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    The Sorcerer's Apprentice

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" has a likeable cast and there are a lot of smart moments but there are also a lot of mediocre segments that should have been trimmed or re-written. I didn’t hate the end results. In fact I think I’m going to give the movie a mild recommendation but did the segment from “Fantasia” really need to be expanded into a full-length feature live action film?

    All Dave (Jay Baruchel) has on his mind is to live a normal life and impress his childhood crush Becky (Teresa Palmer) That’s not going to happen. What the young man doesn’t know is that he is destined to inherit the legendary magician Merlin’s powers. Despite some initial resistance from the befuddled Dave, Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is determined to train him in the magical arts so he can fulfill his destiny and become the next “Merlinian”. This task is essential if they are to save the world from Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige in the body of Monica Bellucci) and her ally Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina)

    I’ve always liked Jay Baruchel and as Dave, he works as a charismatic protagonist that doesn't really believe in himself but isn't reluctant to become hero. Most of the time with these movies the protagonist inexplicably constantly complains that the power that be have chosen the wrong one, he/she just wants to be normal and wants to return to their boring life. While there is a brief moment where this does happen he quickly smartens up and remembers that anyone would kill to have the powers he displays. That’s a breath of fresh air as far as I’m concerned. Nicholas Cage is also effective as Balthazar and he has a lot of good moments when he’s confronting his main nemesis. Some of the supporting characters add a nice comedic touch to the film like Drake Stone (Toby Kebbell, whom I really enjoyed) and Teresa Palmer is a likeable love interest that has some pretty good chemistry with Baruchel.

    Accompanying these interesting characters are a crowd of comedic buffoons you wish would just leave the screen as quickly as possible so we can get back to the main plot. We get a sidekick dog that adds nothing to the story besides fart and pee jokes and Dave's roommate (played by Omar Benson Miller) feels very unnecessary. I think he was thrown in solely to have a funny black guy in the movie, similar to Anthony Anderson’s role in “Transformers”. That’s what it feels like to me anyway. Alfred Molina as Maxim Hovarth works well as a villain but the "ultimate bad guy" Morgana le Fay is generic with no personality traits to make her stand out. It's not even that the movie is necessarily bad because there are a lot of cool and fun moments (like the use of tesla coils throughout the running time), there's a romantic sub plot that works and is not only convincing but helps ground the story. There are also other moments that feel silly. I could have done without the training montage where Dave constantly hits himself in the groin for example. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is constantly going back and forth between inspired action, cool characters, lame pratfalls and tired plot points you've seen before.

    Overall you'll have a mixed reaction to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and if you're going in just for the segment inspired by the "Fantasia" short, you'll be disappointed. For every moment that doesn't work there are about 1.5 elements that hit the mark for me, so it just nudges itself into the realm of a mild recommendation. This one will play better for people who are not very familiar with urban fantasy films though, if you hear the premise and you think you’ve seen something like it before, I don’t know what to tell you except to keep your expectations low. (On Blu-ray, March 3, 2013)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  24.11.2015 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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