The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: A Fresh Take on Magic
For centuries, the sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Cage) has been searching the world for Merlin’s successor, destined to save humanity from the temporarily imprisoned Morgana le Fay. He finally stumbles upon him in modern-day New York – a ten-year-old American schoolboy. After being trapped in a jar with his nemesis (Molina) for a decade, he finds his now-grown successor as a physics student. The student initially agrees to learn magic under Blake’s tutelage but soon starts skipping lessons for dates, questioning the whole “saving the world” endeavor.
Disney’s extensive marketing campaign for “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” presented it as another fairy tale, heavy on visual effects. Giant iron eagles, animated bull statues, raging dragons, a cockroach man, and a mysterious Chinese figure were showcased as a contractor’s report – a list of completed special effects, practically with price tags attached.
One can understand their approach. The track record of the Bruckheimer-Turteltaub-Cage trio is well-known. Memories of their “National Treasure” films might even dampen enthusiasm for a new fantasy story, making it wiser to focus on dragons and Chinese figures.
From Mouse to Merlin: The Origin Story
The plot is loosely based on a segment from Disney’s animated anthology “Fantasia,” where Mickey Mouse enchants a broom to clean, but it goes out of control. That segment, in turn, was inspired by Goethe’s 1797 ballad. The idea for the film originally came from Nicolas Cage.
A Balancing Act: Humor and Magic
The pleasant surprise is that, beyond the accountants, special effects specialists, and orientalists, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” benefited from a couple of talented individuals. One of them is Jay Baruchel. Playing the physics student with surprising suitability, he perfectly balances Cage’s painfully serious character, who clearly didn’t have an easy time during his decade in an urn. In a world of ancient spells and unbreakable oaths, there must be relatable characters who prefer sneakers to pointy shoes and a date with a cute blonde interested in physics experiments to the exhausting fight against evil. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” could have been what the “Harry Potter” films would be if they focused on Ron Weasley.
Style and Wit: The Unsung Heroes
Speaking of talent, the costume designers deserve a bonus for dressing Alfred Molina in a fur-collared coat. The script is also surprisingly well-done, despite being written by the screenwriters of the recent “Prince of Persia.” The filmmakers cleverly preempted comparisons to “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” by including “literal” and humorous quotes from them in the script. As they say, if you don’t want to be accused of plagiarism, use quotation marks. Along with Baruchel and his physicist character, a healthy skepticism towards all the magical paraphernalia, which they actively try to reconcile with prosaic satellite dishes and network cables, seeps into the film.
Finally, Turteltaub’s direction ensures that the two hours fly by, and Cage, having overcome a long-standing curse, almost delights the eye with the lapels of his leather coat. Even the universal trick of introducing puppies into the frame proves to be an unnecessary precaution.