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City of Ember
FoxWalden

City of Ember reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 58 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.2 out of 10
based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for mild peril and some thematic elements

Starring Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Martin Landau, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Toby Jones, and Mary Kay Place

For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights - underground. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing . . . and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, in a race against time, the citizens must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and escape before the lights go out forever. (FoxWalden)


GENRE(S): Adventure  |  Family/Kids  |  Fantasy  
WRITTEN BY: Jeanne Duprau (book)
Caroline Thompson
 
DIRECTED BY: Gil Kenan  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: October 10, 2008 
RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

88
TV Guide Cammila Albertson
A fun and moving family film with a subtly dark feel rarely seen in kids' movies since the '80s, City of Ember succeeds despite its shortcomings, not only because of its fun and inspiring story, but because most of its flaws are things kids won't notice anyway.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
An impressive and imaginative fantasy.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
If older kids and adults seek out this picture, which 20th Century Fox and Walden Media clearly aren't sure how to sell, they may well find themselves drawn into a subterranean world of considerable imagination.
Read Full Review
75
ReelViews James Berardinelli
City of Ember has almost anything one could want from a science fiction-based family adventure film: likeable characters, an imaginative setting, and a fast pace.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It scores few points for originality, but it's a fuzzier, less pretentious and more enjoyable movie.
Read Full Review
75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Ember is seldom riveting, but it's consistently compelling, and its uncompromising literal and metaphorical darkness renders its climax enormously satisfying.
Read Full Review
70
Washington Post Neely Tucker
It's not an entirely convincing trip, but it is the sort of satisfying movie you wished they would make more often.
Read Full Review
70
LA Weekly Ed Gonzales
The story subtly evokes Rand and scripture, colliding secular and spiritual values, and, as such, appeals to the blue- and red-minded alike.
Read Full Review
67
Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling
The story, which follows two kids who try to save their burg from blackouts, isn't well-executed, losing itself to unclear mythology and sci-fi gibberish.
Read Full Review
67
Portland Oregonian Stan Hall
Entertainment-wise, City of Ember is a good family deal: exciting and simple enough for anyone over 8 to follow yet mature and mildly satirical enough for parents.
Read Full Review
63
New York Post Kyle Smith
For a kiddie adventure, the movie, based on the Jeanne DuPrau book, has a pleasingly moody, eerie quality.
Read Full Review
63
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
It's lumpy, odd and tonally all over the place, but its vision gets to you, and its payoff delivers a tough kid's catharsis.
Read Full Review
63
Boston Globe Ty Burr
City of Ember lacks the vision and scope of "WALL-E," but it's based on a pretty good kids' book and it makes a pretty good "Twilight Zone" episode, with hope dangling at the end rather than one of Rod Serling's cosmic black jokes.
Read Full Review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The movie begs for a a third-act showdown but, instead, the dramatic tension is allowed to leak away.
Read Full Review
63
USA Today Claudia Puig
At its best when sticking to a classic sci-fi-fantasy format. But when it tries to be a generic thrill ride, it loses its originality and peculiar charm.
Read Full Review
63
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It's innocent and sometimes kind of charming. The sets are entertaining. There are parallels in appearance and theme to a low-rent "Dark City."
Read Full Review
63
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
All the running, the hiding, the escaping (from giant moles, from giant Murray) are decidedly less exciting, and compelling, than City of Ember wants to be.
Read Full Review
60
Empire Dan Jolin
With Ember's hydro-electro-punk charms, Kenan's convinced us he's one of Hollywood's most exciting (and excited!) visualists. But on the evidence of this, his storytelling skills still need honing.
Read Full Review
60
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Though the film ultimately falls short of its considerable promise, there's more than enough here to keep thoughtful moviegoers - of any age - intrigued.
Read Full Review
50
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Ultimately, it's undone by the overfamiliar nature of Doon and Lina's quest, the outcome of which, while breathlessly paced, is never really in question.
Read Full Review
50
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Stalls at the intersection of fantasy and science fiction.
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50
Variety Justin Chang
A fabulously designed underground metropolis proves more involving than the teenagers running through its streets in City of Ember, a good-looking but no more than serviceable adaptation of Jeanne Duprau's 2003 novel.
Read Full Review
50
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
You long for things to go bump in the night, but the movie muffles every risk in a blanket of bland.
Read Full Review
50
Los Angeles Times Robert Abele
None of this means that the film is necessarily enjoyable to watch, however, which is often the problem when the rigors of inspired storytelling can't live up to an imaginatively designed filmic world.
Read Full Review
50
The New York Times Stephen Holden
At only 95 minutes, the movie feels as though it had been shredded in the editing room. In Hollywood-speak, it has a weak second act.
Read Full Review
50
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The movie is an exceedingly slight tale whose entire second half consists primarily of special effects and wonderful set designs.
Read Full Review
30
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
A murky, directionless plot sinks this big-budget fantasy despite Martin Laing's elaborate production design; the dark, industrial-looking sets often recall "Brazil" but without that film's thrilling sense of an imagination run amok.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

J C gave it a3:
An utter waste. Three points for the cast, which does what it can with one of the weakest screenplays ever adapted from a very good children's book. The special effects towards the end were laughable. The spirit and tone and themes of the book were completely lost or ignored. Skip the movie, read the book.

Robert E. gave it a9:
The book is perfectly realized with a wonderful set design, tight plot, and fine acting in the character roles, especially, though the principals are strong also. The focus of the film, as it was in the book, is on the courage and ingenuity of the young heroine and hero. Adults can't fail to notice the metaphoric theme of a world overused and wearing out, with most everyone in denial or taking advantage of the situation. Bill Murray as the politician grown fat on what he steals from the people while buoying up their confidence with patriotic songs and insincere piety - an almost terrifying-good performance, especially because we see our leader making his little performance on TV almost every day now - as the economy fall apart around our ears.

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