City of Ember

 I think this film contained some real quality, and developed profound imagery, but without really garnering the charisma necessary to make it shine. I want to blame the book, and ultimately the author, but since I haven't read it (sorry) I'll keep my finger pointed squarely at the film.

I think the idea of a tiny city buried for two hundred years away from some nameless apocalypse sounds fascinating and full of Dickensian potential, but I don't think that the characters inside this city really shone. I think the people were much too realistic (and yet culturally disproportionate) for the idea.

I felt a little moved by the idea of the ancient machinery with a hidden purpose. I felt the slightly religious overtones, and generally approved. It felt exciting to see that particular revelation, although some of the ironic tension caused by an early introduction of the countdown box could have been a little frustrating, or counter-productive. It felt a little like being shown the Statue of Liberty in the opening scenes of Planet of the Apes, and then waiting an hour and a half for the characters to catch up. Wouldn't it have been so much cooler if the audience could have at least briefly imagined a world in total darkness, even if they didn't believe in it? Isn't that what fiction is supposed to do? Even people who didn't believe The Village was as distant as the movie proclaimed still had a few moments to see things as the villagers would have.

Tragically, the profundity of the final scenes only reveals itself in retrospect. In those few moments when the three children despair and sleep, the audience, again with the dramatic irony, knows that they just have to wait for the sun to rise. But the audience has not been fully prepared for the depth of this particular image, so it comes across more like a motif along with other darkness and light references making the experience of watching the film somewhat less immediate.

The acting left little to complain about, except perhaps a few moments when Bill Murray's natural humor alleviated necessary tension. The movie itself did not contain enough time for complete explanations, and instead left some unsightly holes in the movie's internal coherence. I'd have to read the book to fix them, I assume.