Fantasy films have been on the rise since the success of THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and studios have been buying up popular fantasy novels left and right so there is little wonder the Jeanne Duprau’s novel “The City of Ember” would be next up in line. What is surprising is the film adaptation of the novel CITY OF EMBER is such an uninspired, paint-by-numbers drab film with little heart and even less imagination. This is surprising considering that the screenplay is by Caroline Thompson, who helped bring to life EDWARD SCISORHANDS (1990), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1991), THE SECRET GARDEN (1993), and THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993). Those films were fantastic fantasy films whereas this one is a muddled mess.
The film concerns the city of Ember, which was built underground 200 years prior in order to save humanity from the devastation from the world above. The original Builders of Ember set a timer on the city so that after 200 years the generations that knew nothing of the world above would have a blueprint on how to escape Ember when the time came, only the instructions which were passed down from mayor to mayor have been lost and the people of Ember know nothing of the world above.
Now the city of Ember is crumbling under old age and the fact that no one to fix anything that was built 200 years prior escapes them. As Ember falls apart under the threat of loosing the power that keeps the city’s light on draws near it is up to Doon and Lina (Harry Treadway and Saoirse Ronan, respectfully) to escape Ember using the instructions of the city’s original Builders in order to save the people they love.
At a production budget of approximately $38 million the film looks even cheaper then that with the bad CGI. The film has good production design as the city of Ember is crafted with great care and a distinctive look but besides the weak screenplay the great supporting cast is given little to nothing to do in the film, which includes Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Toby Jones, and Martin Landau. The leads Treadway and Ronan actually do a good job in the mediocre film and will help younger audiences enjoy the film but this still won’t erase the fact that CITY OF EMBER just isn’t all that good of a film.
The film concerns the city of Ember, which was built underground 200 years prior in order to save humanity from the devastation from the world above. The original Builders of Ember set a timer on the city so that after 200 years the generations that knew nothing of the world above would have a blueprint on how to escape Ember when the time came, only the instructions which were passed down from mayor to mayor have been lost and the people of Ember know nothing of the world above.
Now the city of Ember is crumbling under old age and the fact that no one to fix anything that was built 200 years prior escapes them. As Ember falls apart under the threat of loosing the power that keeps the city’s light on draws near it is up to Doon and Lina (Harry Treadway and Saoirse Ronan, respectfully) to escape Ember using the instructions of the city’s original Builders in order to save the people they love.
At a production budget of approximately $38 million the film looks even cheaper then that with the bad CGI. The film has good production design as the city of Ember is crafted with great care and a distinctive look but besides the weak screenplay the great supporting cast is given little to nothing to do in the film, which includes Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Toby Jones, and Martin Landau. The leads Treadway and Ronan actually do a good job in the mediocre film and will help younger audiences enjoy the film but this still won’t erase the fact that CITY OF EMBER just isn’t all that good of a film.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment