The Sorcerer's Apprentice


Summer movie flick is great date material

Just in case you haven't paid attention, I'm a movie guy. Not just a movie guy, but that is another story.

Some films were just meant to be seen on the big screen. I don't go as often as I used to, Netflix has taken care of that. But I did want to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

As soon as I started seeing the production photos, my first reaction was "they dressed Nicolas Cage up as Harry Dresden." Sure enough, that's what they did. But the character is different. And just a tiny bit crazy.

Just as Tom Hanks has built a career as the modern Everyman, Cage has built a career on the off-kilter but honorable/lovable/adaptable guy who you might overlook, but turns out to be the key to everything. If you've not seen Peggy Sue Got Married, Moonstruck, or Raising Arizona, you owe it to yourself to see those films RIGHT NOW. Earlier this year I saw Cage pull off the obsessed and near psychopathic Big Daddy in Kick Ass with more than a little homage to the best of the various Batman films over the years (including Adam West, strangely enough). This film gives us a take on the modern urban wizard. Well, "sorcerer" in the film.

Does it work? Yes. Cage and Alfred Molina ham it up with their over the top roles. It works in part because the characters are so over the top to begin with. And by the way, you should appreciate Molina too. He had one of the best moments in Raiders of the Lost Ark and he has just gotten better over the years.

The special effects are nearly over the top, but not quite considering the subject matter. Yes there are flying lightning bolts, but the title character is a physics nerd working on Tesla coils, so it actually makes sense. Sort of. I think he was a doctoral candidate, but the film doesn't spell it out.

These are the jokes, people…

What really sets this one apart from the usual summer fare is not one but two (count them) love stories. And one includes a jealous rivalry that just happens to drive the story, so it gets credit for that. It gets extra credit when David (the title character) changes when he realizes that someone really loves him and trusts him to do the right thing.

As yes, there is a sequence lifted almost bit for bit from the Fantasia story. But it works. Watch for the electrical sockets doing their best Mr. Bill impression.

This is not, as some Pagans would say, a Significant Film. It is a good summer film, and great date material. As last night proved for me. Worth seeing, probably worth buying, but it doesn't belong on the classics shelf.

Posted: Thu - August 19, 2010 at 01:26 PM
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