Seriously, "Baby Driver" is one hella cool thrill ride. Helmed by director and screenwriter, Edgar Wright, whose name might ring a bell or two ("Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz," "Scott Pilgrim," and "Ant-Man," among other films), "Baby" is a shot of adrenaline, stylishly revved up by a retro cool soundtrack, timed perfectly with the edge-of-your seat action; it's almost like a hot-rod, bank heist ballet—the only thing missing was John Hamm and Kevin Spacey in tights.
The eponymous Baby (played by a brilliant, leading-man-in-the-making Ansel Elgort) is a prodigal getaway driver indebted to criminal kingpin, Doc (Kevin Spacey). He's enigmatic, but damn good at what he does. Wedged deep into his ears are 'buds, hooked up to various, what we today would call "antique" iPods, that spout out the coolest hits from days when movies used to be more than reboots and sequels. The music serves a purpose besides beefing up the chase scenes; you see, Baby's got tinnitus, and the tunes block out the ceaseless ringing in his ears. And it's so cool. You see, Baby's got a routine: when the bank robbers start the heist, he starts the soundtrack. The getaway scenes become music videos; in fact, the whole movie seems like a music video.
But Baby is ready to retire. His debt to Doc is nearly paid off, and he's ready for a normal life. Orphaned after his musically-gifted mother and abusive father were killed in a car crash (the same car crash that left him with tinnitus), he now lives under the care of his deaf foster father, Joseph (C.J. Jones), and he's been hoarding away his loot to one day get away from the underbelly of Atlanta. His day finally comes when he overhears diner waitress, Debora (played by the undeniably likeable Lily James) singing at work and he's smitten. That's all I'm going to say in regard to the plot, because I want you to enjoy this movie as much as I did. Well, one more thing: the bank robbers are as over-the-top and as villainous as anything Quentin Tarantino could whip up. Jamie Foxx and John Hamm kill it in this flick.
"Baby Driver" is a masterpiece; it was made by a guy who loves movies, a guy who wants us to remember why we love movies. It's nothing like I've ever seen before, but it's something I want to see again and again. One of the greatest scenes might be a daydream, when Baby envisions absconding into the sunset with Debora, and for a moment, the film is in black and white. Wright offers a throw back to the cool car movies of the 50's and this scene becomes another piece of the aural mosaic, the beautiful, bloody poetry that is "Baby Driver."
You gotta check this movie out this summer. It raised a cinematic bar that needed to be a knocked into high gear.
