by Louise Cairns

Created on: December 26, 2009

Synopsis Disaster has struck the earth and it has been necessary for the remaining occupants to build a city that is entirely self contained underground. They also produce a set of instructions that will allow their descendants to leave the city in years to come, these instructions are placed in a sealed box that won’t open for another 200 years. The box is meant to be passed from mayor to mayor, but unfortunately the 7th mayor dies whilst

still in office and the box is put in a cupboard and forgotten about.

Fast forwarding a couple of hundred years and the City of Ember (as it was named) is still going, but not going strong. The generator is failing, as is all the pipe work, and there are no spare parts to fix anything, so things are being patched up as best they can. Doon Harrow believes he can fix the generator, or escape the city, he asks his father to help, but his father tells him it’s pointless, there is nothing outside the city except blackness.

Lina Mayfleet who was Doon’s classmate has lost both her parents and is looking after her younger sister Poppy. Poppy being a typical toddler manages to get into everything, and one day Lina comes home to find her eating paper from a box in the cupboard. Looking closely at it she can see it’s a list of instructions. Together Lina and Doon set out to find out what the instructions are, and how they can help. Cast Saoirse Ronan as Lina Mayfleet Harry Treadaway as Doon Harrow Bill Jones as Barton Snode Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Clary Tim Robbins as Loris 'Barrow' Harrow Liz Smith as Granny Amy Quinn & Catherine Quinn as Poppy Mayfleet
My Thoughts It was a very slow film, after about 30 minutes my son asked me if anything was going to happen! Now I know they have to explain the situation and what’s happening, but they could have done it in a more entertaining way. Then all of a sudden the film took off and everything was rushed into the last 20-25 minutes.

The story was okay, nothing particularly new about it, just a rehash of most post apocalyptic type films, with the clichéd bad guy in charge and underdogs fighting to save the day. But since it’s a kid’s film I supposed they have to show the good guys winning.

The special effects weren’t brilliant; the ‘escape’ scenes at the end were so obviously blue screen that we were all sat laughing at them, even though the moment was meant to be dramatic.

Acting wise everyone did a reasonably good job. There were quite a few well known faces in the film, although I did get mixed up and thought I was watching CCH Pounder rather than Marianne Jean-Baptiste. The children weren’t known to me, but I thought they did well and should make decent actors as they get older. The only actor who was a bit of a let down was Bill Murray, who I don’t rate very highly anyway, he tends to be a bit OTT in his acting style.

I wouldn’t recommend this for younger children, I don’t think it would hold their interest, but for 11 to 13/14 year olds it is probably a reasonable film.

There are no DVD extras on the DVD.

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