TIM ROBBINS - MOVIE REVIEWS CITY OF EMBER

MOVIE REVIEWS CITY OF EMBER

The kiddie sci-fi flick City of Ember , which features Tim Robbins, Harry Treadaway, Saoirse Ronan, and Bill Murray, may end up a movie of embers after the critics get done with it. Actually, most of them find the overall look of the film quite impressive. It's set in a future post-apocalyptic world where humanity lives in an underground city. That the film fails as both "a kids' adventure and a dystopian finger-wag," writes Robert Abele in the Los Angeles Times "is a shame for all the dazzling craftsmanship brought forth from its production team." Liam Lacey writes in the Toronto Globe and Mail that director Gil Kenan's "strength as a set-designer works against the story. The escape from the claustrophobic city should feel like an escape to light and freedom; instead, it feels like being kicked out of a cool club where you'd prefer to spend more time." On the other hand, Ty Burr in the Boston Globe comments "For all its missed chances, though, City of Ember still casts a neat glow." And Susan Walker concludes in the Toronto Star " City of Ember is a thrilling adventure tale and teen fantasy that is grounded in real concerns about who is managing the planet."

10/10/2008