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."