City of Ember (Gil Kenan, 2008)

A community have spent generations, for reasons unspecified, hermetically sealed in an underground city. When the generator that is the source of their only light and power begins to fail, a plucky girl and boy start seeking the reason for their confinement and then for a way out.
City of Ember is a somewhat odd mix of the shell of a dark sci-fi concept, echoing the bleaker than bleak THX 1138, stuffed with a children's film's content, including the impossible perkiness of Saoirse Ronan as the  lead. The strong veteran supporting cast, including Bill Murray, Tim Robbins and Martin Landau, seductively offers a counterbalance, and the impressive steampunk set and costume design, redolent of The City of Lost Children, catches the eye, but in essence this is just Harry Potter-lite, with too little to call its own.

4/10