Wednesday, October 20, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW … THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE

 

the-sorcerers-apprentice-movie-poster-1020552187 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice takes its cue from a segment of the classic Walt Disney film ‘Fantasia’.  Charting the magical wonder of Mickey Mouse as he conjured an array of wondrous delights, the sequence became famous.  Fast forward decades later and Disney has turned this into a live action spectacle with eye-popping CGI its draw-card.  Unfortunately it is little compensation for a screenplay devoid of the forerunner’s charms with the motto ‘less is more’ studiously ignored.

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A sorcerer who learnt his craft from Merlin, Balthazar (Nicholas Cage) is tasked with finding a chosen one who will bring balance to his magical realm.  Made difficult due to the machinations of evil wizard Maxim (Alfred Molina), Balthazar’s mission becomes a thousand year quest.  He finds an unlikely candidate in Dave (Jay Baruchel), a nerdy student knowing next to nothing about magic.  Trained by Balthazar to become a powerful sorcerer, Dave has to use all his wiles to prevent Maxim’s plans in conjuring a pathway to earth’s destruction.

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Produced by prolific producer Jerry Bruckheimer, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice sees his creative mojo come unstuck.  His penchant for grandiose tales wrapped in visual pageantry is still evident, but the spirited soul driving such films is sadly lacking.  It’s as if the CGI he so loves has sapped any life from the enterprise with the actors doing their best against this onslaught of technological apparitions.  It’s no longer enough for a movie to throw millions of dollars of effects at an audience – there must be more driving this or the whole endeavour becomes a forgettable experience.

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Like so many contemporary updates of children’s stories, it has a strange need to imbue some adult humour into its narrative.  Completely unnecessary and robbing any timelessness, this only adds to its failings as it increases the ‘seen it all before’ mantra to its zenith.  It’s a bit sad classic animation is being plundered this way, with those involved trying too hard to create enchantment where such emotions should appear instinctively.

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The Sorcerer’s Apprentice does a serviceable job of offering vanilla spectacle for undemanding viewers.  Others tired of being forced fed such celluloid drudgery should look elsewhere with Mickey Mouse’s original short far superior to this overblown cash collector.

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Movie Review Rating   3 / 10

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice released in Australia on Thursday 9 September 2010.

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