The Sorcerer's Apprentice

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The Sorcerer's Apprentice

PG

Released Jul 14, 2010

1h 48m

Fantasy

Adventure

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

40%

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171 Reviews

53%

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100,000+ Ratings

Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel) is just an average guy, but the wizard Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) sees in him a hidden talent for sorcery. He becomes Balthazar's reluctant protege, getting a crash course in the art of magic. As Dave prepares to help his mentor defend Manhattan from a powerful adversary (Alfred Molina), he wonders if he can survive the training, save the city and find his true love.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Anna Smith

metro.co.uk

It's a whole load of silly but there's enough fun to make this a decent slice of forgettable escapism.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 23, 2018

Full Review

Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

The plot verges on incoherence, but The Sorcerer's Apprentice is entertaining enough if you can forgive the presence of Cage, whose brand of glum camp hasn't grown any fresher with the years.

Rated: 2.5/5

Sep 9, 2010

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Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

Cage and Baruchel fail to generate a connection and, apart from Molina's Oscar Wilde impersonation, there isn't much to laugh at -- or thrill to, for that matter, since the action has been choreographed with the nerveless competence of an arcade game.

Rated: 2.5/5

Sep 8, 2010

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The whole movie seems to spill out onto the floor in a stinking mess, and when it’s over, the audience is left to ponder how—given its expensive price tag, notable stars, and an admittedly interesting premise—the result could be so awful.

Rated: 0.5/4

Aug 18, 2023

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

It's clear that there is no respect for the classics. [Full review in Spanish]

Oct 26, 2022

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Andrea Hubert

NME (New Musical Express)

Sadly, there is precious little left of the genius that once was Cage, the man whose electric insanity made instant classics of Wild at Heart and Raising Arizona.

Rated: 3/5

May 19, 2021

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Jeremiah J

Best Magic/sorcery movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/10/25

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Ari V

The 1st and last minute or so are generically bad, the rest is a mixture of very dark symbology from (most likely) very dark/dull forces and what feels like humor and input from forces of a brighter and more artistically-capable disposition. 3.15/5

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/09/25

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Alex H

4/5 the only gripe I have with this film is the fact it is based on British legends and myths yet it ends up in New York and with American actors the actors are good but just didn’t make sense other wise highly entertaining and enjoyable film 4/5

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/18/24

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Georgan G

The film has the Disney glitz, with a story based on ancient magic characters. Not a classic, however.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/01/24

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Samuel B

This movie helped me thought one of the worst parts of my life by just being its goofy self. They didn't try to take it to seriously, and I loved that. Overall, great movie, I would love a sequel.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/16/24

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Dale R

A physics student, played by Jay Baruchel, is recruited by a wizard, played by Nicolas Cage, to stop the ultimate evil of Morgana le Fay from returning. The scene that is a homage to the Mickey Mouse scene from Fantasia was appreciated, but seemed out of place or not properly set up in the framework of this film. Beyond that, I think there is the beginnings of a good film here, but it wasn’t realized because of an unnecessarily complicated plot and a finale that was terribly underwhelming. Jay Baruchel will forever be the voice of Hiccup, from the How to Train Your Dragon franchise to me and his performance in this movie seemed like he was playing Hiccup again in a different setting. The other acting performances were all bland. The CGI was all done during night scenes or dark settings to hide the fact that it sucked. There is a good movie in here somewhere it is just too hard to find it to recommend watching this movie, skip it.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

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Jon Turteltaub

Director

Nicolas Cage

Balthazar Blake

Jay Baruchel

Dave Stutler

Alfred Molina

Maxim Horvath

Teresa Palmer

Becky

Toby Kebbell

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Synopsis

Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel) is just an average guy, but the wizard Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) sees in him a hidden talent for sorcery. He becomes Balthazar's reluctant protege, getting a crash course in the art of magic. As Dave prepares to help his mentor defend Manhattan from a powerful adversary (Alfred Molina), he wonders if he can survive the training, save the city and find his true love.

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Screenwriter: Matt Lopez, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard
Distributor: Walt Disney
Production Co: Broken Road, Saturn Films, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Walt Disney Pictures
Rating: PG (Fantasy Action Violence|Brief Language|Some Mild Rude Humor)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 14, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $63.1M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS

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