Jay Baruchel is Hollywood's affable geek du jour, having plied his unique trade recently in the animated blockbuster How to Train Your Dragon and the considerably less successful rom-com She's Out of My League. His gangly frame, twitchy visage, and nasal drone make him perfect for movies in which awkward, self-effacing underdogs triumph against enormous odds to achieve great feats, like saving a Viking tribe from certain destruction or getting laid by a really, really hot blonde chick.
Movies like The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a live-action CGI-fest directed by Jon Turteltaub (the National Treasure films) and inspired by a famous sequence from Fantasia, Walt Disney's groundbreaking collection of animated shorts. Fantasia debuted in 1940, long before Disney subleased its animation work to Pixar and ''Fantasia'' became more commonly known as a popular name among exotic dancers. My, how things have changed.
Baruchel plays Dave, a hapless NYU physics nerd unwittingly cast into the middle of a centuries-long good-versus-evil battle between powerful sorcerers who wield an infinite array of supernatural powers. Representing the good guys is Balthazar (Nicolas Cage), a wide-eyed eccentric whose all-black goth-pimp ensemble draws nary a suspicious glance on the eclectic streets of Manhattan. Dave, it turns out, is no ordinary college student but the Prime Merliner, which sounds like an underwater number divisible by only one and itself, but in actuality is a sort of wizard messiah destined to rid the world from the likes of the sinister Horvath (Alfred Molina) and his imprisoned overlord, Morgana (Alice Krige). That is, if he can take time off from his bumbling courtship of a pretty co-ed (Teresa Palmer) to actually learn the tricks of the sorcerer's trade.
"Disposable" and "formulaic" are terms commonly applied to both of Turteltaub's National Treasure collaborations with Cage, but I submit that those films are at least fun, if ultimately forgettable. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is far less fun and far more forgettable, its formula followed so perfunctorily that it ultimately comes off as an elaborate exercise in corporate cynicism, one unlikely to inspire the string of sequels it so transparently hopes to conjure. Which is a shame, because the film shows intermittent signs of promise, and Cage, despite his distracting perm, is oddly charming as a sort of desperate weirdo.
Hollywood.com rated this film 2 stars.
Network Reviews
Nice Escape 
Posted by: kherbert33 | 8/24/2010 8:40:26 AM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Very entertaining film from start to finish. Nice escape into fantasy world. It did the job of making everything else disappear for a couple of hours. Worth seeing.
Good Movie 
Posted by: cjlevan | 8/23/2010 12:15:24 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
I took my son and grandson, both 13, to this movie and they loved it. I felt it was good for this age group but not something I would see on my own.
good entertainment 
Posted by: matrix60 | 8/17/2010 9:37:50 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
Just a good summer film to see. Light weight film. Nice special effects.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice 
Posted by: Lyndagk2000 | 8/13/2010 8:36:17 PM
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
This movie was awful. Slow, silly, bad acting. I could hardly wait to the end. The choice of Jay Baruchel who played the apprentice was really off. Don't even watch it on DVD. Wait till it is on TV.
!!!!Shaa Bang!!!! 
Posted by: rawvibes | 7/16/2010 8:01:33 AM
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
Definetely Jerry Bruckheimer is the cash cow of our generation. This is a Great summer film. A little wierd since Nicolas Cage is the apprentice, yet he has Jay Baruchel as a apprentice too. Thats if were going from the Disneys cartoon version. Loved it targeted for ages 14-22 but great for all. PLEASE STAY UNTIL THE END CREDITS TO SEE WHATS NEXT FOR THIS FRANCHISE. OOPS DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD
twitter: rawvibes
