A typical Jerry Bruckheimer production for Disney, complete with the customary presence of a mildly crazy Nicolas Cage, this time playing a centuries-old sorcerer looking for the heir to Merlin’s powers. The villain, Alfred Molina, is a former colleague turned bad. The protagonist is a nerdish physics student competently played by Jay Baruchel.
As you’d expect, Cage latches onto Baruchel and makes him his apprentice, though Baruchel would rather stick with physics and trying to pursue the girl he’s had a crush on since elementary school. But Cage tells him he’d dang well better learn to defend himself magically unless he wants the bad guy to “turn you into a pig who just luuuuuuvs physics!” (Apparently the fear of getting transformed into me is a real motivator.)
It’s formulaic as all get-out, and the intended homage to the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” segment of Fantasia is a disappointment. But the film is a reasonable amount of fun and I mostly enjoyed it (save for the excess of embarrassment humor, which just doesn’t appeal to me). I would have liked it a lot more at the age of 12, though.
Interesting bit of trivia: When Cage learned that a stylish classic car was being sought for his character to drive around in, he offered the use of a unique one he already happened to own, a 1935 Rolls Royce Phantom, and that’s the car you seem him driving in the film.
The trailer is way more serious than the film:
Link to trailer: http://youtu.be/v2uV0_1C4UM
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