The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a 2010 live-action fantasy film starring Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, and Monica Bellucci. Balthazar Blake (Cage) has been tasked by Merlin to find a worthy successor to his magic, a person who is the only one able to be powerful enough to vanquish his enemy Morgan le Fay, after Horvath (Molina) breaks away from Merlin and joins forces with le Fay. The two evil sorcerers end up killing Merlin, but find themselves trapped in a magical containment device with the third apprentice, Veronica (Belluci), for 1300 years. In the current day, Balthazar finds Merlin's successor in Dave (Baruchel), a physics-oriented university student who wants nothing to do with Balthazar after a brief interaction with Balthazar led to a childhood of ridicule. Horvath has escaped his imprisonment and is bent on reviving his old master to destroy the world - Balthazar and Dave must team up so that Dave can become Merlin's true successor.

That plot synopsis is a lot, and it was a lot to take in and place on top of the knowledge of the many adaptations of Goethe's Der Zauberlehrling that have made their way into modern popular culture, the more ubiquitous of which are Disney's adaptations as animated shorts in Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. To make this a feature length film, the writers had the task of connecting centuries of magical lore together to make some semblance of connective tissue around the expectation of recreating the animated short in a non-offensive way. There is a tension between Dave chasing after love and Balthazar trying to teach him as much magic as quickly as he can before Morgana is released, and another tension of Dave's studies into science and being thrust into a magical world - of both, the characters realize that there is no true dichotomy between the two choices and that a third choice exists. The combined efforts of Cage and Alfred Molina make the criticisms of the tenuous plot almost moot as the energy the two bring to their roles as mortal foes is spectacular, both of these seasoned actors really chew on the scenery in a positive way. Baruchel slotting into the awkward, apprehensive hero role. The special effects for the movie are extremely polished, something that I would not expect less from Disney. I couldn't find much to criticize on this movie, except maybe that the story is a bit too involved and complicated for its intended audience. I wouldn't mind adding this movie to a list of movies that I would actively rewatch, a list that isn't necessarily that long as I get older and more particular with my time.