The Sorcerer's Apprentice: Only So-So Spellbinding

The Sorcerer's Apprentice is exactly the film one expects based on the trailer. It's not great, and it's not bad, but it is enjoyable in a light, turn-off-your-brain-and-go-along-for-the-ride kind of way. I don't regret seeing it. I see no reason to see it a second time.

The movie is directed by Jon Turtletaub, who has a very good track record of making movies that I enjoy. 1995's While You Were Sleeping is probably

my favorite romantic comedy, and I've watched 1993's Cool Runnings so many times I find lines from the movie slipping into everyday conversation. I enjoyed theNational Treasure movies as well, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice is in the same vein.

The story concerns a young man who discovers, much to his annoyance, that he is Merlin's rightful heir and destined to defeat once and for all the evil witch Morgana. He learns this by way of Balthazar, one of Merlin's ageless apprentices who has searched for the heir for 1500 years. Oh ho ho! Wait a minute though. Another of Merlin's apprentices - the evil Horvath - is still around as well, and he intends to set Morgana free so she can enslave humankind.

The boy is played by Jay Baruchel who was perfectly cast as the voice of the nerdy Hiccup in How To Train Your Dragon. His hesitant nasally voice fit Hiccup well, but his whining timidity tends to grate when it is coming not from an awkward 12 year old but from a 20 year old college student instead. Nicolas Cage embodies Balthazar in a I'm-doing-this-for-the-money-and-phoning-it-in kind of way. Alfred Molina's Horvath is by far the best of the bunch.

That being said, Baruchel and Cage's performances are the only part of the movie that is tiring. The rest is a rollicking adventure through the streets of New York City where Chinese paper dragons come to life and mirrors become gateways to backwards worlds (my favorite sequence in the film). Balthazar and Horvath vie with one another more like bickering brothers and less like mortal enemies, which I found humorous even if it did tend to lessen Horvath's menace and rob Balthazar of any sense of urgency to stop Horvath's plans.

The special effects are excellent, and in a movie featuring giant metal eagles and dancing mops (It's called "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," remember? *wink*), what more can you ask for? As I mentioned before, the chase scene through Times Square is tons of fun.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice reminds me most of the second rate Disney movies of the past. It's much more Condorman than it is20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, much more The Strongest Man in the World than it is Mary Poppins. I enjoyed it, and I think one day my grandkids will enjoy it in a nostalgic kind of way as well.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice is rated PG for fantasy action violence, some mild rude humor, and brief language. It certainly deserves it's PG rating. A few of the scenes involving dark sorcery are especially dark. One scene involving a young girl witch is downright scary. If you or your kids are sensitive to such things, stay away. Otherwise, know that the scary moments are few and far between and very brief.

I always find it interesting that magic-focused stories such as this one keep well clear of any mention of Christianity or any major world religion. Works like The Lord of the Rings get around this by creating an entire new universe of activity. Lewis' Narnia books masterfully create a parallel dimension where the things of this world are differently expressed. Stories like The Sorcerer's Apprentice and the Harry Potter series take place in our world though. They are about the interaction of the physical and the spiritual. You'd think spiritually focused world religions would come into play.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice sideways addresses this by essentially explaining much of the magic away by likening it to a science experiment. I think that is a shame in the same way I think it is a shame that Christians willfully or unwillfully do not engage in this conversation. The interference of the spiritual world with the physical and vice versa is ripe to be explored. Indeed, it is the bedrock of our faith.

-- Elijah Davidson