one of my absolute favorites!

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

For some reason after we took the state exams when I was in the 8th grade we had to watch this movie. I think I almost preffered taking the exam as opposed to this garbage. The effects are bad. The story is convoluted and stupid. The acting is bad. Everything about this movie is cheesy and dumb and boring. I would not recommend this movie.

As the story unfolds and the scene is set, my attention was grabbed by the detail of the environments and the characters.This is a movie that provokes that same feeling of wonder, exploration and adventure that reminds my of classics like Goonies or Lord of the rings.The pacing is great and the story moves on at just the right pace although a part of me wishes that the film was longer so as to focus more on some of the other characters but this is a real, good quality rainy Sunday afternoon film.I gave it 8 out of 10, I was surprised that it has such a low average score on here.A equal of equal quality in which we discover more and hopefully see Bill Murray back would actually enrich this first movie and open it up even more.

City of Ember (2008): Dir: Gil Kenan / Cast: Harry Treadaway, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau: Stunning futuristic adventure displays a decaying underground society. Mankind is forced to progress underground for 200 years. A box contains the count down and instructions on how to surface. This box is passed down from Mayor to Mayor with instructions given but the last Mayor died suddenly leaving everything forgotten. Harry Treadaway accepts a job on the pipeline in hopes of locating the failing generator. He is joined by Saoirse Ronan whose grandfather was the last Mayor to obtain the box. They had originally swapped jobs to further their talents but as time runs out they grow closer to figuring out a way to escape the city. Bill Murray plays current Mayor who is stealing food and making false promises. The consequences for this arrive at the mutation of the normal. Tim Robbins plays Treadaway's inventor father who is too busy yet has ideas. He will soon have to listen to his son's facts about above ground. Martin Landau plays a mentor to Treadaway who also works in the pipe areas. This should appeal to family audiences looking for adventure as director Gil Kenan delivers on inventive ideas to this underrated film. Good clean fun full of visual spectacular, which prevents the film from decaying like Ember itself. Score: 10 / 10

...but it never really bursts into flame in this adaptation of a somewhat popular young adult novel. Someone was obviously hoping to establish a new franchise to be exploited ala Harry Potter or the Twilight series, but alas, it was not to be, Tom Hanks support or not; "City of Ember" bombed at the box office. Problem: it's a mite too derivative (see other commentaries elsewhere) and a little too low-key for its own good. Saoirse "Hanna" Ronan is likable enough in the lead, but her co-star, Harry "Control" Treadaway, seems more of a cipher, leaving the audience somewhat indifferent to what happens to either of them, or anyone else in their poorly designed underground haven, for that matter.Sadly, there are just a few too many "Say whats?" and "Oh, c'mons!" in the scenario to allow discerning viewers to relax and enjoy willing suspension of disbelief. Underground quarters dedicated to the survival of the human race with one power source and no back-ups? How do they control their population? What happened to cultural/scientific progress/evolution? What about those ridiculous giant creatures? Job assignments by random lottery---really? That's incredibly inefficient, if not downright stupid. A lockbox with the key to eventual exit from this survival colony with no failsafe, entrusted to a single person--- really? An escape route that goes down, down, down and then forces everyone to climb up, up, up? Sadly, if one thinks too hard about the whole thing, it's just incredibly silly. None of these people remember the past? No one kept a history? And where's all the advanced machinery that ought to be running this little community? Did technology just sort of wither away? Very, very poor planning on the part of "The Builders," methinks.In its defense, "City of Ember" sports some sporty Brazil-castoff production/set design and costuming, and decent camera-work from sophomore director Gil Kenan's collaborator, Xavier Pérez "Monster House" Grobet, so I have at least mild hopes for Kenan's upcoming remake of "Poltergeist." Nonetheless, "City of Ember" fails to ignite any great sparks, and seems unlikely to spawn any sequels. This is likely a good thing. Meanwhile, folks like Bill Murray, Mary Kay Place, Toby Jones, Martin Landau, and Liz Smith take paychecks. I guess that's a good thing, too.Okay for the kiddies who may not have sufficient film/book experience to distinguish the mundane from genuine inspiration, but otherwise little more than just another example of Sturgeon's Revelation. Discriminate viewers can pass this one up and suffer no great loss.