Last Sunday my mother and I went to see this new Disney offering, as we're both fantasy fans. I liked it, she didn't. We're different people, she and I.
In this expansion and update of both the Goethe poem and Disney's Mickey Mouse-starring cartoon short from Fantasia, the titular sorcerer Balthazar Blake (Nicholas Cage), a magic maker from the age of Merlin, must train the titular apprentice Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), who may be the prophesied heir to Merlin's legacy. They try to accomplish this while attempting to defeat an evil sorcerer named Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina), trying to bring back supreme evil sorceress Morganna Le Fey to power, and Dave trying to impress the girl of his dreams (Teresa Palmer) from his physics class. All of this takes place in modern day Manhattan, and the film makes good use of the city and it's scenery.
Let me just start right off the bat. Were there gaping plot holes in this? Absolutely. Was some of the dialogue stilted and uninspired? Check and check. Could this whole project have been so much better. An emphatic yes. But you know what? I still liked it. The story, however thin, was enough to hold my interest. The actors were charming. There were some genuinely funny moments. And the climax was pretty cool. Plus, in a movie with magic and fantasy, director Jerry Bruckheimer managed to fit in a car chase. Like I'd expect anything else.
My Verdict: Don't go in with overly high expectations, but just enjoy it for what it is: A fun, dumb summer movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment