City of Ember

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City of Ember

PG

Released Oct 10, 2008

1h 35m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

53%

Tomatometer

130 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

For generations a massive generator has sustained the needs of the underground city of Ember. But the generator was built to last only 200 years, and as its lights start to flicker and fade, it remains to two youths, Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway), to follow a cryptic series of clues that will restore light to to the place.

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Critics Consensus

City of Ember is visually arresting, and boasts a superb cast, but is sadly lacking in both action and adventure.

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Mark Holcomb

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

Murray playing the glutton doesn't exactly fit the bill and for all the architectural care that's gone into Ember's creation, the secret at its heart is no mystery to us, the audience.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 12, 2008

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David Stratton

The Australian

Murray is always good to have around, and so are Tim Robbins, who plays Doon's defeated father, and Martin Landau as one of the drones who tries to keep the city in working order. The young actors are excellent.

Rated: 3.5/5

Dec 12, 2008

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The story’s science fiction foundation becomes nothing more than your run-of-the-mill adventure yarn, abandoning its thought-provoking ideas for something much less satisfying.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 20, 2024

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Linda Cook

AWFJ.org

This enchanting science-fiction story has a female protagonist who's so courageous and smart you'll wish she were your daughter...

Oct 5, 2021

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

It's difficult not to become immersed in the fun of uncovering clues and discovering secrets in a society and landscape with few caps on creativity.

Rated: 7/10

Nov 28, 2020

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Audience Member

I don’t care what people think this film was my entire childhood and I love it to death

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/14/24

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Frank D

I'm surprised to see the 53% Tomatometer score because I loved this movie when I watched it 10 years ago and I still remember it's yummy visuals, dystopian atmosphere and good actors.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

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Hezekiah T

skibidi toilet skibidi skibidi toilet skibidi toilet skibidi skibidi toilet

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/28/24

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Michael T

I have read the previous reviews and It always seems to me that when so many people and professional critics rate some movies lacking, I for some reason love them. Others have said the film lacks action, and they lose interest too quickly. For me, the film is the closest to real life in a proposed dystopian society. It moved in a direction that the characters were more believable as real people in the situation and not some fake trumped-up hero's and as kids they were filled with despair and offered a chance that would offered hope and promise. I would have liked to see the series continue in following sequels and prequels.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/21/24

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David K

This movie was ok to watch but a bit predictable. It works as entertaiment for an hour and a half. Bill Murray was, as always, great as the sleazy, not at all trustworthy, bad guy.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/16/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Time to watch the City of Ember Mov- Wait... Wait... Did I fall asleep, we are already at the end of the movie and we are 6 minutes in... If you didn't get the joke, it is about the plot being too fast. I felt like the plot was a bit too fast, it felt like I watched the movie for 30 minutes and I am already at the end. I thought the design of the city looks amazing, it looks very detailed. I can tell they put in a lot of effort into it. The characters looked a lot different than I thought when I was reading the book version, but I think they fit into the setting of the movie. That's all I have to suggest, 3.5 stars sounds fair to me.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/15/24

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Gil Kenan

Director

Saoirse Ronan

Lina Mayfleet

Harry Treadaway

Doon Harrow

Bill Murray

Mayor Cole

Tim Robbins

Loris

Martin Landau

Sul

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Synopsis

For generations a massive generator has sustained the needs of the underground city of Ember. But the generator was built to last only 200 years, and as its lights start to flicker and fade, it remains to two youths, Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway), to follow a cryptic series of clues that will restore light to to the place.

Director: Gil Kenan
Producer: Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks
Screenwriter: Caroline Thompson
Production Co: Playtone Productions, Walden Media
Rating: PG (Some Thematic Elements|Mild Peril)
Genre: Kids & Family, Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.9M
Runtime: 1h 35m

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