The Rabid Movie Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, starring Nicholas Cage, Alfred Molina and Jay Baruchel (with magical trailer video)

[Editor's Note: For more reviews of the summer's biggest releases, check out the Daily Loaf Movie Review Index.]

In an interesting turn of events, the Walt Disney company introduces us to the adventures of a new boy wizard just as the incredibly successful Harry Potter series is coming to an end. The movie is The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and it's a magic-driven extravaganza that the studio surely hopes will tap into those Potter dollars.

You’ve got to give the mouse credit. Apprentice lacks a built-in, RABID fan base, or tomes of worthy source material. It’s kind of like sending a Jamaican bobsled team to the winter Olympics. Or riding a mechanical bull on a drunken night at the Dallas Bull. A wild idea; cool, unless poorly executed.

But The Sorcerer's Apprentice has Nic Cage in it, so how bad could it be?

This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2010.