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76
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9
17
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53
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66
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45
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61
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43
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66
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29
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23
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80
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61
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39
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30
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34
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60
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32
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27
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41
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39
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46
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73
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78
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55
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66
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69
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58
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47
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66
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34
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33
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54
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67
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51
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42
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28
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63
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86
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35
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48
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30
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53
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24
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83
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33
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45
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55
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47
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96
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35
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28
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88
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71
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67
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28
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73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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96
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56
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72
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39
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78
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61
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66
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xx
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58
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72
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48
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73
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62
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55
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76
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86
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13
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70
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35
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71
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66
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51
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76
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26
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57
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45
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81
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70
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45
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xx
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55
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57
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62
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65
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69
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59
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82
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75
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82
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67
Departures
xx
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71
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70
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24
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85
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55
Endgame
xx
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xx
Everyone Else
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Fatal Promises
56
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62
Five Minutes of Heaven
74
Flame & Citron
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
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28
Free Style
xx
From Mexico with Love
50
Fuel
25
Gentlemen Broncos
50
Give Me Your Hand
58
Gogol Bordello Non-Stop
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
52
Grace
64
Harmony and Me
81
Headless Woman, The![]()
xx
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63
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73
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
74
Humpday
94
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29
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
16
If One Thing Matters: A Film About Wolfgang Tillmans
75
In Search of Beethoven
83
In the Loop![]()
61
Intimate Enemies
42
Irene in Time
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
19
Labor Day
xx
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41
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41
Little Traitor, The
66
Liverpool
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
83
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xx
Ministers, The
59
More Than a Game
67
Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, The
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
xx
Mystery Team
48
New York, I Love You
73
Night and Day
66
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47
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
34
Other Man, The
xx
Painter Sam Francis, The
54
Paper Heart
xx
Paradise
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
44
Peter and Vandy
35
Play the Game
77
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
xx
Pretty Ugly People
65
Providence Effect, The
76
Rembrandt's J'accuse
69
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79
Serious Man, A
40
Shrink
61
Skin
77
Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake, A
xx
Skiptracers
46
Splinterheads
39
St. Trinian's
89
Still Walking![]()
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
55
Storm
65
Tetro
70
That Evening Sun
72
Thirst
xx
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (re-release)
61
Trucker
xx
Turning Green
83
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66
Unmade Beds
66
Unmistaken Child
70
Visual Acoustics
55
Walt & El Grupo
67
Way We Get By, The
69
We Live in Public
64
Wedding Song, The
64
Where is Where?
xx
White on Rice
74
Woman in Berlin, A
69
World's Greatest Dad
70
Yes Men Fix the World
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
xx
You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
City of Ember

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 25 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Adventure | Family/Kids | Fantasy
Written by:
Jeanne Duprau (book)
Caroline Thompson
Directed by: Gil Kenan
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 10, 2008
DVD: January 20, 2009
Running Time: 95 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for mild peril and some thematic elements
Starring Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Martin Landau, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Toby Jones, and Mary Kay Place
For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights - underground. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing . . . and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, in a race against time, the citizens must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and escape before the lights go out forever. (FoxWalden)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Monster House
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
TV Guide Cammila Albertson
A fun and moving family film with a subtly dark feel rarely seen in kids' movies since the '80s, City of Ember succeeds despite its shortcomings, not only because of its fun and inspiring story, but because most of its flaws are things kids won't notice anyway.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
If older kids and adults seek out this picture, which 20th Century Fox and Walden Media clearly aren't sure how to sell, they may well find themselves drawn into a subterranean world of considerable imagination.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
City of Ember has almost anything one could want from a science fiction-based family adventure film: likeable characters, an imaginative setting, and a fast pace.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It scores few points for originality, but it's a fuzzier, less pretentious and more enjoyable movie.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Ember is seldom riveting, but it's consistently compelling, and its uncompromising literal and metaphorical darkness renders its climax enormously satisfying.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Neely Tucker
It's not an entirely convincing trip, but it is the sort of satisfying movie you wished they would make more often.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ed Gonzales
The story subtly evokes Rand and scripture, colliding secular and spiritual values, and, as such, appeals to the blue- and red-minded alike.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling
The story, which follows two kids who try to save their burg from blackouts, isn't well-executed, losing itself to unclear mythology and sci-fi gibberish.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Stan Hall
Entertainment-wise, City of Ember is a good family deal: exciting and simple enough for anyone over 8 to follow yet mature and mildly satirical enough for parents.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
For a kiddie adventure, the movie, based on the Jeanne DuPrau book, has a pleasingly moody, eerie quality.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
It's lumpy, odd and tonally all over the place, but its vision gets to you, and its payoff delivers a tough kid's catharsis.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
City of Ember lacks the vision and scope of "WALL-E," but it's based on a pretty good kids' book and it makes a pretty good "Twilight Zone" episode, with hope dangling at the end rather than one of Rod Serling's cosmic black jokes.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
The movie begs for a a third-act showdown but, instead, the dramatic tension is allowed to leak away.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
At its best when sticking to a classic sci-fi-fantasy format. But when it tries to be a generic thrill ride, it loses its originality and peculiar charm.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It's innocent and sometimes kind of charming. The sets are entertaining. There are parallels in appearance and theme to a low-rent "Dark City."
