‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ – A Mickey Mouse attempt at adventure

Must be nice to be The Chosen One.

You know the type – the unsuspecting dude who suddenly realizes he holds the key to saving the world.

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” inspired by the “Fantasia” short featuring those dancing mops, casts Jay Baruchel as the latest “One.”

Isn’t he out of his league?

The casting gives this bland adventure some spice, but it’s still little more than a kiddie movie with enough gumption to keep adults from nodding off.

Nicolas Cage stars as Balthazar Blake, a sorcerer who learned the mystic arts alongside Merlin many years ago, or so a talky prologue tells us.

Now, Balthazar – still looking good in 2010 – must find the person destined to be a great magician in order to spoil a plan by a rival wizard (Alfred Molina). This evil-doer plans to spring the vile Morgana LaFay (Alice Krige) from a centuries-old imprisonment.

That person turns out to be a nerdy physics major named Dave (Baruchel), a guy more interested in winning the heart of his old school chum (Teresa Palmer) than casting spells.

“Apprentice” pays homage to the source material in one witty mop-dancing moment, but otherwise it’s a modern example of special effects standing in for storytelling magic.

Cage and Barauchel find a comfortable comic chemistry, but the screenplay-by-committee gives them little help. Scene after scene wraps with either a limp punch line or throwaway eye candy. If you’re looking for punch, try HI-C.

The running gags scattered through the film are, appropriately enough, run right into the ground, including one about frumpy looking shoes.

Director Jon Turtletaub (“National Treasure”) knows to keep things moving all the same, and he delivers one sweet moment in which Dave’s knack for science wins his gal pal’s heart. Or at least lets him drop his geeky persona.

Molina is Molina here, meaning he elevates the material and proves compelling no matter the scenario. It takes a special skill to shine in mediocre fare.

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” wants to be a breathless amusement park ride, but instead is simply exhausting in its eagerness to please.

(Photo: “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” star Nicolas Cage plays a magician trying to stop an evil force from overtaking the planet. Photo credit: Abbot Genser © 2009 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)