REVIEW: ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’

Do you believe in magic?

Not of “pull a rabbit out of a hat” variety, but instead the “science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with the will” variety. I do. I even practiced it for a while when I was a younger man. These days, I’ve gotten a little long in the tooth, a little soft around the cauldron and my wand just isn’t what it used to be. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t an abundance of magic in my life. In fact, I like to think I am exceptionally attuned to the interconnectedness of the universe and its wonders. Disney, on the other hand could stand to go on a vision quest to find some magic or purpose for their latest, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”.

The film, based on the 1940 Fantasia short (based on Paul Dukas’ 1897 symphonic poem, which was based on the 1797 poem by Goethe) starts out by introducing us to the apprentices three to the great Merlin (of King Aurthur and Camelot fame). Turns out that Merlin and his crew were engaged in a magical war against the forces of darkness, led by the evil Morgana Le Fay (Alice Krige). It also turns out that one of Merlin’s apprentices, Horvath (Alfred Molina), has turned coat and joined with Le Fay. At battle’s end, Merlin is dead, Horvath escapes and Morgana is trapped inside a nesting doll along with Merlin’s second apprentice Veronica (Monica Bellucci). Merlin’s last apprentice, Balthazar (Nicolas Cage), is left to seek out Merlin’s heir, “The Prime Merlinian.” Centuries pass. Finally in 2000, Balthazar comes across ten-year old Dave Stutler. He’s nerdy, a little awkward and destined to save the world. Unfortunately, he also accidentally releases Horvath (who has also found his way into the nested doll), and after a brief battle, Horvath and Balthazar are trapped in another magical artifact.

Ten years later, we catch up with Dave. He’s now a physics major in college who’s put magic behind him. But Balthazar and Horvath have other ideas as they escape their prison and renew their battle for the fate of the world.

It sounds pretty good and quite honestly, it’s not the worst movie ever. It’s not even particularly bad. But it is your standard Disney homogenized fare. It’s a Main Street parade of standard feel good clichés. It doesn’t keep it entirely from being entertaining, but it’s nothing new or special. Nicolas Cage channels Nicolas Cage from any other heroic role he’s had (except for “Con Air” since he doesn’t affect a ridiculous southern accent) and, for all intents and purposes, that’s good enough. Jay Baruchel – last seen in “She’s Out of My League” – once again dorks it up as Dave, the reluctant sorcerer. It’s fair to say he does a great job at is since I found myself alternating from really liking him to wanting to punch him in the face repeatedly. Alfred Molina play Horvath with devilish aplomb and Alice Krige does well with the limited screen time she given. Also in the mix is Theresa Palmer (“Bedtime Stories”) as Dave’s love interest, Becky and Toby Kebbell (“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”) as a Morganian minion posing as a flashy stage magician.

Director Jon Turteltaub – once again teaming up with Cage since the “National Treasure” series – executes no fatal flaw and does the best he can, I imagine, with some pretty vanilla material. If I had any true complaint with the movie, it would be that it felt too simple to be a grown up movie, but it was not quite a kid’s movie, and it just lingered in the no-man’s land somewhere in between. In the end, you’re left with a Disney classic, updated and homogenized for modern audiences, leeched of any of the magic that made it special.