Baby Driver (2017)

Since I watched the absolutely amazing “Hot Fuzz”, I’ve been slowly working my way through the filmography of Edgar Wright. So far, I’ve seen a few episodes of “Spaced”, “Shaun of the Dead”, and “Baby Driver”, the critically acclaimed 2017 heist-comedy that’s one part nail-biting crime thriller and one part musical romance.

I really enjoyed “Baby Driver”, the action was dynamic and the cast of characters, whilst not particularly enigmatic, were fun to watch on screen. So although I don’t think it reaches the gut-busting and richly-written highs of “Hot Fuzz”, “Baby Driver” is still a non-stop adrenaline-pumping roller-coaster ride worthy of a speeding ticket!

Edgar Wright injected so much of his distinctive style, personality and exuberance into this film, every frame is dripping in colour and is stuffed chock full of clever visual references and gags. Even during a simple scene of Baby walking down a street, there are many in-jokes and fun details scattered in the background of the scene, which gives the film a surreal and almost cartoon-like atmosphere.

The cast in “Baby Driver” do a terrific job of breathing life into their characters and establishing what makes them standout. Ansel Elgort was excellent as Baby, he’s quite understated throughout most of the movie, but he was excellent during the action sequences and conveyed a range of emotions in a subtle way. Jamie Foxx was hyper cool and very entertaining as unhinged and dangerous criminal Bats and the rest of the cast, such as Jon Hamm, Eiza González and Lily James, were also great.

My favourite character moments in “Baby Driver” stemmed from the heart-warming and poignant relationship between Baby and his foster father. Unlike the romantic plotline (which we’ll get to later) I completely believed in this friendship and was compelled by the scenes featuring the two characters together, which were funny, moving and genuine.

Easily my favourite parts of “Baby Driver” are the exceptionally-crafted action sequences, the car chases are beautifully shot and the shootouts are brilliantly choreographed (I loved the way that the gunshots were perfectly timed with the beats of the soundtrack.) Unlike modern action movies that are filled with shaky-cam and washed-out cinematography, “Baby Driver” bursts with colour and clear and fluid action. Every action sequence is enthralling, easy to follow and blisteringly captivating.

Music is a driving force in “Baby Driver”, it accelerates the action set-pieces and heightens the energy of the more low-key scenes. I think it’s safe to say that the soundtrack therefore, is pretty great, from the exhilarating “Bellbottoms” to the more relaxed “Easy” and the fast-paced “Hocus Pocus”, every song brought something new to the table and added something fresh to the film. I don’t really know a lot about music so there were plenty of songs that I’d never heard before, but I’m sure massive music fans will love all love the deep cuts and obscure songs in “Baby Driver.”

However, “Baby Driver” is by no means a perfect movie, as there were a couple of potholes that threatened to puncture the film’s tyres.

The romance between Baby and Deborah is a key part of the narrative of “Baby Driver”, it propels the protagonist’s journey forward whilst also establishing the impending danger that will be present during the third act of the film. Sadly, I didn’t find the romance very engaging, it felt rushed and quite one-sided at times and housed too many gaps in logic to make me care about what was going on. Ansel Elgort and Lily James certainly did a decent job, they have good chemistry and were convincing in both the dialogue and action-heavy scenes, but as the two leads are written more as archetypal figures, rather than as fleshed-out, three-dimensional people, I just couldn’t invest in their story. I understand that “Baby Driver” takes place in a heightened reality that feels dream-like and fantastical rather than realistic and gritty, and I could see what the film was attempting to do with the two characters, but I was unable to buy into this story.

Lastly, my final issue with “Baby Driver” is also the one that bothered me the most: the film peaks at around the 6 minute mark, which had the effect of making me enjoy the movie less as time went on. After witnessing the daredevil stunts and stunning camerawork of that first scene, I was 100% on board with “Baby Driver”, and was eager to see what toe-tapping and nail-biting wizardry the film had in store next. But putting aside the excellent Mike Myers jeep chase near the end of Act 1, there weren’t any beats in the plot that engrossed me nearly as much as the start did. Don’t get me wrong, there are great action sequences and a few touching character moments in the latter half of “Baby Driver”, but the film had such a strong opening that I couldn’t help but be a little bit disappointed that the best part of the film is the first scene.

Overall, “Baby Driver” may have its faults, but it’s still a gripping, energetic and enjoyable caper with incredible editing, a solid soundtrack and lively performances. I didn’t love it, but I’d still recommend “Baby Driver” to fans of action movies and old pop songs as it is a truly unique motion picture.