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| Ansel Elgort in "Baby Driver" Photo Credit: Imdb.com |
While I enjoy (most) big-budget summer blockbusters, the overabundance of sequels, remakes, and reboots make me thankful for any original content that comes to the screen. And when it comes from the mainstream, it’s even better, seeing as that side of modern cinema seems to be plagued by stuff we’ve already seen. This allows us to view a new story that’s filled with characters with whom we’re not familiar and cherish the opportunity to watch something fresh take over the screen.
Edgar Wright is one such champion this summer with his action comedy, “Baby Driver.” In true Wright fashion, he delivers a fast-paced adventure that’s impossible not to relish. With great performances, a thrilling story, and expertly staged car chases, Wright’s latest film will give you one of the most fun times at the movies this year.
As a young boy, Baby (Ansel Elgort), survives a car crash that kills his parents and is left with tinnitus, which he deflects by listening to music. He now works as a getaway driver for groups of bank robbers employed by Doc (Kevin Spacey), a kingpin in Atlanta, Georgia. When Baby finishes his latest job and thinks he’s all paid up for a past wrong he committed against Doc, he begins a new chapter in his life with a kind waitress, Debora (Lily James). But when Doc coerces Baby into doing another heist, he decides he must comply if he wants to keep his loved ones from being harmed.
Ansel Elgort’s character may not be the most charismatic of protagonists, but with his love for music, he succeeds in providing us with a view into his psyche as he lovingly and enthusiastically sings along to whichever songs fit his current mood. Actually, one of his best scenes is his first one shared with Debora, in which he passionately talks about music, and it’s here where we see how important music is to him.
The cast is bolstered by wonderful supporting performances from a radiant Lily James; Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm, who play two of Doc’s bank robbers; and Kevin Spacey, who with his comically deadpan personality, achieves some of the film’s best laughs.
Although Wright’s screenplay employs the whole “one last job” storyline, he adds enough flourishes to his characters and the world they inhabit to make this type of narrative enticing to revisit. What’s admirable about the movie is how Wright doesn’t just want to give us one action sequence after another, but decides to use stretches of the film between these scenes to let us become invested in the characters, their relationships, and the tension that grows between them as allegiances begin to waver.
As a director, you could always count on Wright to inject copious amounts of energy into his films, such as he achieved in “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” “The World’s End,” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” and he does the same with “Baby Driver.” With cinematography by Bill Pope and editing by Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos, “Baby Driver” provides superbly filmed action sequences. As we are taken through the streets of Atlanta, we become wrapped up in the endless thrills of the chases, and you find yourself appreciating how these aren’t your typical scenes that use an overabundance of CGI; instead, we are given action that’s accomplished by the use of practical effects, all of which help us become more enthralled with what’s happening on screen because of it not being pure visual effects, but real cars doing real stunts. With the work done in “Baby Driver,” this film would make a great case for why there should be an Oscar for Best Stunt Choreography.
“Baby Driver” is a breezy good time at the movies that will throw the viewer into a whirlwind of cinematic excitement. Don’t let this film take a back seat to the bigger movies this summer; put it in the front seat and revel in the pure delight of this wild ride.
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