Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes
SCORE: 77
Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes is a sequel to The Mystical
Adventures of Billy Owens. Billy and two friends are in a magical
training program during the summer. Each has different skills that will
become useful later in the film. A fourth child joins their team, and
they wind up going on another adventure. The Viking theme continues in
this film, but at a much lower percentage.
There are some interesting different locations used in Billy Owens and
the Secret of the Runes. These range from a light house to a carnival.
The majority of this movie is set outdoors which is a great lesson to
all of us. Not sure what that lesson is? Well, get outside and enjoy
some fresh air. The special effects in Billy Owens and the Secret of the
Runes are okay, but could use an upgrade in my opinion. There is a scene
with magical combat that made me think of turn based role playing games.
A supposed powerful wizard got taken down pretty easily in my opinion.
Roddy Piper may just be the old wizard teacher, but he really does a lot
for Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes. In fact he seemed to bring
a lot of charisma to the film. There are scenes in Billy Owens and the
Secret of the Runes with just the children that seemed a little slow to
me. Children watching this DVD had no problems. In fact they kept asking
me questions about how magic worked in this universe. Others obsessed
about the sea serpent and wanting to see more of it.
The extras in Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes are improved from
the previous one, but there is still not a lot there. Two trailers are
included. One trailer is for this movie, and the other is for the
original Billy Owens movie. There is a really neat bonus for those who
will sit through the credits. Technically there are quite a few of them
sprinkled throughout the credits.
After Mark wrote the review for the first Billy Owens movie, I took the
time to watch the film. I feel that the story has improved in Billy
Owens and the Secret of the Runes. This sequel flows better. With that
said there are still points where it stretched in some areas that just
felt odd. There were also some short scenes that had important plot
points but did not go with the flow. I can think of some better ways to
relay that information. I had no problems with the functionality of the
DVD.
The big issue most families will have with Billy Owens and the Secret of
the Runes is the magical elements. There really is not a lot of
explanation as to where their powers come from. Also magical people seem
to be very few and far between. But those that are all know each other.
The main lesson in Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes is the
strength of your sacrifice is equal to your power. The characters help
one another out, and the big question is will they sacrifice their gifts
to save their teacher? I will not spoil that for our fantastic readers.
- Paul
Graphics: 73%
Sound: 77%
Replay/Extras: 72%
Gameplay: 87%
Family Friendly Factor: 76%
System: DVD
Publisher: MTI Home Video
Rating: 'NR' for Not Rated
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