When a film boasts a cast list comprised of some of the most talented Hollywood actors in Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, and Toby Jones, not to mention newcomer and extraordinary talent Saoirse Ronan, it will most likely go one of two ways: Either the film deserves such a fine cast and will be a great film (take 'The Departed' (2006) for example) . . . or the cast is set in a subpar piece to make up for the film's lesser elements (like 'Valentine's Day' (2010)). Luckily, 'City of Ember' falls in closer with the former instead of the latter.<br /><br />The film, adapted from the novel by Jeanne Duprau, tells the story of a small city named Ember that, over two hundred years prior, was locked away by the city's founding builders. The city is run solely on the power of its massive generator that lies beneath like a beating heart. However, the old generator is slowly falling apart, casting the city into short periods of darkness. Doon Harrow (Harry Treadway), a young boy recently assigned to work on the pipes of the city, is convinced that only he can fix the generator and help the city. During his explorations of the piping systems, he finds a mysterious room that is unmarked on his maps. With the help of Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan), the two teens discover the secrets of Ember and the answers that may help save the townspeople from eternal darkness.<br /><br />When 'City of Ember' was released into theatres, it seemed to have gone by the attention of most people without much notice. With a production budget of over $50 million, the film only raked in about $8 million domestically. But, why was this film such a tremendous bomb? From the looks of it, it had little to do with the film's quality. It has a very solid cast behind it, the story is entertaining, kids movies at this level typically do well, and the trailers made it look to be very beautiful (which it was). It would seem, then, that the film was simply just undermarketed. Very little attention was given by the marketing team for this one and that's what killed it.<br /><br />Had 'City of Ember' been given a proper marketing campaign, it could've been very successful. The film is really quite good. The acting, as expected, is fantastic. The cast of legends like Bill Murray & Martin Landau were fantastically chosen; and, the 'Lovely Bones' star Saoirse Ronan is quickly becoming one of the best actors of her age group, not to mention a definite for a few Oscars in her lifetime. The story is very entertaining, even if it isn't the most original or mysterious. The set design, however, is really what sets the film apart. Ember is built into a fantastic and beautiful city, from the underground and above. One issue that many seem to have deals with the CGI effects in the film, especially some of the scenes towards the end. While some of the CGI is spotty, it's hardly distracting enough to remove from the overall beauty of the film and no one should allow such small issues to detract wholly from an overall good film.<br /><br />While book purists appear not to love the film for the oversimplification of the adaptation, those who have not read Duprau's novel should have a good time with it.<br /><br />Final Verdict: 8/10.<br /><br />-AP3-