The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The next Pirates of the Caribbean film doesn't come out for another year, so Disney Studios and fammed movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer have teamed up once again to fill that gap with another goofy action film. Only this time around, it's Nicholas Cage's turn to take the lead roll.

This movie follows the life of our hero, Dave ( apparently not having a last name is the latest fad in New York City ), from a very young age, starting from his first encounter with Balthazar ( Cage ) in his antique shop. After revealing to Dave that he is the "chosen one", Dave accidentally releases the evil Horvath ( Alfred Molina)  from a magical imprisonment, inevitably engaging Balthazar in imortal combat. Balthazar then imprisons himself, along with Horvath, in a ten-year prison so as to buy the world time. Of course when the ten years are up, the two enemies are released and end up finding their ways back into Dave's somewhat normal life. Now Dave must master the art of sorcery if he wishes to save the world from complete annihilation.

Well, it ain't no Harry Potter or Narnia movie, but The Socerer's Apprentice has enough magic and action to make the recent Percy Jackson film look  like it's an unoriginal, unentertainning adaptation of a teen fantasy novel ( like that's so hard to do ). There is constantly some sort of magic spell being cast in this movie and most of that magic is being used in such a way that it enhances the entertainment value of the action sequences, thus making this film more fun.

This film has a cast of great actors that will definitely draw the attention of people who wouldn't otherwise care for a movie like this. Among them are Jay Baruchel, no doubtedly rounding up the younger audience, the very talented Alfred Molina, drawing in all those Spider-Man 2 fans, and the great Nicholas Cage, whom everybody loves. Everybody in this movie can act ( with the exception of the kid who played the young Dave, who was obviously hired only because he looks like a young Jay Baruchel ) and Molina does a good bad guy, but it is Nicholas Cage who really shines in this one.  Cage brings himself into this film, making us laugh, cry, and laugh again in the way that only he can deliver.

The direction in  this film is was interesting and none of the camerawork was too distracting. Most of the action sequences were not filled with quick cuts, which was a relief because I could actually tell what was going on for the most part. The script was funny and it added to the overall goofball atmosphere of the movie; however, the love-dovey sequences in this film were boring and started ocurring too often which dragged the movie along in some parts.

The beginning narrative that gave the background story of Balthazar and the rest of the Merlinians was awkward and did not feel like it fit in with the rest of the movie; it was cliché and does not serve as a formitable attention grabber. The beginning of this film with the young Dave is also boring and it doesn't pick up until Cage's character  is finally introduced ( which is luckily only ten to fifteen minutes into the movie ) and the ending is unsasisfactory to the rest of the movie.

Overall, The Socerer's Apprentice is a fun film that survives on Cage's comedic skills, love for its characters, and great pop culture refrences including Star Wars and Magic the Gathering.

See this film.