The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

A physics nerd (Jay Baruchel, who else?) is taken in tow by a master sorcerer (Nicolas Cage) and trained to face a wicked adversary (Alfred Molina) in the ultimate battle of good and evil. Two of the five writers, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard, also wrote Prince of Persia, and that’s a good sign—once again, they keep the back-story gobbledygook to a minimum and concentrate on characters here and now; meanwhile, director Jon Turteltaub sets a hearty pace and draws good performances. As expected, the CGI effects are over-the-top (and there’s always a so-what quality to such “exciting” scenes), but the movie is light-handed and exhilarating, with a nice reference to the original “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by composer Paul Dukas. As Baruchel’s sweetie, Teresa Palmer seems born to play a damsel in distress.