"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was a charming little musical segment starring Mickey Mouse from Walt Disney's long-beloved 1940 animated film "Fantasia," which was in turn based on the poem of the same name by Goethe. It's a very simple story--an apprentice to a sorcerer is too lazy to do his chores, enchants a broom to do it for him, and the broom gets a mind of its own and trouble ensues. Now, 70 years later, Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer have decided to follow in their own footsteps and ape yet another of their cherished icons with 2010's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," in which Nicolas Cage portrays a wiley sorcerer who must train a young man (Jay Baruchel of "Knocked Up" and "Tropic Thunder") to save the world from evil, which consists partly of giant mechanical dragons and Alfred Molina. The teaser trailer has recently been released.

It looks pretty much like what you'd expect from a Nicolas Cage-led modern fantasy taking place in Manhattan. The special effects look to range from decent to kind of bad, the latter especially being the case with the big metal dragons and such, but for the most part the effects look passable. Cage seems to be in his typical wild persona, which alone may make the film worth seeing. Baruchel, who was easily the best part of "Tropic Thunder" for me, seems alright here, though a bit out of place considering his previous output. I'm hoping he doesn't decide to fall into the comedy-action genre for good.

Other than all that, nothing about the film appeals to me at all. The plot seems more like a cross between "Bulletproof Monk" and any of Nicolas Cage's recent action films than an adaptation of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and I got an intense "Pirates of the Caribbean" vibe out of it as well--not in a good way, but in a "convoluted beyond all reason and written as they went along" kind of way. Not to mention so much of the trailer just seems to be one-liners and money shots, so we don't even get a good glimpse at what kind of film we'll be seeing.

Basically, unless a later trailer impresses me or the critical reaction upon release is resoundingly positive, I'll probably be passing, if only to keep my memory of "Fantasia" untarnished.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is set to be released July 16, 2010. The trailer is below. Thoughts?