Baby Driver is a movie that looks like it could be another heist movie with fast cars, but it definitely proves that it’s got more than what’s under the hood in spades. What a thrill ride this movie is. This movie puts together an exciting and original car chase, an intriguing story, a wickedly dark sense of humor, and characters that are just as explosive as the vehicles they drive.
It stars Ansel Elgort as Baby, a getaway driver for a local group of criminals in Atlanta. He consistently plays music on his iPhone as a way of dealing with his tinnitus. He’s quite the wheelman when his music is on standby. Jon Hamm and Eiza Gonzalez costar as his fellow cohorts, Buddy and Darling, who are husband and wife.
Baby wants to leave his world of crime behind when he falls for a beautiful waitress (Cinderella’s Lily James), but his crew will have none of it especially his boss (Kevin Spacey.)
Jamie Foxx costars as Bats, the new member of the gang who is nothing short of impulsive and reminded me a lot of Joe Pesci’s character in Goodfellas. He espcially gets mad if you forget your gun after a robbery and he also gets upset if you pick up an Austin Powers mask instead of a Michael Myers one. Let that one sink in for a second.
It’s true that the car chase sequences are exciting and visceral to watch, but one thing that makes this movie even stronger is the level of performances and writing when the action is not taking place. When two characters are exchanging dialogue about anything, it feels interesting and palpable and we can believe and root for Baby to get out of his life.
Oh, and did I mention the soundtrack? It contains a seriously killer soundtrack that is catchy and memorable from start to finish. Good luck trying to get either “Bell bottoms” or “Easy Like Sunday Morning” out of your head for the next few days.
As for those chases, this movie performs some off-the-wall stunts that would make the Fast and Furious movies jealous. Each set piece proves to be creative and scrupulously choreographed and never feels repetitive.
Sensationally directed and impeccably acted, Baby Driver proves to be the most satisfying movie going experience so far this year. For the rest of 2017, this is the movie to beat.
Grade: A
(Rated R for violence and language throughout.)
