Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Blu-ray Movie Review

"Step inside, you leave everything else behind. Once you enter, there is no going back."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 19, 2010

If I were nine or ten years old, The Sorcerer's Apprentice would be the single greatest film in my young life. A string of inventive, air-crackling wizard duels, a slick series of fantastical set pieces, a boy who inherits the powers of a god, searing plasma bolts (that appear as if from nowhere), massive steel eagles, magic-fueled car chases, chewy popcorn humor, street-splitting CG monstrosities and rebellious mops run amok... I can't even begin to explain how utterly enchanted I would be. But I'm not nine or ten, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice isn't nearly as magical a film as it could be. In the wake of a misplaced, mishandled, exposition-laden prologue, the story rockets from one battle to the next with commendable enthusiasm, but struggles to weave a cohesive narrative. Jarring tonal shifts are a big distraction, style trumps substance at every turn, and it all falls flat whenever the fire and lightning subside. As much as The Sorcerer's Apprentice wants to be a modern Disney classic, it's little more than a fundamentally flawed, mildly entertaining bit of family-friendly fun.

"You will not control your magic if you will not control yourself."

Loosely based on Fantasia's most beloved segment, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" -- subsequently, one of the most iconic animated shorts of all time -- director Jon Turteltaub (While You Were Sleeping, The Kid, National Treasure) and screenwriter Matt Lopez's live-action adaptation tells the unnecessarily convoluted tale of Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average college student who learns he just may be the Prime Merlinian. What's a Prime Merlinian, you ask? Bear with me. Before his death at the hands of nemesis Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige), Merlin (James A. Stephens) mastered three apprentices: the loyal Balthazar (Nicholas Cage), the selfless Veronica (Monica Bellucci) and the treacherous Horvath (Alfred Molina). He not only granted each one immortality, he imparted to them his teachings and secrets, and prophesied about the coming of the Prime Merlinian, a future sorcerer who would have the power to kill Morgana. Sometime thereafter, in an ensuing battle, Merlin was murdered, Veronica sacrificed herself to imprison le Fay in an enchanted doll called the Grimhold, and Balthazar began his tireless search for Merlin's successor. As the years passed, Balthazar captured several other Morganian wizards -- including Horvath -- trapping each one in layer upon layer of the Grimhold. But try as he might, he couldn't find the Chosen One. Fast forward to the present. A centuries-old Balthazar finds Dave, quickly verifies his Merlinian status and begins teaching him the tricks of the trade, while Horvath escapes his eternal prison and sets out to free Morgana and bring about the End of the Age.

Sound complicated? I actually skipped over 85% of the plot, including a budding romance between Dave and lifelong love Becky Barnes (Teresa Palmer), Balthazar's magic-meets-science lessons, a lineup of rival baddies and a slew of gaping plot holes, some more unbearable than others. (Why doesn't Horvath simply free all of his fellow Morganians, le Fay among them, when he nabs the Grimhold? Pressed for time, perhaps. Busy morphing into a Chinese shopkeeper, I suppose.) Throughout Dave's tutelage, The Sorcerer's Apprentice deals in two supposed delights: dull, dutiful exposition and admittedly infectious wizard battles. Unfortunately, only one of them -- the aforementioned plasma shootouts -- are the least bit engaging. The scattershot story that unfolds between dust-ups tends to either inch along or lurch forward, substituting scene-chewing villainy for unsettling menace, go-big-or-go-home action sequences for absorbing intrigue, and derivative genre conventions for surprising sleight-of-hand. There are genuine laughs to be had (Toby Kebbell's scene-stealing glam-wizard, Drake, brandishes one of the finest Star Wars references in recent memory), and again, I can't shower Turteltaub's blistering sorcerer skirmishes with enough praise (a testament to his team's masterful use of so many brilliantly conceived practical effects), but there's a startling, palpable disconnect between the filmmakers' hearts and the film's soul. It's as if Turteltaub and company were so caught up in the visual spectacle of the adventure that they neglected the essentials of storytelling.

