Review of Baby Driver (2017) by Amy S — 13 Jul 2017

"With a lot of style, pure action and funny humor, I had a blast with this movie. "Baby Driver" is a great movie that loves cinema and it rushes through the finish line as the best film of the summer.".

Movie Review: Baby Driver.

Date Viewed: June 28 2017.

Written and Directed By Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World's End and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World).

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, CJ Jones, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal, Lanny Joon, Sky Ferreira, Flea and Paul Williams.

Imagine "Drive" and "Bullitt" if they were more hip, gulped up a Red Bull and had a mixtape of songs in their veins. "Baby Driver" is a hugely original triumph from writer and director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The World's End). Wright cleverly takes parts from other genre movies and mixes them together to create an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride. The cast is all around terrific, the soundtrack hits on all cylinders and the smartly-written dialogue flows beautifully like the soundtrack.

"Baby Driver" is unlike any summer blockbuster we've seen before, it has a curious way of blending car-chase thriller elements with classic pop songs and comedic slapstick. This film is an enormous accomplishment from Edgar Wright and it may have a spot on my Best of the Year list. The plot revolves around a talented young getaway driver named Baby (Ansel Elgort), he's the best in the business according to his heist planner/crime kingpin boss named Doc (Kevin Spacey) and his getaway jobs are always clean because he has a sheer love for music. Everytime he does a job, Baby always puts his headphones on and listens to music. You might think that his love for music would be a disadvantage for Baby but despite having headphones on his ears, he still keeps a close eye on everybody around him.

Baby's love for music started when he was a child, not only did he love his music, it also protected him from having to hear his parents fight and argue with each other. Tragically, Baby's mom and dad were killed in a horrific car accident which left him with no family and severe tinnitus. Baby was then taken under the care of his deaf black foster father named Joseph (CJ Jones) and he was then coerced into a getaway driver gig for Doc because he stole one of his cars. Baby is almost way through into paying Doc's debt, all he needs to do is complete one last job and he's home free.

After pulling off his last robbery scheme, Baby decides to ditch his getaway driver gig and move on with his life which leads to him meeting the girl of his dreams. She's a young restaurant waitress named Debora (Lily James) and Doc sees her as a means for not finding a new getaway driver so that he can keep using Baby to pull off more heists. Eventually, Baby does have to face the music and do whatever means necessary to protect Debora at all costs. This premise may not sound original at all but the soundtrack populates with the dialogue so that we can be more engaged in what's going on.

The action sequences in "Baby Driver" are just incredible, they contain some of the best I've ever seen and the stunt work is also amazing. The supporting cast also includes Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal and Jamie Foxx as members of Doc's bank robbing crew. Each of the bank robbers has a different personality to themselves, Bernthal plays Griff, a robber who constantly mocks Baby for being mute most of the time, Hamm plays Buddy, a handsome tiger who likes to party hard, González plays Darling, Buddy's wife and partner-in-crime and Foxx plays an impulsive, nut job sociopath named Bats.

Edgar Wright's turbo-charged masterwork speeds through thanks to it's killer soundtrack which contains songs such as "Bellbottoms" by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, "Let's Go Away For Awhile" by The Beach Boys, "Easy" by The Commodores, "Debora" by T. Rex, "Tequila" by Button Down Brass, "Every Little Bit Hurts" by Brenda Holloway and "Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up" by Barry White. I haven't forgotten about Ansel Elgort, his kinetic performance elevates the film without slumming it down. The love story between Baby and Debora is sweet and charming, Baby's endearing relationship with his music is surprisingly insightful and the comedic sight-gags are also terrific, the best bit involves Bats and his crew getting the wrong Michael Myers masks.

With a lot of style, pure action and funny humor, I had a blast with this movie. "Baby Driver" is a great movie that loves cinema and it rushes through the finish line as the best film of the summer.