I keep asking myself, “Is this finally the last Nic Cage Disney movie I’ll be subjected to on the WATC(H)?” 

But it seems there’s always just one more I haven’t seen yet. I admit that it’s the animated movies that I’ve had the hardest time with (looking at you Astro Boy, and oh boy The Croods await) but I also struggle with Nicolas Cage in his “crowd-pleaser” destined-to-be-blockbuster roles that he takes on. The guy refuses to discriminate. 

HOWEVER, the last Disney movie Cage that I reviewed was National Treasure: Book of Secrets and it was decent. I enjoyed it and found it maybe more entertaining than the first one. It was directed by Jon Turteltaub.

And look what we have! 

Another Jon Turteltaub-directed Disney movie The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2011). 

And, yes, yes I did find it quite enjoyable. Even though it was Disney, even though it was a far-stretched adaptation of the Mickey broomstick scene in Fantasia, and even though it does possibly a great disservice to the Arthurian legend in the creative liberties it takes. In spite of all those things, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was a pretty good flick. I watched it twice (as is now my custom) and found many things to enjoy.

What things, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

The World According to Wizards

The first Harry Potter movie was released in 2001. (Crazy huh, that was 23 years ago now.) And Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2 (the last film made from the original books) was released in 2011. So this movie, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice came well after the wizarding world had been whizzed over all of us. (Sorry, that sounds more graphic than intended.) 

Were people tired of magic, wizard duels, and fantastic creatures by then? Maybe. 

But history shows us that people may never really get tired of such things. 

In 2010, I may have reached a temporary saturation point in my interest because I honestly have little memory of this film. I believe I did see it, but it was not that impactful for me, so I must have had other things going on. My kids would have been prime age for this as well–but they don’t remember it either (I asked).

Regardless of the trending arc of interest in wizards in pop culture, this movie is excellent because Nicolas Cage plays a wizard—and not just any wizard, Balthazar Blake, one of Merlin’s (yeah, that Merlin) proteges. Balthazar and his love Veronica are the good students, who trust and admire Merlin’s good magic, but Horvath (played by the always excellent Alfred Molina) is the betrayer who in his envy of his fellow students’ love tryst sides against his master and with the evil sorceress Morgana le Fay. 

After Merlin is murdered by Horvath and le Fay, le Fay possesses Veronica forcing Balthazar to use magic to entrap the sorceress in an enchanted “nested doll” container prison called the Grimhold. He does this to prevent Morgana from 1) killing Veronica from the inside out and 2) enacting her ultimate end game, a spell called The Rising, which would raise an army of the dead to wipe out mankind. Over time, Balthazar captures other evil wizards, even Horvath, inside the nested layers of the Grimhold until such time that he can find the promised Messiah (The Prime Merlinian) who is destined to destroy Morgana and (my interpretation) bring balance back to the Universe. 

The movie then, is not centered on Balthazar exclusively, but on his foundling protege, the young David (played by the uber-geeky Jay Baruchel) who is indeed the Prime Merlinian (sorry for the spoiler there).

This is another one of those “will-he” or “won’t-he” find his true identity in time to fulfill his true destiny and save mankind from destruction movies that Disney loves so to put out there. It hits all the tropes.  There’s a college romance, too many jokes about wearing old man shoes, and lots of science-is-another-form-of-magic lessons peppered into the wizarding duels and plasma ball throwing to lean towards the educational and the heartstrings without taking itself too seriously. It gets pretty electric by the end.  

But again, I wonder (what I’ve pondered many times in this journey) whether this movie would be very watchable were it not for the surprising shamanistic powers of Nicolas Cage.

Nicolas Cage is the Perfect Wizard

Sure, he doesn’t have the pointy hat, or the gnarly staff, or the Gandalf beard, but for this movie he brought the cool factor. A few of the wizard chique elements I appreciated about Balthazar were:

• Full length leather trench coat and stylish vest beneath
• Silver rings on every finger
• Pointing black dress shoes
• Flowy locks (which he’s been working on for a while now)
• A sometimes-stilted (mostly business like) but caring attitude
• A giant iron eagle that swoops in at various times to save the day
• An amazing classic car, 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe.
• A wizard’s genius at getting himself out of traps like “mirror” spells and “carpet quicksand”
• Great timing

What You Don’t Know About This Film

If you haven’t taken the time to watch this movie or even see a trailer, there’s probably many things you don’t know (or even care about) at face value. But here’s a few things that you may not know that I thought were kinda interesting / unexpected. 

• The Iron Eagle. I mentioned the giant metal eagle which in my mind was not expected. Is there a statue like this New York City I am unaware of? Maybe? Or maybe it was just a creative decision someone in the studio made. Nicolas Cage flying around on a very literal “iron eagle” well that’s just fitting.

• Balthazar is chased by the famous bull statue that is on Wall Street. Thanks to Horvath, the statue comes to life and tries to decimate him.
• There are multiple evil wizards  trapped in the Grimhold that show up in this movie. Sun-Lok is an ancient Chinese sorcerer who shows up and brings a dragon puppet to life in Chinatown. Abigail Williams is the real witch behind the Witch Trials who comes and kidnaps Dave’s girlfriend, Becky. 

• Brain science is the key. According to Balthazar, wizards are just special people who can use more than the standard 10% of their brain power. They can manipulate molecules with their minds and that’s why magic is just as much about science as anything. 

