The Sorcerer's Apprentice

You don't even need to be told when you'r watching a Jerry Bruckheimer film anymore, do you? They all look, sound, feel the same. Huge, splashy action that never seems to settle long enough for you to take stock of how incoherent the whole thing is. That can be a real problem when the pacing and action aren't up to par enough to keep us distracted, like in his last film The Prince of Persia. Throw in director Jon Turtletaub, add Nicolas Cage, and what you've got is National Treasure with lightning bolts and dancing broomsticks. It's often fun, sometimes hilarious, high energy flick that you'll enjoy then won't think about again until the sequel rolls around.

I'll be the first to admit that the only thing I remember about Fantasia is Mickey Mouse with a pointy hat. In some small, inconceivable way The Sorcerer's Apprentice is based on that film. Other than one scene featuring out of control cleaning utensils this movie has about as much to do with Fantasia as I do with the Queen of England. As with all Bruckheimer films, a metric ton of exposition kicks things off, detailing the story of famed wizard Merlin's three disciples: Balthazar(Cage), Veronica(Monica Bellucci), and Maxim Horvath(Alfred Molina) who's name alone should tell you that he's up to no good.  Jealous over the love between Veronica and Balthazar, Maxim betrays them all to Morgana(the Borg queen, I mean Alice Krige) who has plans to rule the world. In the midst of their battle, Merlin is killed, and Veronica becomes trapped in a prison with Morgana.

Enter the year 2000, and Balthazar's mission is to find the next descendent of Merlin, for he is the only one who can stop Maxim's plot to free Morgana. He finds this unlikely savior in the form of Dave Stutler(Jay Baruchel), playing essentially the same guy he played in She's Out of My League. He's dorky, pretty average, and severely awkward around women. The only things he wants are to spend time with his beloved Tesla coils, and to win the heart of Becky(Teresa Palmer), the girl he's been in love with since childhood. Becoming apprentice to a mercurial wizard and saving the world doesn't exactly fit into his plans. 

That might be the biggest problem I had, in that Dave doesn't really seem all that concerned about the impending end of the world, and so it's pretty hard for anyone else to get invested in it either. The script, written by a cast of thousands, can't seem to find the right balance. It leans heavily on establishing the relationship between Dave and Becky, and those scenes are genuinely good. Baruchel does quirky charm better than almost anybody, and watching him court yet another girl way too hot for him is a lot of fun, even it gets a little sappy with his musical Tesla coil routine. It's no Say Anything moment, believe me. The side effect is that there's practically no time given to Dave's training. I can't believe I'm going to write this but darnit I wanted a montage! I need a montage!

It's actually a shame because the biggest thrills come from the creative use of magic being employed. Not necessarily in combat, where all they really do is throw orbs of mysterious energy at eachother, but during the high octane action sequences where they use their powers to literally transform the world around them. Those scenes really pop, in particualar a blazing car chase in a world that runs in reverse. I don't consider Bruckheimer films to be great special effects extravaganzas, but they really fly off the screen here.

Maybe it's because this entire production was basically his idea, but Nicolas Cage really seems to be having a good time. This is the good, sorta crazy and off-center Cage. The best kind. The only problem is that he's not given nearly enough to do. This is completely a Jay Baruchel show. The same can be said for Alfred Molina, so brilliant at playing really bad guys. I have a feeling a lot of his role was left on the cutting room floor alongside a number of other characters who show up for brief glimpses then suddenly disappear. The choppy script is mostly a mess, leaving it up the actors to salvage it.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice turned out to be exactly what I expected. It's one big overproduced diversion, and you'll probably walk away entertained. You might wonder if some wizard hit you with an amnesia spell trying to remember what it was about in a few months.