Movie Review: The Sorcerer's Apprentance

Movie Review: The Sorcerer's Apprentice                                                                              7-26-16

Based on the beloved segment from Fantasia, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is about a sorcerer named Balthazar (Nicholas Cage), who was one of three powerful sorcerers entrusted by Merlin, king of the wizards and protector of mankind. When the evil sorceress Morgana kills Merlin and learns a dangerous magic spell, Balthazar traps Morgana in the Grimhold, which looks a bit like a Matryoshka doll. Before Merlin died, he gives Balthazar a dragon ring that would guide him to the Prime Merlinean, who is fabled to destroy Medusa. Balthazar searched for centuries, and it wasn't until the year 2010 in which he encounters a college student named David (Jay Baruchel). Now Balthazar must train Dave to become the Prime Merlinean and stop the evil wizard Horvath from getting the Grimhold.

Now what do I think of this movie? While definitely not a classic, it is one of Nicholas Cage's better films, because his character isn't as much of a jerk in this film. He reminds me a bit of Big Z from Surf's Up. Also, a lot of the special effects are breathtaking and painstaking. The fire effects, for example, were done using real flames. Also, some scenes with objects or characters floating didn't use any computers.

If I were to make some complaints, I feel like the story is a teensy bit recycled. I feel like The Sorcerer's Apprentice is already a masterpiece as a short film, and doesn't need to be made into a feature film.

However, while definitely not perfect, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a solid diversion to lesser films released in 2010, like The Last Airbender, Furry Vengeance, and The Lightning Thief.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5.