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
All the running, the hiding, the escaping (from giant moles, from giant Murray) are decidedly less exciting, and compelling, than City of Ember wants to be.
Read Full Review >Empire Dan Jolin
With Ember's hydro-electro-punk charms, Kenan's convinced us he's one of Hollywood's most exciting (and excited!) visualists. But on the evidence of this, his storytelling skills still need honing.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Though the film ultimately falls short of its considerable promise, there's more than enough here to keep thoughtful moviegoers - of any age - intrigued.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Ultimately, it's undone by the overfamiliar nature of Doon and Lina's quest, the outcome of which, while breathlessly paced, is never really in question.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Stalls at the intersection of fantasy and science fiction.
Read Full Review >Variety Justin Chang
A fabulously designed underground metropolis proves more involving than the teenagers running through its streets in City of Ember, a good-looking but no more than serviceable adaptation of Jeanne Duprau's 2003 novel.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
You long for things to go bump in the night, but the movie muffles every risk in a blanket of bland.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Robert Abele
None of this means that the film is necessarily enjoyable to watch, however, which is often the problem when the rigors of inspired storytelling can't live up to an imaginatively designed filmic world.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
At only 95 minutes, the movie feels as though it had been shredded in the editing room. In Hollywood-speak, it has a weak second act.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The movie is an exceedingly slight tale whose entire second half consists primarily of special effects and wonderful set designs.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
A murky, directionless plot sinks this big-budget fantasy despite Martin Laing's elaborate production design; the dark, industrial-looking sets often recall "Brazil" but without that film's thrilling sense of an imagination run amok.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 25 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
City of Ember Ember gave it a10:
Awesome movie! I loved it! I espicially like Lina Mayfleet!
Jonathan S gave it a10:
City of Ember is a fine thrilling film.
Zpoc z gave it an8:
a visually impressive kids movie that forgoes the patronizing, condescending tone most hollywood movies aimed at children take. instead, it delivers an interesting story and it even manages to provide food for thought for kids you might hope grow up to be aware of the fallacies of authority gone unchecked and unquestioned, and dangers of complacency. the story is in the form of a fable, so if you're looking for logical consistency then i'd suggest looking elsewhere (but really, if that's what you care about in a kids movie i'd suggest rethinking your priorities...) the plot is indeed a little bigger than the movie has room for, but it still succeeds, overall, in telling a compelling, entertaining story. unfortunately, this movie was a flop, but i have the feeling it'll be a cult classic in 10 years.
Richard G. gave it an8:
The movie was just good. The theme is very well made & you will feel creepy but pleasure with it. Although the plot &is a little bit letdown, but still a good movie to watch. I recommend this for family movies, not for mile high club.
Jay H. gave it a6:
Imaginative, but I was not enthralled with the special effects, although they aren't bad. Good performances, interesting story, creative art direction. The score was quite good.
Hyper S gave it a5:
If I had to compare this movie to one thing I'd say its like a Disney World log-flume ride gone amok. Lots of absurd and pointless over-the-top mechanisms round out an end-of-the-world story filled with so many obvious plot holes that it leaves the viewer with a "Huh?" as the movie reaches its conclusion. So where did the 5 rating come from? The adventure/mystery style of this movie reminds me of old puzzle/adventure video games [Myst,etc] that I liked as a kid and since its a kid's movie I can overlook the implausibility of the plot line enough to give it a 5. A young kid probably wouldn't mind all the plot holes so for them maybe this movie is a 7 or 8. Final word though to the builders: Elevator!
Nick K gave it a9:
Haven't seen a good family movie like this since the 80's. The only problems I felt it had, is that it all happened a bit fast creating plot holes. But for what it was, and something we have not seen for a while, it was well done, all you credits are to damn picky.
