Synopsis
Balthazar Blake is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath. Balthazar can't do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler, a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners work to stop the forces of darkness.
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Cast
- Nicolas CageBalthazar Blake
- Jay BaruchelDave Stutler
- Alfred MolinaMaxim Horvath
- Teresa PalmerBecky Barnes
- Toby KebbellDrake Stone
- Omar Benson MillerBennet
- Monica BellucciVeronica Gorloisen
- Alice KrigeMorgana le Fay
- Jake CherryYoung Dave
- James A. StephensMerlin
Recommendations
- 65
Movieline
Turteltaub strives to show us realistic-looking magic, without realizing he'd be better off if he acknowledged that there's no such thing. Instead, we get human figures that emerge "magically" from swarms of cockroaches and sorceresses who dissolve into dust particles right before our eyes. It's the best CGI money can buy, and who cares? - 60
Boxoffice Magazine
Big and brash with a fantasia of battles and chases thrown in to keep the young ones enthralled for its nearly two-hour running time. - 50
Arizona Republic
A by-the-numbers, good-vs.-evil tale. - 50
Boston Globe
A flavorless family-friendly action-adventure that doubles as memory exploitation. It has nothing to do with either the Mickey Mouse broom sequence of the same name from 1940's "Fantasia'' or the 213-year-old Goethe poem that inspired it. - 50
Philadelphia Inquirer
On the whole, the movie is more Cheez Whiz than wizardly. - 42
The A.V. Club
While both actors have been hammier and more hilarious, and neither one overdoes things enough to be notable, they at least seem to be having loads of flailing fun as they conjure up CGI scenery to chew on. And when Apprentice limits itself to their battle, it's generally fitful dumb fun. - 40
The Hollywood Reporter
"Apprentice" lurches from one been-there-done-that sequence to another. - 40
Variety
The magic here feels machine-made and depressingly state-of-the-art.
