はるかな昔、偉大なる善の魔法使いマーリンと邪悪な魔法使いモルガナとの死闘が繰り広げられ、マーリンはついにモルガナを封印する。だがマーリンは自らも傷つき、いつか現われる後継者によって戦いは真に決着すると予言を残して世を去る。マーリンの弟子バルサザールは予言の後継者を1000年待ち続け、ようやく現代のニューヨークでその人物を見つけ出す。だが、その後継者とはデイヴという何をやっても冴えない青年だった。
製作費: $150,000,000 (225億円)
興行収入: $215,300,000 (323億円)
推定収支: $65,300,000 (98億円)
※製作費・興行収入はTMDBのデータを参照しています。収支は(興行収入 - 製作費)で算出したFindKey独自の推定値であり、広告宣伝費や諸経費は含まれません (1ドル=150円換算)。
監督: Jon Turteltaub
脚本: ダグ・ミロ / Carlo Bernard / Mark Rosenthal
音楽: Trevor Rabin
制作: チャド・オマン / Norman Golightly / マイク・ステンソン
撮影監督: ボージャン・バゼリ
制作会社: Walt Disney Pictures / Jerry Bruckheimer Films / Saturn Films / Broken Road Productions / Junction Entertainment
As usual the so-called critics wrote it down quite a lot but the reviews by ordinary people gave it a much better score (although not stellar). Not very surprising of course since those self-proclaimed besserwissers always moan about films made just to entertain. I found the film well worth the time and money spent. Of course the plot was not very intriguing but is there anyone who would really expect that from a film like this? It’s clearly aimed at younger people and people with a liking for magic and old-fashioned adventure. The effects where really nice and I certainly liked the old-fashioned magic theme. The fact that the lead actor was Nicolas Cage of course helps a lot as well.
Good enough, if nothing standout. <em>'The Sorcerer’s Apprentice'</em> is an interesting film. The premise isn't anything revolutionary, it follows the same beats that a load of these sorta films do; I recall <em>'Bulletproof Monk'</em> and <em>'Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'</em> having similar-ish set-ups. That's not to say it isn't enjoyable, as I did like it. Nicolas Cage always manages to entertain one way or another, while Jay Baruchel works well for the comedic stuff in particular. Alfred Molina makes another live-action Disney appearance, following on from <em>'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'</em> two months prior. He's solid, but better in the latter. The special effects are excellent, I really enjoyed seeing it all come to life onscreen. The score is decent, though the pacing could've been finer. Overall, it's a film I just about feel satisfied with. Worth a watch? Sure.
Aside from an entertaining scene with some of Lukas' wonderful "L'Apprenti Sorcier" and some overly enthusiastic mops, this is a really poor adaptation of this Arthurian legend. In days of old, "Merlin" manages to imprison "Morgana" (Alice Krige) inside a sort of Russian doll. It falls to "Balthazar" (Nicolas Cage) to keep it safe over the millennia until the successor to the sagely old wizard emerges. Well it does, in the unlikely guise of the rather geeky "Dave" (Jay Baruchel) and so it falls to the former to train the hapless latter in the arts of sorcery. Meanwhile, the nasty "Horvath" (Alfred Molina) is bent on releasing the witch from her captivity, and aided by a Billy Idol style rocker "Drake Stone" (Toby Kebbell) is hot on their trail. To be fair, the intention is good - there is plenty of quickly-paced action, the visual effects are adequate and it really looks ok. The acting, though, is pretty terrible. There isn't the slightest hint of a spark between Cage and his young protege; Molina as the suave and ruthless "Horvath" falls fairly flat and the rest of the cast really just serve to clutter this up. Apart, that is, from Kebbell who is having a little fun. The dialogue is unremarkable, and at ten minutes shy of two hours, this is also just way too long. Pity. It has the resources to be good - just let down by the imagination of Messrs Cage and Turteltaub.
