Baby Driver

If the John Wick franchise is the benchmark for hand-to-hand, highly coordinated action nowadays, then this film might as well be the stunt driving equivalent.

Directed by Edgar Wright, Baby Driver follows our titular character, Baby (Ansel Elgort), as he works to pay off a debt owed to Doc (Kevin Spacey), a professional criminal, by way of doing the only thing he knows how: drive like a bat outta Hell as Doc’s resident getaway driver. With Baby’s last job almost at hand, he begins to believe that he’s finally finished with this line of work, his hopes hitting record highs through a quick romance he strikes up with a local waitress named Deborah (Lily James). But when his criminal past and a chain of close calls “chauffeuring” at work begin to muddle his dream of retiring early from the business, Baby sees no option but to finish what he started. So, with his music blaring and sunglasses tinted dark, it’s time for Baby to decide if this life of crime can finally be put behind him, or if he’s destined to be just another cog in Doc’s criminal empire forever.

I haven’t had this much fun all summer! Actually, I lied, Wonder Woman was fun, but that was more of a special effects driven extravaganza as opposed to the gritty realness this film brings to the screen. Strengthened by the best soundtrack this side of Guardians of the Galaxy, Baby Driver succeeds in giving audiences a great story, great acting, great romance and most importantly, great stunt driving throughout, delivered in such a way that feels original and new – unlike most of the blockbusters coming out this summer.

Speaking of the soundtrack, half of the crazy shit that goes on in this movie wouldn’t be as intense (or cool) with just a normal, run-of-the-mill “placeholder” musical score. No, when that Queen song Baby has been talking about for the entire film finally gets a play, I was almost cheering in my seat, a feeling I had coursing through my body for most of the runtime whenever a new tune hit my ears. The sheer inventiveness of the music combined with some truly great chase sequences and practical driving work really sets a tone for the film that can’t be matched in terms of style, humor, intensity and awe.

I’ve seen my fair share of heist films, but this is the first that really sold how important a good getaway driver is, proven by the fact that the chase scenes are elevated by the car acting as an extension of Baby’s character as opposed to just a four wheeled box that’s used to get from point A to point B like in any normal action film. The point of these scenes aren’t to show yet another car chase or yet another epic crash, but to allow Baby to develop as a character through action as opposed to having the action just come off as something mindless and a means to an end. It’s tough to describe here, but when you see the film I think you’ll get the feeling that this movie isn’t your typical heist film, it’s something entirely different with more purpose and craft put into scenes that are usually just there to entertain, so kudos to Wright for nailing that perfectly.

When not being blown away by another edge of your seat chase sequence or toe-tapping tune, Wright’s deft and satisfying direction allows the entire cast to shine and deliver the emotion and humor inherent in his script without breaking the film’s stride too often (more on that later). Our main protagonist and relatively new up-and-comer, Ansel Elgort, handles the bulk of the film’s weight with virtual ease, lighting up the screen with Lily James’ love interest Deborah at every turn. It also helps that the rest of the cast in Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, Eiza Gonzalez and Jon Hamm, all throw themselves completely into these roles because I highly doubt that any other director could get these guys to play as loose and fun (and sometimes deadly) as they do here. Each character has their own time to shine and each has enough to do onscreen that we get a basic understanding of who they are and what their purpose is, making these characters just as important as Baby, if not equally so at times.

With all of this good it seems that Wright wasn’t able to entirely avoid the bad, and while the critiques are few, they stand out more so than the rest of the film if only due to the fact that the script decides to take it slow from time to time, savoring the character-work and drama central to the film but also grinding the film to a halt in the process. It’s a jarring pump of the brakes that totally works for the characters and eventual payoffs, but when everything around these scenes is moving so fast, it’s tough not to get slightly bored by the slowdown in pace and forward momentum in a few places. With the rest of the film handled so well, it’s hard not to believe that there wasn’t any other, more intriguing way to move some storylines along their path, but this is more of a nitpick than anything, so take it as you will.

Other than that (very) slight hiccup, my main gripe is really the ending that – while it wrapped up the film in a relatively neat bow – seemed like it was rushed. After the bulk of the conflict is resolved, the film shifts gears into a weird epilogue that shows the repercussions of Baby’s entire storyline, ending the film in a way that seems to tell me that the filmmakers couldn’t find any better solution at the time. There’s actually a lot of interesting shit that happens in the last six or seven minutes that I feel was brushed over in favor of cutting the runtime a little short, and to me, there are at least two different scenes that could have majorly benefitted from having more than twenty seconds to play out, with the entirety of the emotional beats and character-work the filmmakers were trying to convey in these scenes falling flat as a result. By no means is this a deal breaker; I just wish the payoffs had time to actually pay themselves off as I expected them to.

Extremely fun and inventive throughout, Baby Driver really only stumbles due to a few pacing issues and an odd ending that didn’t feel right compared to the rest of the film, but when you look at it as a whole, it can’t be denied that this is one of the best movies of the summer, if not the year. Edgar Wright deftly directs a spot-on cast with the same humor and wit he’s known for, all the while giving action junkies and everyday movie-goers alike something to chew on and enjoy. Baby Driver is a must see for anyone jaded by the lackluster offerings at the box office this summer, and just a great movie in general. Go see it!