Hey Fools! There’s a reason Summer movies are pretty much all the same –romance, fights, car chases and lot’s of pyrotechnics- and are always so popular in that very season; when you’ve worked a dog’s week and feel just about the same come Friday night, you just need something to take your mind off things or better yet, blow it. In that regard The Sorcerer’s Apprentice hits the mark. Nothing original to offer but offers your brain some very sugar-coated candy, a welcome breath of fresh air after enduring the mushy past-due self-important turnip called Twilight. Just keep one thing in mind it’s a Jerry Bruckheimer action/fantasy that aims to reconcile the Pirates/Harry Potter crowd.

The film opens to a bit of a botched prologue that explains a little too brashly and on the nose the principle rules of the game:  Merlin had 3 apprentices with whom he fought Morgana; one sacrificed herself to defeat the evil witch, another turned coat and the last stayed behind to one day find the great Wizard’s successor. Happens to be a modern-day dweeb (of course...) who thinks of nothing but wooing the girl of his dreams and is reluctant to follow the last sorcerer into apprenticeship to save the world.

I’ve been one to bash on Nicolas Cage at every possible occasion, and here the occasion is absent; many reviews of the film’s I’ve surveyed did jump on the Cage-Hating bandwagon for no reason but to appear as cool as the other kids on the block, but in this rare instance I’ll defend the once Oscar-calibre actor. Cage is unusually restrained in his ability to go over the top, and even genuinely funny at times without resorting to his bag of cage-isms. I’ll even escalate that a bit: he downright carries the film on his shoulders, leaving an empty feeling whenever his young ward is left alone onscreen.

Speaking of him, I think the world of fellow Montrealer Jay Baruchel, and here he delivers exactly what was expected of him but not much more; that character and performance we’ve seen before from Jay and more than once –Twice this year alone; the romance arc is pretty much the same as She’s Out of My League where the loveable but uncool geek scores a perfect 10. Lesser actors would’ve made this portrayal a complete bore but Burachel has that sympathetic gene in him that makes you root for him and like him, but you’d also expect him to try and get a few new tricks out of his bag. 

Though not all blame should be laid on Jay-boy; the script tries to charm up some Harry Potter magic but the depth and complexity of that one’s universe and characters is nowhere in sight. ON the other hand it one-upsthe other half of the equation in making this ride a much more fun and fast-paced one that Pirates of the Caribbean which I dare say left me yawning my mouth off. The New York setting might feel overdone but it perfectly here, with creative uses of the city’s own magic and landmarks. What creativity does show up lies in the use of visual effects. They do take up a lot of space in the film as should be expected from Disney and Buck, but integrate well into the story and do not fail to fill in the sight. I especially loved the mirror thing and the “Tesla Disco”.

As for the villain of the piece, Alfred Molina pretty much paints by the numbers in playing a character that’s been played since the dawn of cinema. Always good to see him in action, also completely predictable without much to make him stick in mind as a memorable antagonist. His own apprentice, played by Brit Toby Kebbell, can’t say he offers much except maybe a few polite smiles but not much else in the guise of an under-developed character; Kebbell will keep being remembered for RocknRolla rather than this one.  As for Monica Bellucci, I wonder how much she was paid for having absolutely nothing to do and in so little screen time. She does look good on a movie poster, which I guess is the reason for her “presence” in this one.

No great profound life lessons here nor anything of a master film, but The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is meant to have a good time at the movies in the Summer and it accomplishes just that; very little dead beats in the  109 minutes runtime, lots of cool creative-use visuals and a Nic Cage that breaths much better than usual. Enjoyable enough for one outing, though I’d be curious to see what a superior director would’ve done with it. Jon Turtletaub simply follows his National Treasure formula of making a 2-hour serial, and it serves the purpose.

Favorite Bit: “Are You insane?” – a bit longer and funnier than in the trailer.

Worse Bit: The Roommate, underused and over-cliche’d.Unfortunate use of the otherwise funny Omar Benson Miller.

Final Word: 7/10