O personagem Shrike é apresentado como um vilão implacável em “Mortal Engines”, mas ao longo da história, sua profundidade e conexão com Hester são reveladas. Ele é um Stalker, um humano ressuscitado com máquinas e sem emoções, servindo a seus mestres. Shrike acaba se sacrificando por Hester e Tom, mostrando sua humanidade. No filme, ambientado em um mundo steampunk pós-apocalíptico, Shrike é um dos personagens mais complexos e interessantes. Sua história de origem brutal e sua relação com Hester o tornam uma figura trágica. Apesar do fracasso nas bilheterias, Shrike é um dos destaques de “Mortal Engines”.
Warning: this article contains Mortal Engines spoilers.
Summary
Shrike is a complex and tragic character in Mortal Engines, with a deep connection to Hester, despite his ruthless exterior. Stalkers like Shrike have a brutal origin story, being resurrected with machines and devoid of emotions, serving only their masters. Shrike's story doesn't end happily, as he finally sacrifices himself for Hester and Tom, revealing his humanity at the end.
Em Mortal Engines, um filme povoado por personagens estranhos e únicos, o homem ressuscitado de Stephen Lang, Shrike, é o mais estranho de todos. Mortal Engines, adaptado dos livros de Philip Reeve, se desenrola em um mundo de ficção científica steampunk que está ficando sem recursos. As grandes cidades foram transformadas em “Cidades de Tração” móveis e itinerantes, sendo Londres a maior cidade de todas. Londres é governada por um grupo implacável de elites que não irá parar até manter o controle, especialmente Alexander Valentine (Hugo Weaving).
One of these weapons at his disposal is a Stalker hunter called Shrike (Stephen Lang), whose frightening and bizarre face belies his depth. Over the course of Mortal Engines' runtime, Shrike's backstory is slowly revealed, making him a tragic figure despite his introduction as a villain. Although Mortal Engines, which unfortunately flopped at the box office, simplifies Shrike and the Stalkers in general, he is still one of Mortal Engines' most fascinating characters.
Related 10 best movies like Mortal Engines The 2018 post-apocalyptic steampunk movie Mortal Engines features a world where cities are on wheels, and 10 other movies have similar vibes.
Stephen Lang's role as a stinger in Mortal Engines explained
He was one of the most interesting characters in the movie
Shrike enters the movie as a villain, a ruthless killer and bounty hunter unleashed by Alexander Valentine to track down and kill Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). The movie takes some liberties from the books, drastically changing some elements, but Shrike is one of the few characters who remains practically intact. He is as obstinate and relentless as in the novels, determined to pursue Hester to force her to fulfill a promise she made to him.
Years before, when Valentine killed Hester's mother, Shrike took Hester in and raised her. Seeing her sadness and anger at the loss of her mother, Shrike offered to make Hester a Stalker like himself to free her of her memories and emotions, including her pain, thinking that they would be together forever as surrogate father and daughter. When Hester fled to pursue her mission of revenge against Valentine, she broke her promise to Shrike to become a Stalker. Valentine then uses Shrike's anger over Hester's broken promise as it makes the Stalker useful, with the villain knowing full well that Shrike won't stop until he hunts down Hester and solves Valentine's problem for him.
The resurrected man is also known as "Stalker" in the tradition of mortal engines
Stalkers play a very specific role in the Mortal Engines universe
Apesar de ser um formidável caçador de recompensas, Shrike e todos os Stalkers têm uma história de origem brutal e horrível na história dos Motores Mortais. Parte monstro de Frankenstein e parte ciborgue, os Stalkers são uma força especializada de soldados programáveis. Na tradição mundial, os corpos dos soldados mortos são colhidos e os cadáveres implantados com máquinas de “tecnologia antiga” para trazê-los de volta à vida como um computador reiniciado, ganhando assim seu outro nome de “Homens Ressuscitados”.
Shrike was notoriously an anomaly in this respect, as he became attached to Hester and remembered pieces of her life.
The desecration of their corpses didn't stop there. The Stalkers' internal organs were also removed and replaced with more machines or weapons. In the process of resurrection, the Stalkers' emotions, memories and desires are eradicated, with their memories only resurfacing as tangled fragments devoid of feeling and personal connection. Shrike was notoriously an anomaly in this respect, as he became attached to Hester and remembered pieces of her life. Once resurrected, the Stalkers live only to serve the will of their masters and those who give them orders. Once given an order, however, a Stalker is totally relentless in its pursuit.
What happens to the resurrected man in mortal engines
Shrike's story doesn't end happily
In both the books and the movie, Shrike is a legend among the Stalkers due to his record of killing and his aberrant nature of being able to remember pieces of his past life. The first time he catches up with Hester and Tom (Robert Sheehan), they escape Shrike's clutches with the help of Anna Fang (Jihae). The second time, however, he suffers serious injuries during the fight and has an epiphany when Hester begs him not to kill Tom.
In a very Citizen Kane "Rosebud" moment, Shrike's last word is Hannah's name.
As she succumbs to her injuries, Shrike realizes that Hester loves Tom and that this gives her a human reason to live. He releases her from her promise to become a Stalker, giving her a necklace he found with her when he met her as a child. In his final moments in Mortal Engines, Shrike relieves himself of his past life and his life with Hannah. In a very Citizen Kane "Rosebud" moment, Shrike's last word is Hannah's name.
Mortal Engines
Mortal Engines is a 2018 action/adventure film from director Christian Rivers and writer Peter Jackson. Based on the novel by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines is set 1,000 years in the future in a post-apocalyptic world where cities have been transformed into giant vehicles trying to destroy each other. The film stars Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving and Jihae Kim.
Director Christian Rivers
Release date December 14, 2018
Cast Frankie Adams, Robbie Sheehan, Colin Salmon, Hera Hilmar, Ronan Raftery, Stephen Lang, Jihae, Hugo Weaving
Running time 128 minutes