Director Jerry Bruckheimer and actor Nicolas Cage team up for the seventh time in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a fantasy adventure that expands on a segment in Disney's 1940 classic Fantasia.
The tale follows sorcerer Balthazar Blake's (Cage) fight against the forces of evil in modern-day New York City. Balthazar is an apprentice of the almighty sorcerer Merlin (James A. Stephens), as is Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). But Horvath betrays Merlin, and moments before his death the almighty sorcerer tells Balthazar about a dragon ring that will lead to his successor, the Prime Merlinean.
Enter physics nerd Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), who is given the gift of wizardry but wants none of it. Alas, the evil Horvath has plans to destroy the world, and Balthazar will need Dave's help if he is to stop him.
As a villain, Horvath never comes across as a real threat, and the evil Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige) is utterly unconvincing as a villainess. The film is a classic case of special effects overload. In one of the more annoying scenes, Disney pays homage to themselves by having mops and brooms dance around doing chores ? la Fantasia. Kudos for the gesture, but it simply does not translate.
About halfway through, you wish you could make it all end with a magic wand. No amount of Bruckheimer-Cage sorcery could rescue this mess.