MyRating: YYDirector: Jon Turteltaub
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Toby Kebbell, Omar Benson Miller, Monica Bellucci
MPAA: Rated PG for fantasy action violence, some mild rude humor and brief language
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a classic ballad poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1932), a well-known German writer, written in 1797. The story of the poem, which title in its original language was Der Zauberlehrling, is about a sorcerer's apprentice who is ordered by his master to do some chores in the workshop, while his master is not around. Tired of cleaning the floor, the apprentice enchants a broom with magic to do his work. But since the apprentice is new with magic, the broom soon makes the floor flooded with water by fetching water with a pail, and the apprentice just doesn't know how to stop the broom from working. Feeling frustrated, he breaks and splits the broom in two with an axe. However, it still cannot stop the broom, which are now become two brooms, working with double speed. It's only after the master returns, the spell can be broken, and the apprentice learns a very valuable lesson on how to use magic.
The above story was widely popularized by Disney in 1940 with its acclaimed animated film, Fantasia, where Mickey Mouse plays as the apprentice. And this popular scene is there in this The Sorcerer's Apprentice movie, where the apprentice, Dave Stutler (Baruchel) has to helplessly face with a full cabinet of unstoppable brooms and other cleaning equipments, that awash his workshop floor with water. Dave is an average guy with a past memory that he would like to forget, when he accidentally clashed with the world of magic in his childhood. When Balthazar Blake (Cage), a master sorcerer from the ancient world and once an apprentice of Merlin, finds Dave again many years later, Balthazar recruits him as his apprentice. Dave is not only having the magic hidden potential within him, but he is actually the chosen one. Together, they have to face the dark forces of Maxim Horvath (Molina), Balthazar's centuries-old arch-nemesis, who also hunts Dave for something very valuable that he may have with him. So, Dave's new mission is to save the world from the evil darkness, but before that, he has to survive the training as an apprentice.
Nicolas Cage, Jon Turteltaub (director), Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Walt Disney are back as the (winning) team, after the success of National Treasure (2004) and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007). This time, they are back with 'magic'. But this was not the kind of magic that made me fall in love. I liked some parts of the movie, but I also did not like some other parts of the movie. In overall, I think that this movie has a weak script. It was just too light and the fantasy was felt a bit too childish for me. Most of the humors also did not really funny. Nicolas Cage was in his usual comfort zone, with his same cool acting and expressions, and the same tone of voice. His ugly long hair here was annoying. I also felt that the antagonist character of Alfred Molina was annoying, which I don't know why, maybe because of his hat and outfit, maybe because of his moustache! It was the character of the apprentice that I think was the most interesting one in this movie. Even though some people may think that Jay Baruchel was annoying, I think he gave some fresh air to this movie with his funny moments. There was also an appearance from Monica Bellucci, the beautiful and sexy actress that we loved in Malena (2000). Even though still looks beautiful, she also looks a bit old now. Sadly, age can never lie.
I didn't like the "National Treasure" franchise. I think it was a failed attempt of the modern-day Indiana Jones, with bad and uninspiring scripts. Even though I love adventure movies, but I didn't enjoy both the National Treasure movies. They did it slightly different in The Sorcerer's Apprentice with some magic touches, but as I said, the magic didn't work for me either. It was just an average attempt with an average and forgettable result. The magic did not spark. (MJ)
