The Sorcerer's Apprentice

1st watched 4/16/2021 - 4 out of 10(Dir-David Lister): So so drama involving Merlin being sent into the modern world - with an evil Morgana on his trail to get a magical crystal and the staff (also, known as the sword in the stone) to gain power over the world. On the modern side, it's about a young boy who likes magic, and has a struggling relationship with his father, and starts to take the liking to a neighbor named Milner who shows him unusual tricks. The human story is more appealing as Ben, played by Byron Taylor, is new to the neighborhood and is trying to survive at his new school. He is bullied and with the help of Milner and his girlfriend he starts to turn the tides. Morgana's pack - a cat and mouse turned human - start stalking Milner(who is really Merlin) and the kid trying to figure out where the crystal is. The evil characters are really what pulls this movie down. Morgana, played by Kelly LeBrock, is over the top and the mouse/cat combination just isn't that appealing or funny. The relationship that builds between Milner(Merlin) and Ben is good, but by the time it's improving we get to the finale with the battle between the good and evil folks. Kids might enjoy parts of this movie, but there isn't enough depth for others. It was watchable, that was about all.

This movie should prove enjoyable for the pre-teen set, but there's nothing much here to appeal to adults or older young people. Acting is so-so, effects are pretty bad and story has plenty of holes. Older viewers will be interested to see once-famous actors like Robert Davi and Kelly Lebrock in major roles. I guess this is the kind of movie you do when your career is in a slump and/or you need the money. Families can watch this one with no qualms: there is no objectionable material other than occult elements (as you would expect with a movie called The Sorcerer's Apprentice).

I'm quite sure that there are people that would like this movie. I am not one of them. 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' is really bad. The effects are alright for a low-budget film like this, but the script, props, acting, and characterisation are all truly shocking.

Luckily, this makes for quite an entertaining ride as you can laugh at all the rubbish acting and ridiculous plot points. The concept isn't totally ridiculous, but it's executed poorly and there seems to be no real point to why anyone is doing anything and then everything just starts to get a bit silly. Which is funny.

Some kids will probably love it. The problem though is that its probably aimed at children who will be intelligent enough to know that it is badly-made movie. The only good thing I can say about this movie is that it's not very memorable so it won't stay with you for too long (except for one disturbing scene involving a milkshake).

If you want a decent movie, try and stay away from this. If you like to point and laugh at things, then this may prove itself a worthy target - especially if you already know about the legend of Merlin.

He had a stink attitude. I didn't like him so it's hard for me to enjoy the movie the boy need a 👋

What is there to say about a film that has been done 3 or 4 times, except that this the WORST of the adaptations I've seen.

It lacks any coherent storyline (although most of us know the storyline), and I'm afraid the performances of any of the actors (including the usually good Robert Davi) is dismal. Kelly LeBrock was picked because she's pretty, not because she can act. Sad to say, I see why her career foundered early on. The actor playing the boy is vacant-eyed for the entire movie (is he the child equivalent of the "dumb blonde"??), and I wonder if he even had a career after this.

And, another movie where everyone talks as though they were born in 1992 (Morgana: "Enough of this. Are we gonna fight now?" Just what I would expect of a sorcereress born 1500 years ago: she sounds like she was born in Southern California. Poor screenplay, poor writing.

The movie is hardly watchable. If I was 10, I might enjoy it. Unfortunately, I'm closer to 100 than to 10, so it has very little appeal. I wanted to like it, but it just didn't. Happen. Maybe you will have more luck!