The Sorcerer's saving grace? Its cast. Composed Cage and Crazy Cage show up and share center stage, transforming Balthazar into a cool cat with a quirky edge. Meanwhile, Baruchel dons physical comedy like Cage dons a preshrunk wizard's hat: with the ease and effortlessness of a charismatic leading man. Even when the film stumbles from peppy Fantasia homage to oddly octaned car chase, the gangly Apatow alum takes it all in stride, making it tough to do anything but root for Dave (even in spite of an all-too-familiar rise to glory). And Molina, earning his biennial Big Blockbuster paycheck, crams entire scenes into his jowls, chomping with the best of them to deliver a bewitching warlock worthy of the fear and respect Baruchel shows. Yes, Bellucci and Palmer are wasted in obvious roles, and yes, Kebbell deserved far more attention, but the trio make the most of their limited screentime. Each actor brings more spirit to the film than the script affords, and each one works overtime to sell the magic being hurled from hand to hand. In other words, don't blame the cast for The Sorcerer's shortcomings. Adapting a simple, silent animated short into a feature-length film had to present countless challenges and, if nothing else, the resulting production is a competent one. Had the screenplay been stripped of all its excesses, had Turteltaub focused more on narrative flow than special effects, and had the filmmakers spent more time developing their characters than their tangled plot threads, The Sorcerer's Apprentice could have stood out from the crowd. Instead, it fizzles.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Baked to a golden Bruckheimer brown, Disney's spectacular 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation is a wondrous sight to behold. Bristling beneath a lovingly preserved veil of filmic grain is a world bursting with spellbinding colors, dazzling primaries, bottomless blacks, gorgeous contrast and warm, relatively lifelike skintones. Confetti-strewn streets come alive, otherworldly green flames lick the screen and blazing plasma bolts ignite the darkness, all with jaw-displacing pizazz. Detail never falters either. Faces, fabrics and distant buildings are teeming with sharply resolved fine textures, object definition is crisp and natural (with only the slightest hint of intermittent edge enhancement) and delineation is revealing. Note Nicholas Cage's scraggly stubble, the fur on Alfred Molina's coat, the bricks on the floor of Dave's lab, Becky's knitted scarves and hats, every slick scale of the film's CG-birthed dragon, and every set piece the filmmakers have concocted; all of it polished to pixel perfection. And the encode itself? I didn't see signs of significant artifacting, banding, aliasing, crush, smearing or, really, any of the usual high definition suspects, and the transfer's grainfield is unobtrusive and exceedingly consistent. Looking back through my notes, I can't even find a single negative comment. While I'm sure Bojan Bazelli's overcooked palette will induce a few groans in the anti-Bruckheimer camp, but from a technical standpoint, The Sorcerer's Apprentice simply could not look any better.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney's aggressive, reality-warping DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is just as extraordinary as the film's video transfer, and The Sorcerer's AV presentation impresses on every level. Dialogue is bright and engaging, and prioritization is spot on; sound effects split the soundscape and zip from channel to channel without fail; and dynamics unearth untold evils and embrace every explosive wizard duel with the authority of a master magician. Rear speaker activity is lively and precise, and the film's soundfield is incredibly enveloping. LFE output is earthy and robust, infusing each implosion, fireball, plasma bolt, spatial rift and lumbering dragon with frightening presence. Moreover, pans are nearly invisible, Trevor Rabin's score fills the stage with ease, and the experience is free of distractions, mishaps and underwhelming interludes. It may not be the most subtle mix you'll encounter this year, but its sonic goods captivate from beginning to end, far more than the film itself.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Sorcerer's Apprentice conjures up a solid suite of entertaining EPKs, but the supplemental package never tries to wow audiences with Disney's usual BD wizardry. "Magic in the City" (HD, 13 minutes) looks at shooting a high octane fantasy in the middle of New York; "The Science of Sorcery" (HD, 11 minutes) digs into, what else, the science behind the film's molecule-displacing sorcery; "Making Magic Real" (HD, 12 minutes), the best feature of the bunch, reveals just how many of the on-screen shock and awe is largely comprised of practical effects; "Fantasia: Reinventing a Classic" (HD, 10 minutes) charts the filmmakers' development of a lengthy live-action scene inspired by the classic Fantasia short; "The Fashionable Drake Stone" (HD, 2 minutes) directs attention to Horvath's flamboyant lackey; "The Grimhold: An Evil Work of Art" (HD, 4 minutes) delves into the creation of the Russian Doll prisons that appear in the film; "The Encantus" (HD, 2 minutes) flips through Balthazar's book of spells; "Wolves & Puppies" (HD, 3 minutes) introduces Horvath's canines; and "The World's Coolest Car" (HD, 2 minutes) takes viewers behind the wheel of Nicholas Cage's one-of-a-kind Rolls Royce Phantom. From there, a solid assortment of "Deleted Scenes" (HD, 8 minute) and "Outtakes" (HD, 3 minutes) round out the package.

Ultimately, while Disney's EPKs and deleted scenes are appreciated, a filmmakers commentary, a Picture-in-Picture track, more substantial production documentaries or a full, high definition presentation of the original Fantasia short would have added tremendous value to the release.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I roll my eyes every time someone says, "it is what it is." (Of course it is. What else would it be?) But The Sorcerer's Apprentice... sigh, is what it is: a decent dose of big, dumb family fun. At ten, I would have declared it one of the best films of all time. At thirty though, I see too many missed opportunities to grant it much leeway. At least Disney's Blu-ray release sweetens the deal. Its supplemental package is short on magic, but its video transfer and DTS-HD Master Audio track will leave high definition enthusiasts wondering how the wizards at Disney pulled off such a perfect illusion. All in all, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a solid rental and a possible purchase. Give it a spin and see how much or how little it appeals to you.