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The Vow

A saccharine and paint-by-numbers slice of romance, which is largely boosted by the appeal of its two leads.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (3D)

The under-utilised 3D adds little to this prequel, which only serves as a sore reminder of the brilliance of the original films.

Any Questions For Ben?

The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.

Shame

It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.

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The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Film)

by Tristan Schumacher | September 07, 2010 11:35 | Edited September 07, 2010 11:36

While containing a handful of impressive action sequences, this film is let down by a contrived premise and by-the-numbers script.

A man with a tangled mop of hair and a large overcoat tells a boy that he has a special power that he never knew about. No, this isn't Harry Potter, although the conclusion to The Sorcerer's Apprentice leaves us with the hint of a new magical Hollywood film franchise on the horizon. A collaboration between Disney, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure), the film presents itself as an adventure/comedy, but is held back from surpassing preceding films of its type by a contrived premise and a stock standard script.

 

It's taken years of therapy for young Dave Stutler (She's Out Of My League's Jay Baruchel) to block out the memories of meeting the sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) and accidentally freeing the dastardly Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina) from his ancient prison. Now, Dave is fully grown and living a quiet life as a dweeby NYU physics major. His greatest challenge in life is wooing his childhood crush, Becky (Australian actress on the rise Teresa Palmer). All that changes when Balthazar returns to introduce the reluctant Dave to a world of magic and make him his sorcerer's apprentice. Suddenly Dave has bigger fish to fry, as master and apprentice must unite to prevent Horvath from unleashing the wrath of an evil and ruthless sorceress upon New York.

 

This modern day fantasy is supported by competent performances (Molina is suitably evil, while Cage embraces the fun of the premise), but the real drawcards are the dynamic action sequences, strengthened by spectacular special effects and digital animation, which include a colourful Chinatown street parade, complete with a particularly ferocious dragon. A throwback to the famous "Sorcerer's Apprentice" scene from Disney's Fantasia might charm a mature audience, but only children will appreciate the "humour" in this standard Hollywood effort.