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Following a welcome return to his bug-eyed heyday in ‘Bad Lieutenant’, Nicolas Cage again goes for the big-bucks jackpot of the family movie with ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’, reuniting with ‘National Treasure’ director Jon Turteltaub for a breezily entertaining but forgettable magical romp. Cage plays Balthazar Blake, a mage locked in a long war of wills with sleazy, power-hungry warlock Horvath (Alfred Molina), until the appearance of bumbling student physicist and natural magician Dave (Jay Baruchel) threatens to tip the balance. Cue training montages, wacky mop-based mishaps and deafening plasma-bolt battles on New York’s streets.
With Cage playing it relatively straight and serious, the show is stolen by moustache-twirling Molina and his David Copperfield-inspired acolyte Drake, essayed with oily glee by Toby Kebbell. But with Baruchel’s likeable lead turn hamstrung by a disastrous romantic subplot, some distinctly non-special effects and a script loaded with blunt expository dialogue, the film casts a superficial and short-lived spell.