All Critics (164)
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Fresh (67)
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DVD (4)
He canâ(TM)t hold a candle to Mickey.
There is much that's appealing, from the performances to the scene where Turteltaub re-creates a live-action version of the classic scene from Disney's Fantasia.
As Balthazar, Cage doesn't disappoint. He's just manic enough to keep the character from becoming too predictable. More's the pity, then, that a pro like him has to cede so much screen time to his character's young protege.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice should be rated U for Untouched by Human Hands.
A big gob of mythical makeover and special effects-freewheeling fun.
It's a fairly fun time for families, and Hollywood can -- and continually does -- build franchises out of far worse concoctions than this.
drawing a line of lack-of-inspiration true and dire directly to Renny Harlin's already-completely-forgotten The Covenant.
As an object to look at and be zoomed along in like an amusement park ride -- which is all it's meant to be -- this movie is pretty much more of the summery same.
It also looks quite nice with some well-designed adventure moments and clean camera work that's flashy but usually elegant. But that's a few islands of interest on a sea of interchangeable marketing parts that's all sizzle and no substance.
Whether intentional or not, The Sorcerer's Apprentice plays like Disney's stalled attempt to launch a stripped down Harry Potter-like franchise.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is one of those films that feels very close to being good.
Frankly, it's completely dorky. And yet it slips by because of its wise decision to fully embrace that dorkiness.
Light on logic, and not always polished, the film plays like a gonzo big-budget Roger Corman B-movie. It's filled with wonderfully imaginative visuals, interesting characters and spectacle galore.
This PG-rated Jerry Bruckheimer production is slick as an oiled weasel: larded with fancy special effects, canned romance, corny humor and a general lack of sophistication. [Blu-ray]
...a disappointingly repetitive and flat-out dull piece of work...
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a great family film that packs PG-13 excitement into a PG-rated film.
Though the movie is magic-like rather than magical and is, to be honest, on the thin side, it cast enough of a spell to keep me entertained.
It is the exact kind of film you would imagine to be spun-off from a dialogue-free animated sequence from Fantasia; that is to say, not a very complex or interesting one.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is what you get when Jerry Bruckheimer produces Harry Potter.
This slice of science and sorcery feels like a throwback to the 1980s heyday of family films.
In spite of Nic Cage's 'Hobo-with-a-leather-fetish' chic there are some inventive effects sequences. Feels likes like a watchable-but-unremarkable patchwork quilt of every fantasy flick ever made.
Cage's expressions cover a limited range, from earnest to fearless to glazed, and he trots out leaden dialogue along the lines of, "That... must...not... happen!" Surely there can't be an easier way to earn $20 million or so.
The plot verges on incoherence, but The Sorcerer's Apprentice is entertaining enough if you can forgive the presence of Cage, whose brand of glum camp hasn't grown any fresher with the years.
Probably would have saved us all a lot of trouble if someone had have pointed the way to Hogwarts.
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