'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' review

Nicolas Cage (Credit: Abbot Genser/Disney)

'Inception' review

The movie of the summer arrives—and it's a dream

Clumsy young Dave accidentally releases age-old wizarding enemies Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) and Horvath (Alfred Molina) from an eternal prison, and witnesses their epic duel before Balthazar traps both his nemesis and himself again with a 10-year spell. A decade and numerous therapy sessions later, Dave (Jay Baruchel) is an aspiring physics guru at New York University, nursing a crush on longtime sweetheart Becky (Teresa Palmer). That’s when Balthazar comes back into his life to teach Dave the ways of plasma balls and fire bombs, imparting the kind of ego boost that empowers this nerdy nobody to save the day and win the girl.

The buzz: While the source material is dubious—unwisely messing with a beloved Mickey Mouse vignette from “Fantasia” that should never be touched—the caliber of the talent assembled might ease the concern. Cage has been on a roll as of late, with his diabolical detective in “Bad Lieutenant” and his homicidal daddy in “Kick-Ass,” and he turns Balthazar into a twitchy, aloof, Merlin-esque loner. Baruchel, meanwhile, best known for supporting stints in “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” “Tropic Thunder” and “Knocked Up,” gets his moment in the spotlight. “Apprentice” is also a reunion for Cage, director Jon Turteltaub and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who collaborated on the successful “National Treasure” films.

The verdict: At least commend “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” for living up to its title. The most effective sequences here are those of seasoned pro Balthazar encouraging panicky amateur Dave to abandon his training wheels. What hasn’t quite made the advertisements—and should never have made it beyond the editing room—is the flimsy romantic subplot, which takes an effervescent Palmer and leaves her fumbling for the right emotions. Baruchel and Palmer’s tepid flirtations simply don’t add up to a believable pair. The movie sets up a compelling magic triangle, between the noble Balthazar, nefarious Horvath and newbie Dave, only to waste our time on college romance over wizardly training sessions. It’s painful to watch Dave follow Mickey Mouse’s lead and conjure dancing mops to clean up his workshop in advance of a date with Becky—all after asking Balthazar to step outside so he can get his groove on. We came for the sorcery, but it turns out the apprentice is too busy looking to hook up. The few magical duels have some impressive weight and electricity, particularly during a Chinese New Year parade where teacher and student take their powers to the streets. But “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is a peculiar case of a messy blockbuster that would work much, much better as a 45-minute affair.

Did you know? Numerous production mishaps plagued the film when it was being shot in New York City—leading more than one city newspaper to question whether the production might be cursed. Two automobile incidents occurred near Times Square—the first when a Ferrari plowed into a pizza shop, striking two bystanders, and the second when an SUV swerved to avoid a cab and careened into nine crew members.

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