MovieChat Forums > City of Ember (2008) Discussion > No wonder the generator was breaking dow...

No wonder the generator was breaking down.

posted 15 years ago by ramses_22
11 replies | jump to latest

THE WHOLE INSIDE OF IT WAS LOCKED AWAY!!!

Probably the dumbest thing about this movie. The builders made a generator which kept the city alive yet they locked the door so nobody could get inside to fix it.

Also I found it funny that the "mechanism" to start the lifeboats coming out was big wheel sitting out in the open. If the builders wanted people to stay down there for 200 years then why did they put the gear to start the evacuation process out in the open for anyone to turn. It's amazing that in such a long time nobody ever bothered to turn it.

[–] blaircam 15 years ago

What - turn THAT wheel? That's not my job!

[–] grimmace60 15 years ago

I thought it odd that, as they escaped in the boat, they went DOWN a subterranean river DOWN a waterfall, DOWN a 'theme park' chute anding up DOWN in a lake but emerged on the surface near a hole that was hundreds of feet ABOVE where they started...did I miss something?
Also, how in all those years, did no-one ever notice the hole of light in the ceiling, especially when the lights went off?
And why didn't that hole let in whatever killed the rest of humanity??
OK, I'll stop now

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jarn2004 14 years ago

you missed them walking up the long winding steps to the surface......... and the whole wasnt that large..... from the city you wouldnt be able to figure out what it was.

[–] jaf-14 14 years ago

Given the technical abilities of the resident technicians, locking the inside of the generator away was probably the smartest thing the builders could have done.

[–] vct33 14 years ago

Also I found it funny that the "mechanism" to start the lifeboats coming out was big wheel sitting out in the open. If the builders wanted people to stay down there for 200 years then why did they put the gear to start the evacuation process out in the open for anyone to turn. It's amazing that in such a long time nobody ever bothered to turn it.

The evacuation process in the book was much, much better. I have no idea why they were compelled to change it.

My rhymes are so potent that in this small segment I made all of the ladies on IMDb pregnant.

[–] Kelli_Xiongstyle 14 years ago

Why the hell would they choose such a dangerous evacuation process? The boat could've hit those walls and those kids would've died. Great way to escape... hitting jagged rocks on your way down a water chute. Also, that boat didn't look very comfortable and it was ridiculous that it landed on the water perfectly each time as it was thrown in the air. It must've hurt something crazy to land like that. And, where did that right tunnel lead in the water passage since they turned left?

And why were those bugs ginormous? At first I thought they were little people... but then it was only in their normal-sized that those bugs were huge.

Pervert!

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Krissd-162-619455 9 years ago

Agreed.. Had they just put a big steel door hidden in the dark but once 200 years were up, it would get illuminated by big lights and the door would open or at least be easy to open. In the book they take a flight of stairs that goes on for serveral hours. That would have been a FAR easier way to get out. Less risky and made it possible to get back to get supplies needed to build a new world.

[–] deimos-13 14 years ago

I think the generator itself was more than just an electric generator.

I think the water wheels were what provided the electricity

If you remember that scene when the water wheel is put onto full thrust, there's a massive surge of power which starts to blow up the lights in the city.

And the main building was probably for pumping water (hot/cold) and provided heating for the city buildings.

[–] bluerisk 10 years ago

The generator was designed for 200 years, and it served this 200 years quite well. What they (the builder) missed was that people can suddenly die and thus the line of caretaker for the box was broken.

But the lack of technology and higher education was bothering me more.
And while there was given a reason why they kept them in the dark, there should have been a sort of hidden libary with the entire human knowledged (including history).

Ich bin kein ausgeklügelt Buch, ich bin ein Mensch mit seinem Widerspruch.
Conrad Ferdinand Meyer