Baby Driver Review
Writer-Director Edgar Wright delivers the most original action film of the summer.
“Baby Driver” might end up being my favorite movie of the summer. It’s original, it’s fun, the performances are top notch, it’s high stakes, and it’s got one hell of a good soundtrack! If you’re bored with superheroes and giant robots, this film will give you something unique and fun to enjoy with friends.
Baby (Ansel Elgort) is working as a getaway driver to pay off a debt he owes to Doc (Kevin Spacey), who organizes complicated heists with different crews across Atlanta. When he finishes paying back his debt he meets Debora (Lily James) a waitress at a local diner he frequents, but Doc isn’t done with Baby yet and after being threatened, Baby acquieses and accepts it.
Can you imagine being a 22 year old actor that hasn’t really lead a film before (he co-starred with Shailene Woodley in “The Fault in Our Stars”) only to find out your supporting cast is Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, and Kevin Spacey? Also, your character doesn’t have a lot of lines and you’ve got to be the driving force of the film. And yet Ansel Elgort more than holds his own with these terrific actors, bringing their A-game in every scene. Elgort plays Baby with a cool confidence, drawing you into the story and making you believe he could be this awesome get away driver. He brings a kinetic energy to the role despite being a rather calm character. Enough cannot be said about the supporting cast, who deliver each of their lines with the right balance of menace and cheese that would make Quentin Tarantino proud. Spacey especially seems to be perfectly in sync with the tone director Edgar Wright establishes in the opening scenes of the film. Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm are perfect in their roles as hired hands and while Eiza Gonzales might not be as experienced as they are she is great in her role as well. Lily James is lovely as Debora and performs her role well. She’s British and she gets the nuances of the softer, more genteel southern accent usually found in Georgia and she has amazing chemistry with Elgort.
At the beginning of the story, Baby is asked what he would like at a coffee shop and he orders four black coffees. I can’t think of a better way to alert the audience about the tone of the film. It is definitely caffeinated, fast moving, and doesn’t stop until the film is over. I looked at my watch once, not because I was bored, but because I was curious as to how much time had passed, what felt like 40 minutes or so was an hour and half! The story is fairly straight forward and that works for a film like this because of the fast pace. As original as the film is, it offers new takes on familiar summer tropes. High stakes action, fast cars, etc all done in a very unique way. Edgar Wright makes a lot of smart choices in the music selection that help tell the story and make it more engaging. It cannot be understated how great this soundtrack is! Like the Guardians of the Galaxy films before it, Wright finds obscure and well known songs and puts them together in a way that gives harmony to the whole story.
From beginning to end, Baby Driver keeps you engaged with incredible performances from a top notch cast and a story that moves along quickly and keeps your attention. Armed with an incredible soundtrack, it is also a welcomely original take on some usual summer tropes.
9.5/10
