Riddle of Fire movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Riddle of Fire

This quirky fairytale/adventure film premieres on April 17, 2024 in select theaters, as well as for purchase or rent on Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home, and Apple TV.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 54 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C+

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IN A NUTSHELL:

The movie asks on screen, “Are you a knight or a squire? Can you solve the riddle of fire?” The story is about three mischievous kids who have crazy adventures when their mother sends them on an errand.

The low-budget film was directed by young Weston Razooli, who also wrote it, and has a small role in the film as Marty Hollyhock. This is Razooli’s directorial debut. Already, the film has won 6 awards at various film festivals, including “Best Picture”. Congratulations to him and his team!

THINGS I LIKED:

The kids are all adorable, but their characters are complete hooligans. They’re played by Charlie Stover, Phoebe Ferro, Skyler Peters, and Lorelei Olivia Mote.
While the filmmaking and writing are very amateurish, the movie still has an undeniable charm that whisks you away to your own childhood adventures and fantasies.
The only cast member I had seen in anything before was Lio Tipton in Vengeance. I love her look.
For the first several minutes, we don’t hear any dialogue at all, which adds to the whimsical nature of the opening.
The movie truly captures the magic of childhood adventures that I went on myself.
At 33 minutes, we see the first magic. It’s never quite explained, yet none of the characters are skeptical of it.
You WILL crave blueberry pie after watching this movie.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

What was the riddle? What was the fire?
Based on the font of the text at the beginning of the movie, I assumed the story would take place in Ireland, so I was surprised to learn that the setting is in Wyoming, USA. As it turns out, it was filmed in Utah.
It was strange to cast a young kid whose line delivery is so bad that subtitles have to be
The writing definitely has some holes. For example, the kids go up into the mountains where one of them points out that they can’t call their mom because there isn’t any cell phone reception, but later, they’re able to look up information about a car for sale to steal it. What is a car doing up in the middle of nowhere with a for sale sign on it anyway?
In the dance, a random blue who looks like a mermaid suddenly appears. What the what?
All that so they could play a video game?

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Children break into a warehouse and steal items. Later, they steal a bunch of other things.
Young kids swear a LOT, including an unexpected F-bomb.
A young boy drinks alcohol and gets drunk.
The children get in a lot of trouble and with their potty mouths, are terrible role models for other kids.

THEMES:

Magic
Talismans
Friendship
Adventure

FUNNY LINES:

“Yeah, that’s amore.” – Alice (Phoebe Ferro)
“My mom says school is for suckers.” – Petal (Lorelei Olivia Mote)
“That’s swell, kid. Real swell.” – Jodie (Skyler Peters)
“This tastes like the hot tub in Cabo.” – Hazel A’Dale (Charlie Stover)

INTERESTING LINES:

“Being cute is better than being hot.” – Alice (Phoebe Ferro)
“You need to be strong and brave.” – Julie A’Dale (Danielle Hoetmer)
“I’m not in charge. I just take charge!” – Alice (Phoebe Ferro)
“What do you call someone who is both cursed and blessed?” – Jodie “Rich?” – Hazel
“It’s okay. There’s always tomorrow for dreams to come true.” – Petal (Lorelei Olivia Mote)