City of Ember - 2 1/2 smiles

Set 200 years in the future in an underground city in danger of falling apart, “City of Ember’s” 95-minute running time does not allow for story or character development. Ember was developed to provide sanctuary for the human race after an unnamed catastrophe destroys habitability of the earth’s surface. Now after 200 years, the infrastructure of the city is beginning to fail. What has been lost over the decades is the information informing the people that the city was designed to only last 200 years and how to return to the surface. Fourteen-year-old Lina (Saorise Ronan, from “Atonement”) enlists the aid of her friend Doon (Harry Treadaway) to help her solve the puzzling information she has discovered in a metal case. The closer they get to the truth, however, the more dangerous they become to the city’s corrupt mayor (Bill Murray), who has his own reasons for wanting their embarrassing questions silenced.

Director Gil Kenan and his production team create a realistic portrait of an underground city held together with patches and duct tape. But visuals alone do not make up for huge plot holes. In fact, the way the script addresses these flaws is coincidence: Lina just happens to find and open the metal case and she becomes curious about its contents. (By the way, why would this case, with its important contents, get lost in the first place?) As she and Doon wend their way through the dark corridors of the city, they stumble upon symbols that match the design found in the case. And later they just happen to pull the right levers and push the right buttons. Plus there’s no time for character development. All we know is that Lena and Doon are two concerned teens who want to save their city. The cast also includes Tim Robbins as Doon’s inventor father, Martin Landau as Doon’s job mentor and Toby Jones as the mayor’s assistant. Older children will probably enjoy this movie, but the CGI mole chasing Lena and Doon will scare younger ones. 10/12/08