Written by: Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, Matt Lopez
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci
Rating: [3/5]
Getting involved in feuds that have gone on longer than one’s particular involvement comes with a sense of awkwardness. A hatred brews for reasons you are not aware of and you just have to pick up somewhere in the middle. Not a great place to be but one the protagonist of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice needs to navigate as he gets in the middle of a world-ending battle of sorcerers and somehow he is the chosen one meant to make a distinguishable difference.
Having a healthy love for physics, Dave (Jay Baruchel) had an encounter with magic as a child and now years later learns from sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) that he is the next Merlinean. Reluctant to take on this place and the evil coming their way, he decides to step in and learn the ways of sorcery, even with all of the obstacles ahead of him.
Utilizing the classic reluctant hero story as its anchor, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice has all of the hallmarks of stories we have seen before from the wise mentor, the awkward protagonist, evil villains, and the pretty girl who will eventually fall in love with the lead. The basic formula but as with all of these stories, the ways they can stand out is bringing something new to the table and the world this feature builds out provides something fun. More importantly, we have a fun dynamic between our protagonist and his mentor that brings most of the entertainment this feature has to offer.
Nicolas Cage, no matter what shenanigans and antics he utilizes in his acting, always has the goal of providing entertainment through his work. Even when things get whacky, we can count on him dishing out what makes him so great. As Balthazar, he plays it much more straight in being a more stoic but also comedic figure in the story meant to provide sagely advice to our lead and he remains the main standout the feature has to offer. Even with other elements falling short, Cage remains the driving force as he represents the heart of this film and the journey he goes on as he has fought off evil sorcerers for centuries now and can finally find a way to end this entire endeavor.
On the other hand we have Jay Baruchel doing Jay Baruchel things in playing a lanky awkward guy who always manages to punch above his weight romantically and in this feature he’s meant to take on Merlin’s ring and become a great sorcerer. Baruchel does his typical shtick that he admittedly does well and builds out a likable character who just wants to live a simple life as a guy who really loves his physics and works with these coils to make some music. His blending of the music and science really formulates what this character represents, which presents my favorite line in the film “I’m not alone, I brought a little science with me.”
Delving into this world of magic, it unravels some layers about what Balthazar warns Dave about. There’s a code to utilizing magic where it should be used for good and not for personal gain, which Dave learns brutally when he tries to utilize it to clean his place and it all goes terribly for him. This magic then gets darker when we get the introduction of the evil sorcerers like Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina) and this larger battle that has been going on for centuries. The more we delve into it the more imaginative the magic gets and inventive. The spell where individuals get stuck in a mirror in particular displays a fun way to display how these sorcerers battle each other in ways other than blasting blue orbs at each other.
While not much about The Sorcerer’s Apprentice will stick with you after the credits end, this film manages during its runtime to deliver something fun through its story of magic and destiny. Through this journey, we get to experience some fun characters face off in a tale of sorcerer’s taking each other on for supremacy of the human realm. Unsurprisingly, Nicolas Cage proves to be best in show as he drives this film forward and pairs well with some fun performances by Alfred Molina and Toby Kebbell, who knew the assignment and delivered as well.
Films with Josh 
