This is an expensive Jerry Bruckheimer-produced summer blockbuster-in-waiting, directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) and starring Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell, Teresa Palmer and Monica Bellucci. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is based on the famous ballad by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, later adapted into a poem by Paul Dukas, which then inspired a segment of Disney's Fantasia (the one with Mickey Mouse and the plentiful mops of water.) The plot is generic stuff: college student Dave Stutler (Baruchel) becomes the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer called Balthazar Blake (Cage), in order to battle the forces of darkness in modern Manhattan.
On the upside: magic is usually great fun, the special FX look good, rising star Jay Baruchel, Spider-Man 2's Alfred Molina is the villain, a potentially fun performance from Cage, Turteltaub was behind Jericho and Harper's Island.
On the downside: magic can be tedious if used badly, the premise sounds timeworn, the potential that Cage will make it too goofy, Bruckheimer productions often look fantastic but lack heart, Turteltaub directed the National Treasure movies.
Released: 16 July 2010 (US), 13 August 2010 (UK)
