Movie Review - 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Starring Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Alfred Molina Directed by Jon Turtletaub Rated PG

If they must be used at all, there should be a time limit on opening narration in films. Isn't that why movies have characters, to tell their own story? The Sorcerer's Apprentice clumsily uses the device to not only tell you the history of Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) and Hovrath (Alfred Molina), but it's the same history those characters also get into as the film goes on. A complete waste of time. That's a microcosm of the film's problems, as it turns out. Sorcerer's Apprentice has great effects, two solid performances by Cage and Molina, and kind of an interesting premise but there are just time killers all over the place. The premier offender is Jay Baruchel, or more specifically, his geeky physics student character, Dave. He is The Chosen One, the greatest mage to never grow out a waist- length beard or don one of those pointy hats with a crescent moon stitched into it. He is the Prime Merlinian, as the audience is told by that ridiculous narration, and as Dave himself is told throughout the events of the film. What's the significance of being the Prime Merlinian? It means that he's essentially the second coming of Merlin. Both Balthazar and Hovrath apprenticed under the great Merlin, as both the characters and that annoying narration state. The reason they've lived 1,000 years is because the Prime Merlinian must be found in order to destroy the evil Morgana, who has been trapped inside a nesting doll since she killed the great sorcerer, and the only one who can rid the world of her once and for all is...Dave. That can not be encouraging to mankind. See, Dave, in classic Disney hero fashion, isn't even much of a physics whiz. He struggles with his project involving Tesla coils - nothing like striking out on your own to tackle 120-year-old technology - so sorcery is a whole other animal. And he's coming upon at it the wrong time: Just when all this saving the world stuff smacks Dave in the face, he's reunited with this childhood crush, the transfixing but almost totally unnecessary Teresa Palmer. A physics nerd, trying to get a handle on wizardry, simply does not need to fall all over himself over a girl. There is a brief homage to the original Sorcerer's Apprentice, one of the most memorable pieces of animated film ever created, from Disney's Fantasia. And as reinventions go, well, this isn't very good, at least not for very many minutes in a row, but it's at least a commendable effort that an attempt has been made to borrow the concept than steal it outright. It's a straight-ahead family action movie, or it should be, minus the many distractions. Because of those peripheral elements, The Sorcerer's Apprentice never really stays airborne for long. There are only two or three scenes that are anything special, although it must be said that more careful attention is paid to the effects than The Last Airbender, which strangely enough, incorporated many similar CGI tricks. But effects are never reason enough to watch anything, so here, they're only in the service of an average movie. However, if there were no Baruchel, and the thrust of the story were Cage versus Molina waging a centuries-old battle in modern day Manhattan, it might actually be something. Of course, then it wouldn't be The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and that's ki

Comments

[Ronald Redito]

My girlfriend and I went to the cinema hoping to see the last airbender but it was not showing yet so we had no choice but to see this film!

I have read so many negative feedbacks about Nicolas Cage's performance. I was disappointed. Really!

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