The Sorcerer's Apprentice (D or 1/4 stars)
'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', based on a 213 yr. old poem & the old Disney cartoon, and directed by Jon Turtletaub, is one. lame. movie. The best part of the entire movie is, perhaps, its opening 10 min. prologue; which tells of the fall of Merlin at the hand of Morgana (Alice Krige). Before dying, the wizard Merlin imparts his knowledge upon 3 disciples - Balthazar, Veronica, & Horvath (Nicolas Cage, Monica Bellucci, Alfred Molina). But Horvath, after being burned by Veronica for Balthazar, joins up with Morgana after she turns to the dark side. Balthazar captures & traps the spirits of Morgana & Horvath in a doll. BUT, Veronica becomes trapped inside, as well! From here on out, the story takes a nosedive.
100's of years pass. Sorcerer Balthazar is desperate to locate Merlin's successor. And he thinks he's found that successor in NYC with 9 yr. old Dave. 10 yrs. later, when Balthazar returns to him to teach him how to overcome confrontations with Horvath & Morgana, Dave (Jay Baruchel) is 19, & far more intrigued by Becky (Teresa Palmer) rather than magic. She's been the girl of his dreams since age 9; so learning magic (how to control fireballs & lightning) isn't at the top of his list. All that said, Horvath is unleashed from the doll, Morgana is planning to destroy the world (of course), & Dave must subdue his raging hormones to focus on stopping the forces of darkness. Is Dave the prophesied hero? Can this sorcerer's apprentice learn the requisite skills, get the girl, & save the world? Blah.
'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' is a mish-mash of the 'ole kid-discovers-he-has-magical-powers, learns-from-a-sage-master, & fulfils-destiny-by-defeating-dark-foes-and-saving-the-world story. You know ... sorta like Harry Potter. In other words, it's as cliche as they come. Aside from the stellar opening segment, the film descends into paint-by-numbers plotting until the overbearing, underwhelming, special-effects driven climax. 'Sorcerer's Apprentice' is one of the most bland, uninspired Disney actioners that I've seen in some time. Nothing about the production sings; not even the able actors (Cage, Alfred Molina, etc.). Furthermore, the movie is as predictable as the sun rising. Honest to God ... I basically predicted how each scene would end, & the trajectory of the story til the credits rolled. Lame. And in retrospect, the fact that there were no surprises onscreen is what annoyed me the most.
Now, when I take a step back & think about any memorable action scenes, characterizations, or dialogue ... again, I got nothin'. The flow of the movie went: relentless special effect, sitcom dialogue, car chase, rinse, & repeat. Jay Baruchel, Nic Cage, Alfred Molina, et al, did nothing to shed the archetypical roles they were given. None of them imbue any sense of personality into the character. The dialogue was obvious. Nothing was funny. The 'romance' component was tired (seen a variation of it in a million movies). And the visual effects? Wow. If there was an award for 'most' effects, this movie would win it (the frenetic CGI never stops). But as for best - the effects looked pretty putrid to me. I imagine some kids might find this film fun/amusing. Maybe some parents will find some charm buried beneath the glossy, fake surface. Not me. Nothing was wondrous. Nothing resonated. Where is the imagination in movies like this, anymore!?
When I think of the 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', I think of the iconic dancing brooms & mop scene with Mickey. Though there's an homage of that in this movie, it's treated so perfunctorily that it does the film a greater disservice, rather than enhancing its charm. Ugh.
100's of years pass. Sorcerer Balthazar is desperate to locate Merlin's successor. And he thinks he's found that successor in NYC with 9 yr. old Dave. 10 yrs. later, when Balthazar returns to him to teach him how to overcome confrontations with Horvath & Morgana, Dave (Jay Baruchel) is 19, & far more intrigued by Becky (Teresa Palmer) rather than magic. She's been the girl of his dreams since age 9; so learning magic (how to control fireballs & lightning) isn't at the top of his list. All that said, Horvath is unleashed from the doll, Morgana is planning to destroy the world (of course), & Dave must subdue his raging hormones to focus on stopping the forces of darkness. Is Dave the prophesied hero? Can this sorcerer's apprentice learn the requisite skills, get the girl, & save the world? Blah.
'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' is a mish-mash of the 'ole kid-discovers-he-has-magical-powers, learns-from-a-sage-master, & fulfils-destiny-by-defeating-dark-foes-and-saving-the-world story. You know ... sorta like Harry Potter. In other words, it's as cliche as they come. Aside from the stellar opening segment, the film descends into paint-by-numbers plotting until the overbearing, underwhelming, special-effects driven climax. 'Sorcerer's Apprentice' is one of the most bland, uninspired Disney actioners that I've seen in some time. Nothing about the production sings; not even the able actors (Cage, Alfred Molina, etc.). Furthermore, the movie is as predictable as the sun rising. Honest to God ... I basically predicted how each scene would end, & the trajectory of the story til the credits rolled. Lame. And in retrospect, the fact that there were no surprises onscreen is what annoyed me the most.
Now, when I take a step back & think about any memorable action scenes, characterizations, or dialogue ... again, I got nothin'. The flow of the movie went: relentless special effect, sitcom dialogue, car chase, rinse, & repeat. Jay Baruchel, Nic Cage, Alfred Molina, et al, did nothing to shed the archetypical roles they were given. None of them imbue any sense of personality into the character. The dialogue was obvious. Nothing was funny. The 'romance' component was tired (seen a variation of it in a million movies). And the visual effects? Wow. If there was an award for 'most' effects, this movie would win it (the frenetic CGI never stops). But as for best - the effects looked pretty putrid to me. I imagine some kids might find this film fun/amusing. Maybe some parents will find some charm buried beneath the glossy, fake surface. Not me. Nothing was wondrous. Nothing resonated. Where is the imagination in movies like this, anymore!?
When I think of the 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice', I think of the iconic dancing brooms & mop scene with Mickey. Though there's an homage of that in this movie, it's treated so perfunctorily that it does the film a greater disservice, rather than enhancing its charm. Ugh.