Review of Baby Driver (2017) by Saintdecky — 16 Jul 2017

Baby Driver is a fun, action-packed movie with amazing music and choreography. It doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, but what it already has on its plate is very enjoyable to watch.

Acting: Considering the only real acting role I'd seen Ansel Elgort in was his music video for his song "Thief", I wasn't sure if he was the right fit for this role. I just couldn't see the lovable lover from "The Fault in Our Stars" being a getaway driver. But he definitely proved that he can act, and is not bland or acts the same all the time. The rest of the acting is done very well, however Kevin Spacey was kind of bland and just behaved like a bored Frank Underwood from "House of Cards" since that seems like the only role he can get these days.

Characters: The characters are done perfectly fine; you can understand their motives easily, and they aren't too over-the-top for the most part. They do a great job presenting the moral dilemmas Baby faces, considering he's a good kid with a good heart who's now caught in debt with Kevin "Frank Underwood" Spacey. And like I said, Spacey's character is a bit bland and doesn't add much to the story; he just has to be in it because he's the boss.

Plot: Like I said, the plot isn't necessarily spectacular, nor is it supposed to be. The movie really focuses on the music and choreography, which I'll get into. Despite the plot not being anything mind-blowing, it doesn't have to be. If a movie allows the plot to take a backseat overall and still be a good movie, it's a great movie, for the most part. This movie doesn't rely on its plot to drive the audience, but rather the well-choreographed action sequences and music. This movie is also not very predictable, adding to the suspense. There are countless scenes where I have absolutely no idea what could happen, and while it's not necessarily "edge-of-your-seat" suspense, it's still intense and exciting to watch.

Action: The opening chase scene is done nearly perfectly. It's the complete opposite of the car chase in the movie "Bullitt". Instead of complete silence, music is blaring, and the chase is synced along with the music. It was edited and shot perfectly. Another great thing about the action scenes in this movie is that it doesn't rely on shaky-cam. You can pretty much always tell what is going on on-screen during the chase scenes. It also had to be edited perfectly so it would sync with the music. I can't help but appreciate all the work put into clearing the music for use, incorporating it into the script, choreographing it, and then filming it, and resulting in a really fun movie. That's all this movie is supposed to be. A fun, wild ride of a movie with added suspense so you don't get bored, and plenty of good action. It doesn't boast a good plot or even too many memorable characters, but I absolutely loved pretty much every minute just because it was so fun to watch.

Overall, Baby Driver is a great summer movie to watch with friends and have a good time. I can't imagine how hard it was to put all this together, and I applaud Edgar Wright for putting it together so perfectly. If this movie didn't have the choreographed music, it wouldn't be the same. Of course, then the movie may try to compensate for the lack of fun in the action scenes, and expand on the plot, which may or may not have worked, but I loved the movie just the way it was. It gets a 9 and not a 10 simply because it doesn't really introduce anything new besides the action and music.