Director: Edgar Wright
By Alex Watson
Absent from our screens since 2013's The World's End, Edgar Wright has truly come back with a bang! Baby Driver is one ride that is impossible to resist and throughout manages to skillfully manage high-octane thrills with comedy and some lovely romantic tones. Featuring a wonderful ensemble cast and a belting soundtrack that will have you nodding your head for hours afterwards- Wright has produced one hell of a picture.
Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a talented getaway driver who has headphone's permanently attached to drown the tinnitus ringing in his ears. In debt to mob boss Doc (Kevin Spacey) after stealing one of his cars as a kid, Baby simply does the job he's asked and looks forward to getting out. When he meets waitress Debora (Lily James), the young man sees a future in front of him. Doc, however, is keen for him to keep working but Baby's quiet way doesn't sit well with criminals Bats (Jamie Foxx), Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Darling (Eiza Gonzalez).
Opening with possibly the best scene of the year (expertly soundtracked to The Jon Spencer Blue's Explosion track Bellbottoms) Baby Driver shows its A-game early. A spectacular and jaw-dropping car chase sequence soon follows- marvel at everything from the beautiful choreography to just how well Wright fits the action around each song. Although a gifted driver, Baby is out of place among his peers. Assumed to be either mute or mental due to his lack of words and constant listening to tunes. Doc favours him highly because "he's been boosting cars since he could see over the dash!" Underneath the cool facade is a switched on and likeable young man who cares for his elderly and deaf foster father Joseph (CJ Jones). Secretly he pines for his lost mother (who died in a car accident when was young) and he records conversations with the thugs and mixes them into tunes.
Meeting Debora should have been the start of a new life as she breezes in while working at the same diner his mother once worked. Having other ideas Doc ropes him back in with apparent ease which is a testament to the menacing charm Spacey holds. The crew is what makes this picture really fire and Bats is the unpredictable element in the equation. Having a hair trigger temper and constantly suspicious of everyone he meets or sees, things can get ugly in a heartbeat! "I'm the one whose got the mental problems in the crew. Position taken!" he publically declares and he really isn't lying. Party Animal Buddy and his wife Darling are equally troublesome on the job. A former Wall Street trader turned bad, Buddy chose to run off with his stripper mistress and turn to crime. His descent into madness gives the final act a magnificent tension along with several nice comedic touches.
A remarkable original piece of work, Baby Driver manages to excellently blend romance with high-speed thrills. The movie's final act is the best-crafted piece of cinema you will see this year. During this sequence, Baby's strength as a character is truly revealed. A young man forced into a terrible position, he is willing to do whatever it takes to get out. Wright wonderfully combines his desire to leave with Debora alongside several brilliantly executed action sequences. He is a character with big brains and heart but also a clean-cut conscience. Egged on earlier by criminal Griff (Jon Bernthal) to get blood on his hands, Baby is always thinking two moves ahead and these kinds of smarts make him so appealing. Perhaps the real star of Wright's movie is the soundtrack including Queen, Barry White, Beck, Martha and the Vandellas and The Button Down Brass. Each song fits around every scene so well and always dedicate the pace.
Ansel Elgort has the role he was born to play and as Baby, he is a cool and iconic figure. Though it could have been tempting to simply copy from Ryan Gosling in Drive, Elgort gives him a wonderful human feel. Baby underneath is a boy who longs for his mother and wants a clean break in life. His vulnerability is what draws him to us and Elgort shines brightly here. Lily James while a sweet, wholesome and heart stealing is given little to work with. While she and Baby share the same dreams, we learn next to nothing about her. Jon Hamm makes for great support as Buddy, the at first kindly yet deranged bank robber- his turn into something more sinister makes for great viewing. Hamm is always capable in a big movie and he makes full use of himself here. As the unpredictable Bats, Jamie Foxx gives his strongest performance in years and serves a timely reminder of how captivating he can be in the right role.
Baby Driver is not only the best movie this summer has to offer, but one of the best pieces of cinema you will have the pleasure of seeing in the coming months. Expect this movie on everyone's top-10 lists come the end of the year.
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