and rightly so. It has an all-star cast with highly respected actors such as Jon Hamm and Kevin Spacey, as well as the up-and-coming Ansel Elgort in the lead role of getaway driver Baby. The hook of the film is that Baby has tinnitus which he drowns out with music, and the action of the film is in time to the songs. The film revolves around the soundtrack and although some critics may accuse Wright of relying on this to make the film work, I would argue that the characters (particularly Baby and Debora) make the story a good one nonetheless and the music gimmick just makes the action more engaging. There is something extremely satisfying about the rhythm of the action and having everything in sync. You at least have to appreciate the level of co-ordination and the hours of editing that must have gone into pulling this off, especially for the car chases – speaking of which, they were also incredible and kept me on the edge of my seat. In addition, Wright is also notorious for his style of editing across all his projects because of his unique transitions, and even though he’s doing higher budget American films in contrast to his older work, his personal style is still evident throughout.
I was lucky enough to see this film at a test screening, and having seen it then when I knew nothing going in and again months later knowing what would happen, it was still a hell of an experience. It’s also great that on the first viewing, although you sort of know the direction the story is taking you, it still manages to surprise you and doesn’t have a completely predictable ending. Even if the story isn’t enough for everyone, the visual style is interesting and somehow manages to mix 50s aesthetics with a modern one. The only let-downs are that it felt like Bats (Jamie Foxx), would have been better suited to another actor. Although he does provide humour, he doesn’t quite fit the character. It might have been better to include more of Jon Bernthal in the film instead, who sadly is only in it for about 5 minutes which is a waste of a good actor. The romance between Baby and Debora also felt like it could have been developed more in the beginning of the relationship, but this isn’t too much of a problem because of their chemistry and the film already has a lot to fit in. Other than that, the performances are good – Elgort, Hamm and Lily James in particular.
‘Baby Driver’ is a great time; there’s never a boring moment and it’s definitely worth seeing at the cinema for the best experience possible. Even if you’re not already an Edgar Wright fan, but you love actions movies and/or constantly nerd out over the wonders of film editing and the importance of music/sound, this is the one for you.