In 200 years we humans will be forced to live underground. That's the bad news. The good news is: Bill Murray will be our Mayor.

"City of Ember" is based on the popular novel about a future world in which the remaining people on Earth live in an underground city that is falling apart. The generator that runs the city is dying and so two kids try to use clues from a secret box to find a way out of the city so they can save everyone.

The movie starts out pretty good, as we learn about the city and the main characters, but then the story sort of goes flat. There just isn't enough suspense. Will they get out? Won't they get out? Of course they're gonna get out! The plot is simply too predictable and there isn't enough excitement along the way.

The acting in "City of Ember" is okay. Academy Award nominee Saorice Ronan leads the way as the young girl who finds the box. Murray's Mayor isn't exactly a nice guy. Harry Treadway plays the other teen hero and Tim Robbins plays his dad.

"City of Ember" is rated PG. It's definitely geared toward older kids. The eight-and-under crowd will be bored by the lack of adventure. This is not nearly as much fun for kids as "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, "City of Ember" gets a C.

I haven't read the book yet and now that I've seen the movie I probably won't bother reading it now. 

Comments