I must admit that I walked into writer/director Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" not really knowing what to expect. When I saw the trailer for the movie a few months ago, I thought it looked like fun. So I checked it out at Aksarben Cinema opening night.
Sometimes it can be a crap shoot gauging highly-stylized movies aiming for a firm spot on the quirky side of the spectrum.
"Baby Driver" tells the story of a getaway driver named Baby (Ansel Elgort) who works for Doc (Kevin Spacey) -- a sharp criminal who stages various robberies and employs a different crew on each job (other than Baby, who Doc claims is a good luck charm).
Baby is working to save up enough money to get out of the business. He lives in a modest apartment with his deaf, wheelchair-bound foster father Joseph (CJ Jones), who yearns to see Baby on the straight and narrow.
Baby continually listens to tunes on an old iPod. We find out that Baby's parents died in a tragic car accident, and it left him with a permanent ringing in his ears. The music helps Baby focus and concentrate, and serves as the soundtrack for the movie (a clever plot device on the part of Wright). He also likes to record snippets of people he comes in contact with (on a compact tape recorder), which he then mixes into songs.
His mood and focus eventually shift when he meets a waitress at a diner named Debora (Lily James, who does a credible job shedding her British accent for a southern drawl). The two bond over music, and Baby longs to run off with Debora and start a new life.
But his dream will have to wait until he does "one more job" for Doc.
"Baby Driver" harkens back to movies of the mid-to-late 1990s, when directors like Quentin Tarantino were at the top of their game, and crime movies borrowed heavily from the novels of Elmore Leonard.
While "Baby Driver" might not have the polish or edge that "Pulp Fiction" or "True Romance" had in that era, the film owes a lot to those movies, and is a refreshing entry in the 2017 summer movie race.
The film itself follows a relatively standard "just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in" heist formula. It works very well in this instance, and continues to be a great recipe for creating a dramatic tension.
It is unique to have a heist story told from the point of view of the getaway driver (who is often relegated to the role of ancillary character in this type of movie).
Elgort does a solid job in the role of Baby. He is smart and likable, and is able to shed a bit of the "melancholy teen drama" vibe he's had from starring in movies like "The Fault in Our Stars." He might be an unconventional casting choice, but you believe him in the role.
Notable supporting performances are provided by Jon Hamm as the strung-out robber Buddy, and Jamie Foxx, who plays the sociopathically-scary Bats. Both are associates of Doc, and both feel like they could have walked out of a Quentin Tarantino script.
Kevin Spacey is solid as usual. This is familiar territory for him, and he delivers the goods in "Baby Driver."
In my mind, "Baby Driver" is the most entertaining movie (so far) of 2017. It has an energy and pacing that make it incredibly watchable. It might not be the perfect heist movie, but there is quite a bit to like here. Director Wright is smart to keep the movie from becoming "too dark" or "too violent." The movie -- despite its subject matter -- has a relatively light tone.
Also of note is the fact that the car chases and effects appear to be of the "practical" variety, and it is refreshing to see an action movie that isn't CGI'd to death.
Hop in, ride along, and check out "Baby Driver."
Rated R, Runtime: 1 hr 53 min
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