Movie magic goes poof!

THE SUMMER OF '10 may be remembered as the season Jerry Bruckheimer lost his Midas touch.

I long ago ceased to question Bruckheimer's uncanny sense of audience taste - I gazed uncomprehendingly at sequels to "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "National Treasure," and was just as dumbfounded by their cumulative box office (a billion or two).

Lately, though, his gift for turning leaden scripts into gold seems to have deserted him - "Prince of Persia," though a much less awful film than "National Treasure 2," is a certifiable bomb.

And Bruckheimer will need all of his wizardry to conjure an audience for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," another summer effects extravaganza that fails to replace charm with CGI, though at least it spares us the agony of crummy 3-D.

And it is, like "Persia," another transparent attempt by Bruckheimer to recapture the mojo of the original "Pirates," taking on old Disney brand (the title comes from an interlude in "Fantasia") and building a gigantic action-comedy around it.

"Persia" had some of "Pirates" goofball matinee appeal, but lacked the fizz of Johnny Depp's eccentric riffing. "Apprentice" tries to remedy that with Nicolas Cage in full out-there mode as Balthazar, immortal student of the legendary Merlin, on an eternal mission to prevent evil wizards from destroying the world.

His complementary quest: to locate the incarnated Dalai Lama of magic, who will tip the balance in favor of good sorcery, and prevent evildoers from raising an army of the Dead. (It took six credited writers to come up with a plot that convoluted and ridiculous.)

The job of making us believe this nonsense rests on the undeveloped shoulders of Hollywood nerd-in-residence Jay Baruchel. He's Dave, the Chosen One, heir to Merlin, potential savior of New York City and the world. The story has him tutored in magic by Balthazar, pursued by an evil wizard (Alfred Molina) and in pursuit of a pretty blonde (Teresa Palmer) who's slow to warm to his egghead appeal.

Poor Baruchel suffers the fate of so many actors stuck in CGI contraptions - his main job is stare in mock wonder/horror at the dragons and metal birds and whirlwinds and bolts of lightning supposedly in front of him.

As for Cage, who actually is in front of him, he and Baruchel have modest buddy movie chemistry. They are, inconveniently, less interesting than some of the supporting players.

Molina has great fun playing the black magic version of Balthazar, in charge of his own protege, one Drake Stone (Toby Kebbell). To understand Drake, picture Harry Potter expelled from Hogwarts for the crime of extreme narcissism, and making his living as a self-adoring David Blaine. A funny concept, nicely done by Kebbell.

Other good ideas are underdeveloped. Dave is a budding physicist, and "Apprentice" posits that what the ancients understood as magic was really exercises in matter, time and space.

Science geek Baruchel is building giant Tesla coil, and his natural interest in the subject is linked to his natural talent for magic. For the fully developed idea, check out "The Prestige."