The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010): A Review

Balthazar (Nicolas Cage), Veronica (Monica Bellucci), and Horvath (Alfred Molina) are all apprentices of the world's greatest Sorcerer, Merlin (James A. Stephens). Morgana (Alice Krige) turns Horvath against the team and the duo is successful in defeating Merlin. Veronica sacrifices herself in order to save her love Balthazar but not before he captures the two in the Grimold. As Merlin lay dying he entrusted his last apprentice with his ring and tells him to seek out his successor. Hundreds of years pass before he's able to accomplish this task. The prime-merlinian has come in the form of an unsuspecting young man. He's able to give Dave (child, Jake Cherry :adult, Jay Baruchel) the ring but before he can teach him anything Horvath escapes from the Grimold. In order to save the life of his young apprentice, Balthazar traps himself and Horvath in an urn for the next ten years.

Over the last several years Nicolas Cage has starred in a few films that make a great night for the whole family. This is another one of those films. The overall acting isn't phenomenal but it isn't bad either. The story has its fair share of plot holes, but it's a family film, what do you expect. One of the most engaging parts of film is the different types of spells. The CGI for these is some of the best I've ever seen, a must see in high definition. Most of the movie is clever and well thought out. More specifically the homage it pays to Fantasia is quite funny. It was also nice to see that it attempted to bridge the gap between science and magic. Overall, it isn't a cinematic masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it is good clean family fun that the whole family can enjoy. For that reason I give this a 7/10.