Review of Baby Driver (2017) by Sam A — 04 Jul 2017

Baby Driver is the picture perfect film in which 2017 has been waiting for. Edgar Wright takes on the challenge of driving a movie (pun not intended) purely on music. And it works.

Baby Driver is the story of a teenager named Baby (Ansel Elgort) Baby suffers from the defect of Tinnitus, where he has a constant ringing in his ears due to an accident which occured when he was a child. He uses music to concentrate and drain out the constant white noise in his ears. This condition makes him the greatest get away driver in the business. Baby uses music to control his every move while on the job. However, he wants out of the kill first ask questions later business. Baby meets a waitress named Deborah (Lily James) who shares his passion for music, they fall for eachother almost instantly and plan to escape the dangerous and intense life they have.

Baby works for Doc (Kevin Spacey), Doc is the head of the heist organisation who uses Baby to successfully escape with millions of dollars per job. As Doc refuses to use the same crew for another job. Baby is partnered with Bats (Jamie Fox), Buddy (John Hamm) and Darling (Eiza Gonzalez) These unpredictable crew members challenge Baby's moral choices as he struggles to escape the loop of the criminal life he has been forced into. However the stakes start to rise when Baby is discovered by his partners.

The acting in this movie is brilliant, from psychotic Jamie Fox to struggling Ansel Elgort. Everyone in this movie looks like they are giving their all. This movie is fun and stylish. If not the most stylish movie I've ever seen. Edgar Wright is a master of style. This is apparent through the smooth transitions and cinematography of that series. It is clear that Edgar Wright implemented these features and added many more to this unique and surprising spectacle of a movie.

The music is an element itself in this movie. The music is the drive of this film (again pun not intended) nearly everything in this movie, happens because of the beat of the music. Using tracks such as Bellbottoms by The John Spencer Blues Explosion for the first getaway chase of the movie. Tequila by Button Down Brass, this is used in an incredibly stylish shootout. And Brighton Rock by Queen, which is positioned in two places in the the film.

The cinematography in this movie is insanely good. Down to the close shot of a car wheel. There isn't a single scene with in the film where it feels out of place. The music bleeds out of the screen and sinks the viewers deeper into this movie. You feel connected to this movie due to its amazing direction. Whenever music isn't playing within this film, all that is heard is the white noise in the background. This grounds the movie in reality for the viewer, to a certain extent. The audience can then relate to Baby, in a way. The viewer feels depressed or annoyed when music isn't playing. Showing the emotion of Baby while he isn't listening to music. But every song and shot works in this movie. I can't fault this movie on this level in any way, shape or form.

I find it hard to pick at what is bad about this movie. Normally as there is a love story in this movie, I would say that the love story is forced. However it's not. They both have a common interest in which brings them together in a realistic way. The acting is fantastic. The action is amazing. The music is phenomenal. It's funny, the script is brilliant, the characters are memorable and interesting and glue together incredibly. The only thing I can fault this movie on is the story. I think the story could have been more interesting and more in depth. However I can overlook this, due to the fact that there are so many pros to this movie which weigh out the questionable cons.

Baby Driver is a must-see for movie fans and definitely Edgar Wright fans. Its a pedal to the metal (again pun) incredibly groovy, stylish, fun action/crime comedy. Baby Driver is brilliant.