Features > Movie Reviews > The Sorcerer's Apprentice…

That’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in a nutshell – in fact Merlin has a bit part here in the woefully clumsy prologue. The duel lasts all movie, off and on, and it is fought by Balthazar Blake (Nic Cage), himself an apprentice of the great wizard, and Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina), another acolyte of Merlin’s who turned instead to the wicked Morgana Le Fey.

As for Wart, his place is taken by Dave (Jay Baruchel), a dweeby New Yorker whose sharp scientific mind is thrown for a loop by an early encounter with these warring wizards – a figment of his overactive imagination, according to his therapist.

Dave is important because he may be the “prime Merlinian”,  Merlin’s rightful heir, and the only one capable of stopping Morgana from destroying the planet, should she ever be freed from her imprisonment.

Not entirely impressed with this unexpected responsibility, Dave is naturally skeptical of Balthazar’s entreaties, and much more interested in pretty college student Becky (Teresa Palmer). That is, until Maxim starts throwing his weight about.
This being a Jerry Bruckheimer production, there is no stinting on the effects budget. Cage gets around town on an eagle he’s liberated from the structure of the Chrysler Building, while Molina brings a Chinatown dragon to life.

Truth is, the CGI is a bit of a distraction. These guys don’t really need all the flash – they’d be entertaining in any context. RocknRolla star Toby Kebbell is also lively as a showbiz magician who signs on to bad guys’ team, while Baruchel makes the most of his not very inspired lines.

And that’s the problem with the movie. The script is a mess. It’s not that there aren’t some fun ideas, but they scarcely hang together. At one point Dave recreates the famous Mickey Mouse scene from Fantasia, cleaning up his laboratory with the help of some over-enthusiastic mops – but the setting itself is so outlandishly beyond the means of any college student, the magic is the least unbelievable aspect of the scene.

It’s obvious that Disney would like this to have been an Americanised Harry Potter to take over when that franchise shortly runs out of legs. Directed by Jon Turteltaub (reunited with his National Treasure star), the film is brash and hectic, but devoid of the charm that works wonders for Harry. And initial box office in the US has been poor: $57 million after three weeks on release, against an estimated budget of $150 million.

Coming so soon after the same producer’s equally overblown, undercooked Prince of Persia, it leaves you wondering if the days for this kind of CGI-led spectacle might be numbered. For all its digital wizardry, the movie can’t shake a nagging sense of déjà-vu. Ten year olds will lap it up, but I wouldn’t be too confident about their older siblings.