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City of Ember
FoxWalden


6.4

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 24 votes
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FILM:

Monster House

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:	DVD: January 20, 2009 Theatrical: October 10, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	95 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

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...

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

An impressive and imaginative fantasy.

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.

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.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It scores few points for originality, but it's a fuzzier, less pretentious and more enjoyable movie.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New York Post Kyle Smith

For a kiddie adventure, the movie, based on the Jeanne DuPrau book, has a pleasingly moody, eerie quality.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Stalls at the intersection of fantasy and science fiction.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The movie is an exceedingly slight tale whose entire second half consists primarily of special effects and wonderful set designs.

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.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

City of Ember Ember gave it a10:
Awesome movie! I loved it! I espicially like Lina Mayfleet!

Jonathan S gave it a10:
City of Ember is a fine thrilling film.

Zpoc z gave it an8:
a visually impressive kids movie that forgoes the patronizing, condescending tone most hollywood movies aimed at children take. instead, it delivers an interesting story and it even manages to provide food for thought for kids you might hope grow up to be aware of the fallacies of authority gone unchecked and unquestioned, and dangers of complacency. the story is in the form of a fable, so if you're looking for logical consistency then i'd suggest looking elsewhere (but really, if that's what you care about in a kids movie i'd suggest rethinking your priorities...) the plot is indeed a little bigger than the movie has room for, but it still succeeds, overall, in telling a compelling, entertaining story. unfortunately, this movie was a flop, but i have the feeling it'll be a cult classic in 10 years.

Richard G. gave it an8:
The movie was just good. The theme is very well made & you will feel creepy but pleasure with it. Although the plot &is a little bit letdown, but still a good movie to watch. I recommend this for family movies, not for mile high club.

Jay H. gave it a6:
Imaginative, but I was not enthralled with the special effects, although they aren't bad. Good performances, interesting story, creative art direction. The score was quite good.

Hyper S gave it a5:
If I had to compare this movie to one thing I'd say its like a Disney World log-flume ride gone amok. Lots of absurd and pointless over-the-top mechanisms round out an end-of-the-world story filled with so many obvious plot holes that it leaves the viewer with a "Huh?" as the movie reaches its conclusion. So where did the 5 rating come from? The adventure/mystery style of this movie reminds me of old puzzle/adventure video games [Myst,etc] that I liked as a kid and since its a kid's movie I can overlook the implausibility of the plot line enough to give it a 5. A young kid probably wouldn't mind all the plot holes so for them maybe this movie is a 7 or 8. Final word though to the builders: Elevator!

Nick K gave it a9:
Haven't seen a good family movie like this since the 80's. The only problems I felt it had, is that it all happened a bit fast creating plot holes. But for what it was, and something we have not seen for a while, it was well done, all you credits are to damn picky.

City of Ember FoxWalden

City of Ember
FoxWalden