Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers, in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, before the the lights go out forever.
City of Ember has an imaginative, visually distinctive underground world that gives it genuine novelty within family adventure fare — the steampunk-meets-dystopia aesthetic is well-realized on a modest budget. The plot follows the source novel reasonably faithfully and has a solid mystery structure, though it loses momentum in the second half. Acting is a weak point; the young leads (Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway) do competent work but Bill Murray's oddly detached mayor and supporting performances are uneven. Cinematography captures the amber-lit underground city with some flair but is inconsistent. The ending feels rushed and anti-climactic, failing to pay off the buildup adequately — a common complaint that dragged down the film's box office and critical reception.