“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (2010)
Rating: 
Well, the critics finally got one right. This isn’t a bad movie, but it could have been so much more. The first sign of trouble is that the opening 5 or 6 minutes is a voice-over of the lead-in to the story. That rarely bodes well. Sure, this is a PG Disney flick, but the average teenager grew up on TV and can assimilate a back-story pretty well through even the crudest of flashbacks.
OK, so the story is that Cage is one of Merlin’s original apprentices and there’s a wicked witch sorceress who wants to destroy the world with an army of the undead and it’s been going on for 1000′s of years and all that time Cage has been looking for the person who could wear Merlin’s ring and take up the quest. The present-day “hero” is a physics nerd at NYU who’s into Tesla Coils … and he’s still in love with the girl he knew ten years ago in grade school. Yeah. Sounds familiar.
What’s good about this picture? Well, the explanation of sorcery is actually pretty spot-on based on current theories of metaphysics and quantum mechanics. So the foundation is kind of there. The production values are great, which you’d expect from Disney. And the special effects are not over-the-top. The actor who plays the kid is OK in the role – not great, but I’ve certainly seen much worse.
What’s bad about the picture? Cage is completely watered down. Here’s an actor capable of really grabbing the wackiest of characters and situations and making then charming and they didn’t let him run with this one. He’s almost boring. Alfred Molina (who plays the main bad guy) just isn’t very menacing – the evil glare doesn’t work. The love story is predictable and given the wrong amount of attention – it should have either been left out or given more attention. As it is, it’s kind of a distraction. And the whole “I’m gonna defeat the 1000-year-old sorceress with my science project” finale is … well … lame.
I’m not sure where to put the tie-in to the classic animated film “Fantasia”. Yeah, it’s kind of cute but I doubt most of the viewing audience grasps the reference. And where they tied in the older film’s music … well … the scene just lacks any sense of wonder or imagination. It falls flat.
Fortunately I saw this one on a Sunday morning to avoid this week’s LA heat wave, so it only cost $8. Which is still about twice what it’s worth.
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