Review: The Sorcerer's Apprentice (PG)**

Only a whisper of Arthurian legend remains in this pointless, if competent, rehash of everything from Harry Potter and Stardust to Ghost and Men in Black with a nod to Ray Harryhausen.

Nicolas Cage is Balthazar Blake, an ancient sorcerer, older than Methuselah, who, after 1,300 years, finds Merlin's successor in a New York physics nerd called Dave Stutler.

Over time, Balthazar has captured a clutch of evil nemeses in a nesting doll. Chief among them are Morgan Le Fay and her acolyte, Maxim Horvath. Morgan is anxious to escape to fulfil her dream of destroying the earth by resurrecting the dead. Only Merlin's chosen successor can stop her – and that means gauche, geeky Dave.

Anyone seeking even a hint of TH White will be sorely disappointed by The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It's not that type of film. Instead, it's an entirely bogus slice of Hollywoodery that allows director Jon Turteltaub to equally blast heroes and villains from one side of the screen to the other.

Throw in living art deco gargoyles, giant fire-breathing dragons, plasma bolts, mirror traps and even an appearance by Salem accuser Abigail Williams, and this cacophonous, colourful romp emerges as just another anorexic summer action/comedy.

Yet, trailer aside, it never purports to be anything else. Cage, Jay Baruchel (as Dave, re-playing his trademark awkwardness from She's Out of My League), Alfred Molina (as Horvath), Toby Kebbell and perky Teresa Palmer (as Dave's love interest) all provide sound performances in among the thunder bolts and general destruction.

The real issue seems to be over what the film began as, and what it ended up being. It's an inoffensive hodgepodge of ideas, half-baked myth and nearly-forgotten legend. Clearly, it's been designed with a franchise in mind.

But the manner in which it staggers through a humdrum mid-section towards an obvious and speedily wrapped-up finale, does not bode well. All the explosions in the world can't hide the truth: critically, this movie lacks magic.

To its benefit, The Sorcerer's Apprentice relies on Molina and Kebbell as its very English bad guys. And there is a breakthrough performance from Palmer. The remainder is just so much fluff.