City of Ember

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City of Ember

PG

2008

1h 35m

Kids & Family

Fantasy

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

53%

Tomatometer

129 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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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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Claudia Puig

USA Today

Even if it occasionally goes off course, City of Ember provides audiences with a thought-provoking and family-friendly adventure.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 10, 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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Fletcher K

I could never figure out if this was a movie made for preasolescents or teens but it was completely lacking in any content which would keep an adult's attention, Had I not been in several abandoned Titan 1 missile bases this film would have had zero appeal. The 200 year old theme park rides working was a joke. MEH

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/12/25

Full Review

Josh K

For how deep the book is, the movie is incredibly lacklustre. The graphics are usually horrible. The movie seems like it was made to have little "look, see, this is like the book!" moments but then do its own thing rather than following the book, which, again, was written well. I don't quite understand the director's train of thought. He had great source material to use, and then thought he could do his own thing without making it incredibly flat.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/22/25

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Audience Member

Great Story. Really incredible set design. Awesome cast and the story was very cool and pretty original. This is the kind of movie that if it was made in the 80's= would've been a HUGE hit and still talked about. It's fallen under the radar simply b/c styles have changed though not always for the better. This is very much done in that old school style and I super enjoyed it though I had never heard of it before ripping it from the library. An easy addition to your collection.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/09/25

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Audience Member

DO NOT WATCH IT THE QUALITY OF THE MOVIE WAS BAD but the CGI was good, and the plot was all over the place and did not follow the book please do not watch

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/25

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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

Full Review

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Gil Kenan

Director

Saoirse Ronan

Lina Mayfleet

Harry Treadaway

Doon Harrow

Bill Murray

Mayor Cole

Tim Robbins

Loris

Martin Landau

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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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