MAGIC MOMENTS; YOUR MOVIES.
Byline: MARK ADAMSTHE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE
PG, 109mins
Opens Wednesday, August 11
THE STARS
Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer.
THE STORY
Master sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Cage) must recruit and train an apprentice as he seeks to defend New York from his arch-rival Maxim Horvath (Molina). The only problem is that his new, and rather reluctant, protg is klutzy physics genius Dave Stutler (Baruchel), who seems unlikely to survive the training let alone Horvath.
THE VERDICT
There's a lot of fun to be had with this comedy action fantasy film, packed with spectacular special effects, more than a few good jokes and a playful sense of adventure. OK so it may well seem like a bit of a mish-mash of several other movies - Harry Potter and Ghostbusters come immediately to mind - but as undemanding family films go it certainly does deliver.
The film has as its Disney origins the Sorcerer's Apprentice section of the 1940 classic Fantasia - the bit where Mickey Mouse uses his bumbling magical skills on a bunch of mops (and yes, the mops crop up in this new film). But this live-action, modern-day, magical adventure pretty much leaves its animated origins behind as it heads into effects-driven blockbuster territory.
Instead we get a relatively restrained Nicolas Cage as a magician who was once trained by Merlin and is charged with protecting a Russian-doll-like container which holds evil magicians... and his archnemesis Horvath (the wonderful Alfred Molina) wants the container opened and New York (and the rest of the world) wiped out. As we know from Karate Kid, every master needs a pupil... cue the arrival of Jay Baruchel as the NYU physics boffin Dave, who Balthazar sees as the one who should be trained in wizarding ways.
Initially less than keen on hanging out with the more-than-a-little-odd Balthazar, Dave grudgingly learns how to throw fiery plasma-balls around the room, though his thoughts are as much on impressing his sexy fellow student (Teresa Palmer) than perfecting sorcering skills.
The training bits are fun, though the film is at its best when the magical battles hit the streets of the Big Apple. Director Jon Turteltaub pulls out all the stops in terms of car chases, a fight amidst the Chinese New Year Parade, those out-of-control mops and, best of all, the scene where a metal eagle from atop the Chrysler Building is brought to life. Sure The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a keen-to-please comedy-action romp... but there's nothing wrong with that!
FILM of the week
FINAL CUT
SPELLBINDING fantasy adventure is magical fun
CAPTION(S):
Master & apprentice ...Cage & Baruchel & (below) Baruchel & Palmer in a sparky spot Now that's magic ...Nic Cage as the master sorcerer
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| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Sunday Mirror (London, England) |
| Article Type: | Movie review |
| Date: | Aug 8, 2010 |
| Words: | 447 |
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