Riddle of Fire (2023) Review

A beautiful film with a DIY spirit which perfectly captures the nostalgia of childhood exploration and the youthful mischief of summer.

Shot entirely on 16mm Kodak film, every scene has a beautiful sunlit glow, accented by the sparkling crackles of film grain. The entire first 15 minutes of this film are genuinely gorgeous, showcasing the beauty of northern Utah, with wide shots of a rolling mountain countryside floating by in dreamlike fashion. This dreamy atmosphere is then juxtaposed with an exciting and creative opening heist scene and dirt bike montage. It’s an incredibly strong and joyous start to the film.

Riddle of Fire was most definitely made by a team who understood exactly what made films like The Goonies so timeless, and they were able to take that old-school family-film vibe and engrain it into a nostalgic yet unique tale of adventure and magic.

The child actors here really shine, and the main trio are both adorable and hilarious, riffing off each other perfectly and occasionally dropping the most off kilter lines I’ve ever heard from children.

That off-kilter nature is present in much of the script, which infuses odd, whimsical and magical phrasings in with more modern lingo for a unique blend of dialogue.

The film is also interesting in that, while being modeled after family movies of the 80s and 90s, it also has enough curse words and adult situations to earn itself a mature rating. I still think that the film is appropriate enough for basically an age, but its indie-film pacing and general strangeness means it will appeal to film nerds more than to children anyway.

Lastly, the soundtrack definitely has a DIY, underground feel to it, and the score falls somewhere between synth pop, dungeon synth, and stuff that would fit on a Ducktails record. Think medieval flute music and modern synth stuff if it was soundtracking the ‘70s Lord of the Rings cartoon.

My only criticism is that the film doesn’t always maintain a consistent tone, and the late-middle to the end of the film loses some of its enchanted wonder. I think this could have easily been remedied by simply shortening the film by 15 minutes, as a 2-hour runtime may have been stretching the already fairly loose plot too far.

Altogether, it’s a wonderful film for basically any audience, and if you are looking for a lighthearted, whimsical journey that harkens back to The Goonies, Stand By Me, and the era of darker, grittier family movies, then this is definitely a film for you.