Mostly, when you’re dealing with movies that are classified as “family films” you’re going to find material that is aimed at small children.  With recent hits such as Alvin & The Chipmunks, it has been proven that if a movie can keep children quiet and entertained for a period of time, parents will shell out big bucks and sit through just about anything.  This being said, it is something very cool when a movie is released that is perfectly suitable for kids and adults alike.  Disney’s latest adventure flick The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a welcome addition to fun and family friendly movies everywhere.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice follows a powerful sorcerer named Balthazar (Nicolas Cage).  Balthazar was one of three students of the famous Merlin, and for the past few centuries he has been searching for a very special person who is capable of learning Merlin’s teachings and protecting the world from evil.  After a long and exhausting search, Balthazar believes he has found this chosen one in the form of college physics major Dave (Jay Baruchel).  However, Dave and Balthazar soon find themselves in harms way when an old enemy reemerges with the return of evil sorcerer Horvath (Alfred Molina).  As they battle this evil force, Dave tries to balance his new responsibility with his everyday life and affection for his childhood-love Becky (Teresa Palmer).  Although many themes present in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice may be quite familiar to movie going audiences, the material is presented with such care and fun that it deserves to be seen.

Cage takes Baruchel under his wing

First and foremost, the actors featured here sell this material outright.  When you’re dealing with a script that features terms such as “Prime Merlinian,” “Plasma Bolts,” and “Pointy Shoes” you can very easily find yourself in an eye-rolling nightmare.  However, the actors here showcase a lot of talent and make the given material very believable and quite entertaining.  Nicolas Cage, who has made over-the-top and crazy roles his trademark, gives a surprisingly restrained performance as Balthazar and Cage reminds us of just how he was able to earn an academy award.  As far as the apprentice, you really couldn’t have cast someone more perfect than Jay Baruchel.  Baruchel, whose star has been rising with memorable roles in Tropic Thunder and She’s Out of My League, is just great here.  Baruchel delivers a very relatable and likeable performance and presented a great chemistry with Cage.  Also, newcomer Teresa Palmer is simply adorable as Dave’s love interest Becky.  Palmer has a quality that’s reminiscent of Rachel McAdams and Amber Heard and I see great things in her future.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice also features some of the coolest effects and action sequences all summer.  For a movie filled with computer effects, I was really impressed at how fluid the effects were presented and the fact that it wasn’t obvious when CGI was used was a welcome change.  Also, there’s a particular car chase presented here that was one of the most exciting and entertaining moments in recent movies.  There’s also this one sequence involving Baruchel trying to impress Palmer with one of his experiments that was very original and cool, and I was very impressed with the result.

Dave tries to impress a date with an experiment

As far as the plot goes here, the fact that the makers of this film actually based the story off of the King Arthur myth with call backs to Merlin and Morgana gave the story a sort of strange credibility that worked very well for me.  Also, I can’t tell you how awesome it was when the movie actually paid tribute to the original sequence in Fantasia that was the inspiration for this movie.  The sequence involving sentient mops and brooms was accompanied by the original music from Fantasia and was probably one of my favorite flat-out scenes of any movie this year.

As far as keeping kids entertained, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is filled with fun and witty dialogue, cool music and visually stunning sequences.  This movie will certainly captivate kids of all ages, and the material is presented in such a way that adults will also love the ride.  It’s quite a welcome change when “family film” doesn’t necessarily mean “kids film.”

Teresa Palmer as Becky

Now, this isn’t quite the end-all-be-all movie of the year, as many of the themes presented here have been used before.  Sure, the overall story borrows bits and pieces from movies such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Matrix, so it isn’t all that original.  However, I have to say that the actors create such likable characters it’s easy to forgive this point.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice easily tops The Prince of Persia as the best flawed but lovable movie to be released this year, as I look at it.

I really haven’t beat around the bush with my disappointment in the movies that have been released this summer, and I have to say I had a lot of fun with this movie.  Cage, who has been getting a lot of flack recently, is just awesome here and Baruchel shows he is filled with talent.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice proves that inspiration can come from just about anywhere, even a short animated sequence involving a cloaked Mickey Mouse.  As long as filmmakers show respect to source material and take it seriously (but not too seriously) a successful movie can be made from just about any idea.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: 7.5/10

- Krycek