recommended

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Blistering performances.

Believe it or not, this is actually a pretty good movie. I was annoyed with a few aspects of the movie such as my extreme annoyance with Jay Baruchel. But I think Nic Cage carried the movie. He is a very talented actor and he proves it in each movie he's in whether it's good or bad.This is about wizard named Balthazar who lives in modern day New York City. He has been searching for many centuries for the perfect kid who would be finally be his apprentice. He finally meets that kid and he trains him to be the one to save the world.The acting is pretty good. Of course Nic Cage is more than good Acting is better than expected. Nicholas Cage is quite good more serious and less over the top as he try to stop Horvath from getting to kill the blood line of Merlin and bring his love back from the depts. Of hell in the proclen Russian dolls AD, good sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) has been searching for over 1000 years for the next Prime Merlinean, the only one who has the power to destroy Morgana and her accomplice Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina) and to stop their plan to raise dead evil sorcerers (Morganians) and take over the world. Then one day in the year 2000, 10-year old David Stutler (Jake Cherry) wanders into Balthazar's Manhattan shop, the Arcana Cabana, and Balthazar realizes that he's found him. David's life is about to change as he becomes The Sorcerer's Apprentice. . I was also impressed at Alfred Molina. Jay Baruchel is the geek hero he is ordinary person not known he is Merlin's apprentice he learns to control his powers after 10 years of baltzar first mission to find the last of Merlin's but he gets caught and driven back to hell so went he gets released he has to teach how to use the ring and make objects appear from nothing and to stop veronica from unleashing hell from the People compare this movie for some reason to Harry Potter. I'll say now that this is no Potter. This film is no masterpiece like the Potter series but it still is good.Overall, this is a pretty good family movie. I would turn a deaf ear to the critics and watch this. I rate this film 8/10. Overall, this is entertaining and well done. The effects are not revolutionary but at least fit in to the story rather than detract from it. No violence or mayhem - its OK for a younger to general audience. The script is pleasant if predictable - does the nerd hero rise to the task and vanquish the evil forces. There could have been more historical witches besides Abigail Williams of Salem. There are some humorous bits but not too many.

Like Season of the Witch, this movie feels a little cursed, for no visible reason. Correction: no visible reason except for an actor from the main cast, Nic Cage.This is one of the few Disney movies that I enjoy. It has a great cast, plot, lore, action, special effects, acting, and musical score.With some good characters, this movie can at times, be very memorable. Parts like the final fight and the Chinatown Sequence, stick into your mind like silly puddy.This movie follows that guy who voices Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragons, as he goes from college loser, to Merlon's successor, known in this film as the "Prime Merlonian". Nicolas Cage as Balthazar Blake, Merlon's apprentice, trains whatever his name. The jealous Horvath, one of Merlon's other apprentices tries to resurrect the evil Morgana le Fey, to end the Prime Merlonian and Balthazar.It has this implacable vibe, that is very cool. Some nods to stuff like Fantasia and One Republic (mainly because their song Secrets was popular when this came out).It's a weird, modern magic film that is far more appealing to me than any Harry Potter film, which is why I give it an 8/10. It's a good film and a good watch.

from a "Merlinian" of sorts: OK, only because of my narrated Symphony no. 1 (Idylls of the King about King Arthur) on You Tube in which Merlin is a character.Both Nic Cage and Jay Baruchel ham it up predictably with the latter in the Mickey Mouse role; See the broom sequence with its brief quotation from Paul Dukas' composition of the same name. (He doesn't really outact Mickey though!) Alfred Molina, an admirable man in real life is the effective baddie here.The acting is mostly non-existent but what does anyone expect from a Disney film since the Disneys specialize in often very pretty teenagers of both genders who can't act. (The main heroine also is strictly generic.) The plot throughout is far-fetched but this is also expected under the same circumstances!You will go out humming the special effects!

So this movie was inspired by the Fantasia cartoon, The Sorcerer's Apprentice? Why? Is screen writing really as difficult as Hollywood makes it out to be? Surely many many other writers were able to create better scripts that this movie's script. I felt like I had already seen this movie long before I ever did, Nic Cage in a bad wig, Disney seemingly selling me jailbait yet again, a plot that consists of name- dropping and C.G.I. effects... A movie that's sole purpose of being made was to enable the movie's producers to sleep with young naive actresses, well, and probably a few young but not so naive actresses in addition, allegedly. Sex is where babies come from.