THE SORCERER'S APPENTICE

Starring:
Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Monica Bellucci, Teresa Palmer, Toby Kebbell, Omar Benson Miller, Alice Krige, James A. Stephens and Alfred Molina

Director:
Jon Turteltaub

Running Time:
111 mins

Out to buy on Blu-Ray/DVD 06/12/10

"You will not control your magic if you will not control yourself."

Over a thousand years ago, Merlin (Stephens) was killed by Morgana le Fay (Krige) but before she could use Merlin’s magic to resurrect the dead evil sorcerers to form an army, Merlin’s apprentices Balthazar (Cage) and Veronica (Bellucci) manage to trap her in a grimhold prison but Veronica has to sacrifice herself for the spell to succeed. For over a millennia, Balthazar travels the world looking for the Prime Merlinian, the true successor to Merlin and the only sorcerer who can defeat Morgana but to no avail until he meets 10-year-old Dave Stutler in New York. Merlin’s dragon ring reveals that Dave is Prime Merlinian but before Balthazar can help Dave achieve his destiny, Morgana’s follower Horvarth (Molina) attacks. As the two wizards fight, Dave escapes and for ten years thinks it was all a hallucination but when Balthazar returns, Dave has to face the fact that he will have to become the sorcerer’s apprentice.

Magic is back at the box office but can any other film but can one that isn’t about a boy wizard who lived cast a spell over an audience?

Director Jon Turteltaub and Nicholas Cage have enjoyed success collaborating to find ‘National Treasures’ and now with the help of their long-term uber-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, they take us into a world of magic that exists outside of Hogwarts. Bruckheimer and his team are also no strangers to taking what most people think could be too small of a premise to be a feature film, for a example an old pirate ride from Disneyland, but now we have the influence of a beloved scene from one of the great animated films, ‘Fantasia’.

The story of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ is one that plays on classic magical folklore, taking us back to the time of Merlin and his battle against his archenemy Morgana le Fay. Here we discover that the great wizard had three apprentices Balthazar, Veronica and Horvarth, all been trained in magic to become the new guardians of magic but the final battle between Merlin and Morgana sees Horvarth reveal his allegiance with the witch and his hunger for power. As Merlin falls, Balthazar and Veronica are forced to conjure a powerful spell that traps Morgana in a grimhold prison but Veronica has to sacrifice herself for the prison to hold. With only Balthazar and Horvarth left, the pair has to travel the world looking for the Prime Merlinian, a descendant of the Great Wizard with the potential power to keep the world safe or open the grimhold to release Morgana to destroy the world. Of course, this moves the premise to modern times and introduces a character that you would have never thought would be the Merlinian, in the shape of geeky science student Dave Stutler. A grand premise indeed but the problem is that for all the magic and myth needed that little bit of extra development to make this really great instead of just a bit of fun.

As you would expect from a Jerry Bruckheimer production, ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ is filled with headline actors having fun with their roles. Jay Baruchel is becoming a real star after enjoying a string of supporting roles in hit movies like ‘Knocked Up’, ‘Tropic Thunder’ and ‘Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist’. After ‘She’s Out of My League’ and providing the lead voice on ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, he is a star to watch and as geeky, scientist turned magical apprentice Dave, he brings a little fun to the role. Australian actress Teresa Palmer continues to make a splash as love interest Becky. British actor Toby Kebbell collaborates with Bruckheimer again after ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’, as Drake Stone, an evil but funny apprentice. There is also good support from the beautiful Monica Bellucci and the always-excellent Alice Krige.

The two key players, of course, are Nicolas Cage and Alfred Molina. Both Bruckheimer veterans, they are the good and evil of the show, the hero and villain who battle for control of Dave and this emerging ability. Of course, Nicolas Cage dons a new hairstyle but this is a mentor role that he seems to be enjoying playing, as he did mentoring Hit-Girl in ‘Kick-Ass’. Alfred Molina is always a joy to watch but as a villain he just excels and as Horvarth, this statement is very true.

With excellent visual effects and a cast that are having fun with their roles, ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ is a jolly, magical romp that falls short of been a classic of the genre. With more character development and a little better script, this could have been much more than a movie based around a sequence from ‘Fantasia’. This aside there is plenty of magic to enjoy and another reason to enter the magic movie circle again.

DVD & Blu-ray Bonus Features:

DVD only:

The Making of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Deleted Scenes: Balthazar Recruits Dave

Blu-ray only:

Deleted Scenes: A Candidate in Calcutta, A Model Student, Balthazar Recruits Dave, Oh No – It’s Andre and Man’s Best Friend
Outtakes
Mini Documentaries: Making Magic Real, Fantasia: Reinventing A Classic, The Science of Sorcery, Magic in the City
Featurettes: The Fashionable Drake Stone, The Grimhold: An Evil Work of Art, The Encantus, Wolves and Puppies and The World’s Coolest Car


The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2010