The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Although I like Nicholas Cage, this is a movie I had absolutely no intention of seeing. But sometimes situations arise that one must take advantage of. Such was the case here when I had the chance to go to a movie with my niece and nephews. If you've seen the trailer you have a good idea of what this one is about. Cage plays a centuries-old sorcerer in search of an apprentice (known as the Prime Merlinian) capable of defeating the evil sorceress Morgana. The apprentice he finds is a NYU physics nerd played by Jay Baruchel. Together they must stop Morgana from reanimating the world's long-dead evil sorcerers, thus saving the world. With a premise like that, the script pretty much writes itself with all the expected Bruckheimer set pieces one would expect from a summer movie. This is one of those movies that just washes over you without engaging your brain. In fact, it's best not to apply any sort of logic or rational thought into this one. Just let it unfold in front of you, preferably while laying on a couch when the remote control is just out of reach. However, I did appreciate one aspect of this movie. It tries to apply science to the world of magic, but not in a disappointing midi-chlorian sort of way. Ultimately, the physics nerd makes a great sorcerer because of his understanding of science. While I'm not confident this movie will inspire anyone to pick-up a science textbook, I thought basing the magic in real-world physics was a nice touch.