City of Ember DVD: Review By B. Alan Orange

It's strange to watch trends play out in Hollywood. Not so long ago, producers were sweeping up the rights to every Asian horror movie they could find. Some of the American adaptations were decent, but most failed to live up to their ancestral score card. Right before the writer's strike, the film industry followed up the success of both the Lord of the Rings and the Narnia franchises by grabbing the rights to every kid's book they could find. Some of these screen revisions have been somewhat decent. And a lot of them have been bunkish. Simply put, most have slipped and slid out of the Cineplex before they ever had a chance to attract an audience. City of Embers was one of those films. It was unmercifully dumped onto screens last October for all of about seven minutes. I don't recall it playing near my house, and I never once saw a trailer for the darn thing. Which is too bad, because the film proves itself worthy of its literary roots in those very important first five minutes. Though a tad short at just an hour and a half, director Gil Kenan is able to capture the right atmosphere and energy needed to make this charming, quaint tale come to life. It's not bombastic or flighty. And your kids may need to have a bit more patience with it. At its heart, it's really a fanciful adventure for adults. Though still being youngster friendly. The story takes place in the post-apocalyptic world of Ember. Mankind is forced underground, and their secrets are hid in a briefcase with a two hundred year time lock. Two hundred years fly by, and the last remaining humans live and breathe by their flummoxing generator. If it goes out, the entire population will be plunged into darkness. There is also an impending food shortage. Basically, these guys are up shizzle creek with a broken paddle. Luckily, two young members of their community are concerned enough to do something proactive about it. Bill Mayor plays the lecherous Mayor of Ember, a man that has grown disenchanted with trying to preserve the human race. Every year, he heads down to the local square and doles out jobs to the teens that are ready for a lifetime of hard labor. Each and every occupation is important, because every member of society is needed to keep the place up and running efficiently. Doon pulls "messenger" out of Mayor Cole's satchel. And pretty, young Lina Mayfleet is designated a spot on the pipeline. Of course they switch jobs, and before you know it, the pair are trying to fix the city's generator. Secrets of a lost society are unlocked. Doon and Lina discover the Mayor is eating up the food supply, and they eventually find a way out of Ember. This all happens against a tight, economic narrative that doesn't allow for much character development outside of its two young leads. There are some interesting action scenes, a giant moth, and a crazy, creepy star-nosed mole that has grown eight times its original size. The quaint, quiet nature of the story might cause some children to grow bored, especially those accustomed to ADD cinema. But if they can sit tight, you, the adult, will enjoy this fun little fantasy thriller. Probably more than they will.

There aren't any. Which is too bad. A featurette on the making of Ember City would have been nice. An Interview with Bill Murray would have been cool, too. Heck, we don't even get a commentary from director Gil Kenan. And we know he ran into his fair share of problems while shooting the film in Ireland. There are three straight-to-video trailers. One for a new Garfield feature length cartoon. One for a crazy Louisiana ghost pirate meets cute alien yarn entitled Labou. And one for a really crappy CGI adventure called Angel Wars: The Messengers. At least the menu graphics look nice.

The film is often plunged into darkness, and the blacks are magnificent. Presented in the 2.35:1 aspect ration, this is a pretty grand transfer. The run time is 95 minutes.

The film is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital. As well as Spanish and French Dolby Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles.

The front cover image is pretty crappy. It tells me absolutely nothing about the film, except that I might be getting another lousy children's novel adaptation. And there is no indication that Tim Robbins and Bill Murray are in the film at all. The original "E" logo, which was pretty neat in conjunction with this film's theatrical release, has been ditched. I wouldn't rush to grab this one off a store shelf anytime soon.

City of Ember is a neat little action adventure that flows at its own rate of speed. Its not vying for that much needed kiddy audience, and that may have been its downfall at the theater. Some younger audience members might grow restless with its lack of sugarcoated energy, but older teens and adults will certainly get something out of it. Its one you will probably return to within a year's time. Definitely a buyer; not a renter.