Review Of The Movie Baby Driver
Written and directed by the esteemed Edgar Wright, Baby Driver is an extremely entertaining thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat the entire time you are watching it. With action sequences that are flawlessly executed and an intense and gripping plot, Baby Driver is one of those movies that makes you want to immediately rush out of the theater to call someone and rave about it after seeing it, but at the same time leaves you frozen in your seat desperately wanting more. Set in present-day Atlanta, Ansel Elgort delivers an incredible performance as Baby, a young and charming getaway driver who doesn’t talk much and always has a pair of earbuds on, jamming out to songs on his iPods. With an iPod for every mood he is in, Baby’s music selections play a huge role in setting up the tone of each scene. He uses music to drown out the constant ringing in his years from tinnitus he got in a car crash when he was younger that also killed his parents. In the opening scene, Baby is parked outside of a bank in a red Subaru, jamming out to “Bellbottoms” by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. When three armed robbers rush out of the bank and jump into the Subaru, Baby cranks the volume up and speeds off into one of the coolest car chases you will ever see.
We get to meet the group who pulled off the heist after they arrive at a remote warehouse which consists of Jon Hamm as the sinister Buddy, his gorgeous and feisty wife Darling (Eiza Gonzalez), and the menacing Griff (Jon Bernthal). The mastermind who plans all the heists that Baby goes on, Doc, is played by Kevin Spacey. Baby is the only thing that remains the same in all of the jobs that Doc pulls because he is an expert behind the wheel and never gets caught. Also, because of some trouble Baby got into when he was a kid, Baby owes Doc a debt so he hasn’t had a choice. After Baby pulls another job with another crew that includes Jamie Foxx as the psychotic Bats and Lanny Joon as the comedic JD, he settles his debt with Doc and finally thinks he is free to live his life as his own without Doc’s criminal influence. He gets a new job at a pizza place, learns to take better care of his deaf foster father, and develops a love interest with a waitress named Deborah (Lily James) who shares his love for music and reminds him of his mother. Just as Baby is finally enjoying his new life, Doc pressures him into running another job so as to not hurt the ones Baby loves. We get to hear dozens of songs that fuel Baby’s every move such as “Brighten Rock” by Queen, “Radar Love” by Golden Earring, and “Nowhere to Run” by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Other unique aspects of the film are the flashbacks where we learn about Baby’s mother, who had the voice of an angel, and his monstrous father and the brief black-and-white visions of Deborah that Baby fantasizes about show us his ideal future with her-driving across the country with nothing but music and each other to keep them company. With impressive car stunts that remind you of the Fast and the Furious franchise, a plot similar to Antonio Negret’s 2017 semi-successful film Overdrive, and an ending you will never see coming, Baby Driver has a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8/10 on IMBD. When watching this movie, “all you need is one killer track” couldn’t be more true.
The music, the performances by the actors, and the twists added in the plot each genuinely add their own unique element to the film and all of it just works. Even though this film is rated R for its violence and language, anyone 14 and up who enjoys intense action sequences and an interesting but fun love story should see this movie.
