Movie Review: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"

Seen on: July 8, 2010

The players: Director: Jon Turteltaub, Writers: Matt Lopez, Doug Miro, Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer

Facts of interest: Turteltaub also directed "National Treasure."

The plot: Cage plays a sorcerer who must train a young nerd (Baruchel) so he can use magic to defeat the world's most dangerous sorceress.

Our thoughts: Wearing long hair and a threatening black coat, Nicolas Cage runs around as a master magician in Jon Turteltaub’s new Walt Disney action adventure “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” a film that boasts solid production values but lacks the decent script that could’ve turned it into a cool big-screen experience. Instead, this chaotic movie qualifies only as a mediocre effort to entertain audiences.

Cage is Balthazar Black, a talented magician who’s struggling to protect humanity from his ruthless arch-nemesis Horvath (Alfred Molina), an evil man who’s been trying to release and empower Morgana (Alice Krige), the world’s most dangerous sorceress. Once released from her imprisoned state, Morgana will destroy Earth, so it’s up to Balthazar to stop Horvath before it’s too late.

Here’s the problem though: Balthazar isn’t strong enough to defeat Morgana, and the only one capable of doing so is Dave (Jay Baruchel) a young New York nerd who involuntarily becomes Balthazar’s apprentice. With time running out, Dave must learn all the basics of magic so he can take on evil when it’s time to play hero and save humanity. As expected, this is easier said than done…

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” delivers solid big-screen entertainment as long as Dave and Balthazar are involved in loud battles and chases, but every time the action dies down for a while, the film suffers from terribly cheesy dialogue and an unfortunate lack of character development, making Disney’s new magic adventure a messy blockbuster in need of a much better script.

Nicolas Cage is definitely the right guy for the eccentric role of Balthazar, and he and Baruchel do share a handful of moments that even got this reviewer to smile for a second. Most of the time though, the two spend valuable screen time chatting about things nobody really cares about (i.e. Dave’s affection for a chick (Teresa Palmer) he digs), and that’s where “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” falls short.

You see, the film tries to tell a complex story, but when all is said and done, we quickly realize that much of the backstory as well as most of the talking throughout the movie didn’t really have a big purpose. Even though the film is not a slow-moving experience, its sloppy plot and often awkward editing don’t leave much room for a proper flow. It’s a shame, because the concept certainly had potential.

None of what we get to see here is magical, but I admit some of the big action sequences were shot interestingly enough to create a little bit of suspense here and there. The movie is filled with original sets and decent visuals, and those alone will capture at least the attention of the younger cinemagoers. We’re also hit with countless attempts at humor, but to tell you the truth, none of them got to me.

Baruchel does what he always does in a comic role, but it works less here than in, let’s say, his previous film “She’s Out of My League.” Molina plays a so-so villain, and the appearances by Teresa Palmer and Monica Bellucci are wasted. Eventually, it’s Nic Cage who hold this film together, and I admit Disney made the right choice in picking him. Luckily enough, Balthazar keeps things interesting enough throughout.

Freaky quote: "Well, today's your lucky day 'cause I brought an eagle." - Nicolas Cage

The final word: “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” has its moments, but all in all, it failed to impress me. A film like this one presents endless opportunities to be creative and create something truly magical, but it seems the screenwriters only tried up to a certain point. “Apprentice” lacks punch, and not even magic can help overshadow its weaknesses. Go see “Inception” instead. Now that’s a film that will blow your mind!

Article by Franck Tabouring