Cullen Armstrong

Billy Owens is back and better than ever with this riveting new sequel. Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes does a great job of keeping the soul of the original film intact while still introducing compelling new characters like an evil carnival worker and a little girl who can talk to animals. Her adorable pet ferret also makes an appearance and plays a crucial role in the unfolding of the deep and challenging plot. Our heroes overcome trials and tribulations such as Victor Mold's fort destroying power and a bully who turns into a troll, a bird, and a magical floating head.The highlight of the high stakes action is the incredible scene where 12-year-old Devan heroically whacks a bird into submission with his sword. One slight problem with this masterpiece is the lack of the comforting and conciese narration found in the original. However mature audiences will still find much to appreciate in the gut-wrenching choice the children must face between giving up their magic or saving their friend's life and getting to keep their magic anyway. Despite coming out nearly a decade ago, conniseurs of high brow cinema still long for a sequel to this revolutionary film series.

Billy Owens must be better than at least one movie. The villain Victor Mold was very original, and I particularly liked his in depth motivation of having lost his soul in the river. The narration was sparsely but cleverly used to enhance the very clear and easy to understand plot. The CGI was top notch, especially the very scary dragon Billy fights at the end. I would recommend this movie to mature audiences who love compelling character studies and high stakes action scenes.