The character Shrike is introduced as a ruthless villain in "Mortal Engines", but over the course of the story, his depth and connection to Hester are revealed. He is a Stalker, a human resurrected with machines and no emotions, serving his masters. Shrike ends up sacrificing himself for Hester and Tom, showing his humanity. In the movie, set in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world, Shrike is one of the most complex and interesting characters. His brutal origin story and his relationship with Hester make him a tragic figure. Despite failing at the box office, Shrike is one of the highlights of "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.
In Mortal Engines, a movie populated by strange and unique characters, Stephen Lang's resurrected man, Shrike, is the strangest of them all. Mortal Engines, adapted from the books by Philip Reeve, takes place in a steampunk science fiction world that is running out of resources. The major cities have been transformed into mobile, roving "Traction Cities", with London being the largest of them all. London is ruled by a ruthless group of elites who won't stop until they keep control, especially 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.
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
Despite being a formidable bounty hunter, Shrike and all the Stalkers have a brutal and horrific origin story in the history of Mortal Engines. Part Frankenstein's monster and part cyborg, the Stalkers are a specialized force of programmable soldiers. In worldwide tradition, the bodies of dead soldiers are harvested and the corpses implanted with "old technology" machines to bring them back to life like a rebooted computer, thus earning them their other name of "Resurrected Men".
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 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