• Tesla coils. Dave uses his knowledge of Tesla coils and electricity to defeat Morgana. Plus a lot of New York City’s electrical grid I imagine. 

• That guy from Servant (Tony Kebell) plays Drake Stone, a Morganian magician / entertainer who looks a lot like Zoolander.  Drake tries to help his former Master, Horvath, but mostly provides the movie’s comic relief. He’s actually a pretty good comedic actor. I’m surprised he hasn’t appeared in more films and TV that I’ve seen.

• Ian McShane (from Deadwood) narrates the beginning of the movie. He’s got a good gravelly voice for the Arthurian stuff.
• Some solid comedy in this film. One of my favorite scenes is where Horvath grades Dave’s paper that he was trapped with in an urn for ten years. He gave it a B- and some harsh criticism for a ten-year-old author. (Watch the scene here: https://youtu.be/xVJf3aLepys?si=XqHhTeJ3zNGLx7Ws)
• The broomstick scene. This movie (unsurprisingly) nods back to the original Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey Mousem who tries to use magic to do his chores while his Master the Wizard is away. Similarly, Dave tries to do the same thing and it gets out of hand. This time there’s more sponges, squeegies, and electrical outlets, but the result it pretty much the same. Mayhem. And just like in Fantasia version the wizard (Balthazar in this case) gets back to the house just in time to save Dave from the doom of his magical efforts to use spells he hasn’t fully learned yet.

https://youtu.be/oPDSoFgivPA

What I Don’t Get About This Film

There were unexpected things and also a few things I just don’t get. Maybe they are minor details and can be easily explained away, but here’s the head scratchers for me.

• Why trap all these bad wizards in the same nested doll? Evidently, there were other enchantments around that could do the work (since Balthazar and Horvath get trapped in one for ten years) so why put all your “eggs” literally “in one basket”. You gotta diversify that prison portfolio man, otherwise you’re battling too many wizards at once. 
• What would wizards do if they did destroy all of humankind as was Morgana’s end game? Do they think the zombies would make for good workers? Would they be the perfect fast food employees? What about breweries, wineries, sporting events, and good literature? I don’t think evil wizards have a very good grasp on long-term strategy. What kind of quality of life can they expect if they wipe out humanity?
• Balthazar and Horvath were trapped in a magical urn for ten years together. Didn’t they talk? Share stories? Vent with each other? Perhaps listening to the other’s perspective during that interminable amount of time would have helped them come to realize that vengeance / violence is a zero sum game. Maybe I’m too idealistic, but that seems like a long time together not to work through your differences. Especially since they’d been at war with each other for centuries. I think a long time-out in close proximity is usually a good solution for childhood conflicts and this should have been no exception. 
• The magic rules are sus. Balthazar tells Dave that if they get trapped in the mirror dimension for more than a short time, they’ll die. But it looked like Horvath was stuck in a bathroom mirror for a quite a while when Drake was unconscious. Just sayin’. 

Firsts for Nicolas Cage as Balthazar

• Fingerless gloves and lots of rings
• Riding a giant magical metallic eagle
• Taking part in a wizard on wizard duel
• Mentoring a young man
• In full length leather trenchcoat + stylish fedora style hat 
• Transforms wolves into puppies
• Owns an antique store (called Arcana Cabana)
• Visiting Chinatown
• Leveling a very old Chinese lady using magic (it was Horvath)
• Knuckle-bumps someone before a final battle
• Escapes a quick sand Persian carpet
• Takes the backwards stage dive plunge off of a NYC building (onto a magical eagle)
• Attacked by the Wall Street Bull 
• Revived by another wizard (The Prime Merlinian)

Recurrences

• Wizard (The Ant Bully)
• Long locks (Con Air, Next, Zandalee, Bangkok Dangerous)
• Handling a pigeon-like bird (Birdy)
• In New York City (It Could Happen to You, World Trade Center, Knowing)
• Driving a pretty sweet classic car whom he refers to as a “she” (Gone in 60 Seconds)
• Playing a NYC cop (It Could Happen to You, World Trade Center)

Memorable Quotes

• “This is very special. And if it likes you, you can keep it.” [Giving Dave the dragon ring]
• “You’re a bad liar, Dave. That’s good.”
• “Magically. Here you are.”
• “I’ve been stuck in an urn for the last ten years.” 
• “Civilians must not know magic exists. That would be complicated.” 
• “Dave. You should run.” 
• “When you’re up against the wall. There’s only one weapon of choice. The plasma ball.” 
• “I’m not your mentor. I’m your Master.”
• “Do you think I’ve been teaching you magic for some little girl’s tea party?”

Conclusion

The Rotten Tomatoes criticism was not kind to The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: “It has a likable cast and loads of CGI spectacle, but for all but the least demanding viewers, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice will be less than spellbinding.”

But I also think the criticism is accurate–if you’re not too demanding of this movie you’ll like it well enough. It’s Disney. Just keep telling yourself that as a mantra. I found my expectations were pretty low and I was pretty surprised that I enjoyed it. Mostly, I think I just was happy to see Nicolas Cage playing the wizard we all know him to be. The role fits the man.

And it looks like I’m going to get one more “long-haired” fantasy role out of him in the next installment of the WATC(H) #58, Season of the Witch. Rather than enacting the magic, next time he’ll be combatting it, I suppose. 

And I, for one, can’t wait. Hey, I’m here for it. 

Shazam!