Writer: Edgar Wright (Screenplay)
Starring: Ansel Elgort, John Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx
Plot: After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: So Much Fun
Story: Baby Driver starts as we get to see just how skilled behind the wheel Baby (Elgort) is, as he completes the job while listening to his trademark tunes for Griff (Bernthal), Buddy (Hamm), Darling (Gonzalez) for their boss Doc (Spacey). We learn more about why Baby listens to music, because of his medical condition and that he owes Doc one more score to settle a debt.
Baby lives with is deaf foster dad Joseph (Jones) that tries to keep him on the straight and narrow because he sees the error in his ways and the beautiful waitress Debora (James) that Baby has fallen for, gives him a glimmer of light away from the world of crime.
When his final score is settle Baby believes it is time to walk away, but he would be wrong, Doc won’t let him and this next score with Buddy, Darling and loose cannon Bats (Foxx) pushes Baby to his limits, can he escape this world he has become stuck in and live the life he wants with music and the open road?
Thoughts on Baby Driver
Characters/Performance – Baby is the young man with brilliant driving skills, killer tunes but his innocent nature and slight mental handicap means he is taken advantage of by the criminal world, he wants to live an honest life and he will have to go and show off his skills to escape this world. I would like to point out that his relationship with Joseph is very similar to what we saw in ‘The lookout’ where two handicapped people live together and the elder tries to guide the younger. Doc is the crime boss that uses Baby because he knows he is the best, he won’t use the same unit twice but Baby is the one he will always turn too. I have mixed feelings for this character because I feel he never leans one way or the either to evil or good, he almost feels businessman like. Buddy is the most interesting of the other criminals because we always see him calm but we are warned about his darker side, which we wait to see unleashed. Darling is the sexy girlfriend of Buddy, he turns heads and will kill anyone looking at her wrong. Bats is a character I felt got old quick, he is meant to be the loose cannon and that is fine, but things all turn into him trying to say something so out there it feels like forced laughter. Debora is the light at the end of the tunnel for Baby, she helps him realize he could get away from crime.
Performance wise, Ansel is great through this film as we get to see how he can blend with the music and action. Kevin Spacey is always good in a villainous role and this is no different. For me Jon Hamm is the best because he just captures you wanting to see what he will do next. Lily James is good too through the whole film. Jamie Foxx at times does seem to be trying too hard to be funny which can get hard to watch and is the only weak point in this film.
Story – The story is something we have seen before, a person drawn to the criminal world wants out but now must fight against his former partners in crime to be free. The twists in the story come in the character of Baby who has the handicap which requires him to listen to music to stay focus and block out the noise in his head. We do have style in the story which works perfectly for the tone even if parts dip in the middle, but otherwise this is just fun action comedy. One more plus point is that every scene is seen through Baby’s point of view as he is the only person to be in every single scene as certain times we hear the music like he would and the conversations with his head phone in too, this made the film even more enjoyable
Action/Crime – The car chases are all great and certain parts do all feel fresh too, this is a huge plus for the film. the opening sequence is one that we will all remember too, the crime world shows us just how different the people can be doing the jobs which is also a good plus point.
Settings – The car chase are used most to show off the settings with most of them offering us new tighter situations to Baby to get out off behind the wheel.
Final Thoughts – This is just such a fun movie, with brilliant music, wonderful car chase sequences and is one that fans of Edgar Wright will enjoy all the more.
Overall: Foot down, music on, play loud.
Rating