But while Mr. Molina and Mr. Cage supply a measure of well-compensated eccentricity, their labors ultimately serve to emphasize the grinding mediocrity of the enterprise. The method of The Sorcerers Apprentice is to string together pedestrian moments of explanation, comedy and emotion around noisy and derivative action sequences, some of which seem to go against the very premise of the movie. Why would Balthazar and Maxim magicians who can fly, change shape and conjure force fields, fireballs and just about anything else they want need to climb into cars and chase each other through the streets of New York?