City of Ember is a movie I fear that is destined not to do very well. When I saw it today there was a grand total of five people in my screen, three of which were me and my friends. Neither of my friends had ever heard of the movie, none of my family had a clue what it was about, and the only person that appeared to know anything about it had said the trailer looked a pile of garbage. So I wasn't expecting all that much from the movie, however City of Ember is not by any means a bad movie. In fact it verges on being a very good one, but the ending kicks the audience in the teeth and then makes it just a slightly above average one. The movie works very well for the majority of the film, the cast is extremely strong and the movie is by no means ever dull. Unfortunately the plot is the problem, while it is intriguing, an underground city that reaches the end of its life, unfortunately the writer doesn't seem to go very far with it. The sense of menace is never really there, while the sudden blackouts add a bit of oomph to the movie, apart from that, and a very big mole (don't ask) there never seems a sense of urgency to escaping. Still this is bound to entertain kids, and for once the kid actors don't grate at all, in fact its some of the adult members that I found much more annoying. Anyway its Half Term fodder, and while it isn't Potter or Narnia standards this will entertain kids.
So onto the cast. Well the headlining star from all the publicity I have seen, would have to be Bill Murray, despite the fact he isn't in it all that much. Murray actually isn't all that bad here, if I'm honest I expected him to phone in another performance much like he did for Garfield. Instead he does seem to be having a bit of fun, and his character is interesting and develops more towards the end. Still there isn't an awful lot to say about him as he has roughly twenty minutes screen time in total. The main kids are played by Harry Treadway and Saoirise Ronan (from Atonement), both of whom are very good. Treadway is particularly good, while his character is basically the usual stereotype, a boy who feels he is more than what he really is, who wants to make a difference, goes on a grand adventure. He has fantasy lead written all over it, all he needed was to be a farm boy and we might as well have called him Skywalker. Anyway Treadway makes him a very interesting and layered character. He also has considerable chemistry with Ronan, who delivers an equally as impressive performance. Her American accent is pitch perfect, and while she isn't as good as she was in Atonement, she still gets the job done. Tim Robbins shows up in a relatively pointless role as Doon's father. Martin Landau is great as Doon's mentor in the pipeworks, and in my opinion deserves the most praise in the movie. Finally Mackenzie Cook also is pretty damned brilliant, once again putting on an American accent that sounds very legitimate.
City of Ember might have a strong cast, but as I have said the storyline is at times questionable. The start of the movie is perfectly fine, we're given a lot of back-story about how Ember came to be, and how a box was passed down from generation of mayor to the next (very well filmed scene). The storyline in fact works perfectly fine until after the kids decide to do something. Once they get their hands on the box and go on their quest not an awful lot seems to happen. In fact the instructions they receive are so damned simple it makes you wonder whether that part really deserves as much screen time as it does? Also everything seems a tad to convenient, one scene towards the end made me roll my eyes in annoyance because I could not believe nobody had turned a certain wheel for over 200 years. The ending as well is god awful. I accept happy endings, I have no problem with them, but the ending here made me want to vomit. Anyway this is nitpicking, mostly the storyline is engrossing, even though the inclusion of the mole is really questionable. The action isn't half bad, although the CGI for a bit in a boat is pretty poor. But the set designs are the real star, not since Del Toro have I seen sets to beautiful.
Overall City of Ember is a movie that I did really enjoy, and would happily watch again. But the storyline must be taken with a pinch of salt, and be prepared for an ending that most people will just be a bit dumbstruck by.
So onto the cast. Well the headlining star from all the publicity I have seen, would have to be Bill Murray, despite the fact he isn't in it all that much. Murray actually isn't all that bad here, if I'm honest I expected him to phone in another performance much like he did for Garfield. Instead he does seem to be having a bit of fun, and his character is interesting and develops more towards the end. Still there isn't an awful lot to say about him as he has roughly twenty minutes screen time in total. The main kids are played by Harry Treadway and Saoirise Ronan (from Atonement), both of whom are very good. Treadway is particularly good, while his character is basically the usual stereotype, a boy who feels he is more than what he really is, who wants to make a difference, goes on a grand adventure. He has fantasy lead written all over it, all he needed was to be a farm boy and we might as well have called him Skywalker. Anyway Treadway makes him a very interesting and layered character. He also has considerable chemistry with Ronan, who delivers an equally as impressive performance. Her American accent is pitch perfect, and while she isn't as good as she was in Atonement, she still gets the job done. Tim Robbins shows up in a relatively pointless role as Doon's father. Martin Landau is great as Doon's mentor in the pipeworks, and in my opinion deserves the most praise in the movie. Finally Mackenzie Cook also is pretty damned brilliant, once again putting on an American accent that sounds very legitimate.
City of Ember might have a strong cast, but as I have said the storyline is at times questionable. The start of the movie is perfectly fine, we're given a lot of back-story about how Ember came to be, and how a box was passed down from generation of mayor to the next (very well filmed scene). The storyline in fact works perfectly fine until after the kids decide to do something. Once they get their hands on the box and go on their quest not an awful lot seems to happen. In fact the instructions they receive are so damned simple it makes you wonder whether that part really deserves as much screen time as it does? Also everything seems a tad to convenient, one scene towards the end made me roll my eyes in annoyance because I could not believe nobody had turned a certain wheel for over 200 years. The ending as well is god awful. I accept happy endings, I have no problem with them, but the ending here made me want to vomit. Anyway this is nitpicking, mostly the storyline is engrossing, even though the inclusion of the mole is really questionable. The action isn't half bad, although the CGI for a bit in a boat is pretty poor. But the set designs are the real star, not since Del Toro have I seen sets to beautiful.
Overall City of Ember is a movie that I did really enjoy, and would happily watch again. But the storyline must be taken with a pinch of salt, and be prepared for an ending that most people will just be a bit dumbstruck by.