Review: City of Ember (PG)***
Published Date:
10 October 2008
By Damon Smith
In her 2003 novel upon which the film is based, Jeanne DuPrau imagined an entire underground community powered by a huge generator, cocooned from the apocalyptic horrors which befall mankind on the surface.
Director Gil Kenan (Monster House) accepts the unenviable task of bringing DuPrau's vision to life and creates an entire city of ramshackle buildings.
For the past 200 years, the bustling metropolis has survived under the power of a generator, but food stores are dwindling and machinery is about to fail, threatening to plunge the sanctuary into eternal darkness.
Graduate student Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) tells his inventor father (Tim Robbins): "I will not sit around while Ember collapses." Feisty classmate Lina Mayfleet (Ronan) feels the same, praying that Mayor Cole (Bill Murray) will find a solution. Instead, Lina stumbles upon the answer when she finds a box with cryptic instructions.
City of Ember feels a tad sluggish with just two action set pieces to quicken the pulse.
The full article contains 165 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
10 October 2008 10:25 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Yorkshire
