engines because of the honest trailer. Some bad movies are so bad they are good. I was hoping mortal engines night be one of the so bad it's good movies. Unfortunately, this movie was just bad - very bad. The only thing I can give this movie credit for is that it proves what I thought when Peter Jackson directed the Hobbit movies, which is that he should never be allowed to direct another movie. If anyone doubts that, they should watch mortal engines. If Jackson never directs another movie, that will be a good thing.

[@EmilieLeTrangere]

Scavs are probably scavengers, am i being too obvious tho..?

[@hollysz4984]

I've never heard of this movie before....

[@mechasatsu6214]

I think its a failed oppurtunity to sneak in the Esther meme clip.