Baby Driver

Edgar Wright remains one of my all-time favourite directors. Why? Because each and every film he crafts reeks of originality, he takes a few similar traits, throws them together, delves down a completely unexpected route and forms something unique, something masterful. From 'Shaun of the Dead' to 'Hot Fuzz' and so on and so forth, each film feels like something you think you've witnessed before, but on a whole new level, something fresh, something alluring, packed with adrenaline... and of course, 'Baby Driver' followed suit.

'Baby Driver' is an utterly engrossing caper-comedy that is (in my personal opinion) the finest film to face 2017 so far, I couldn't help but smile throughout, from the stunningly executed action scenes and stunts, through to the soundtrack (with an abundance of classic rock and soul tracks) and finally the heavily relatable characters. The lack of disappointment in Edgar Wright's work continues with this masterful film, which is ultimately also one of the coolest films of the past decade or so.

Many of the heist films of recent years have been rather disappointing when it comes to both story and technical achievement, however when something like 'Baby Driver' makes an appearance, it's refreshing to know that indie films are still taking this planet by storm and shunting the blockbusters out of the limelight. To know that certain production companies still trust the creativity of a director over the monetary expectations, and by doing so, unleashing a flurry of fantastic independently "driven" films.

I'm gonna finish with this (partially odd) statement / testimonial... when I went to sleep last night, I had odd dreams of car chases and stunt driving to rock classics, and that is thanks to this film, the fact that it stuck with me even when I wasn't fully conscious. That's how much of a damn cool film 'Baby Driver' is... just go watch it, just throw away your tickets to 'Transformers' and 'The Mummy' etc, and go see this instead.

However Edgar Wright is a director that seems to get more immature as opposed to maturing with his audience as his films go on.

Baby Driver, a film idea that was, no doubt, pulled from a drawer of high concept, high-school ideas from Mr. Wright, has that sort of aged 90's Tarantino vibe, from the musical OTT dialogue, attention to soundtrack, and the Natural Born Killers style star-crossed main characters. Unfortunately that makes the idea very dated and the promise of a musical car-chase movie a bit of misdirection. It's more of a 90's gangster film with a painful hipster hand guiding it, interspersed with music videos made of car chases.

There's some humour, neat little ideas, satisfying and creative moments, but they're unpleasantly jammed in to a a few moulds that don't do some of the core concepts justice. Lily James is a delight but her character is shortchanged, the idea of replacing core characters for each job is nonsensical probably to get rid of actors to other commitments. And the less said about the two dimensional Darling and Kevin Spacey the better.

There is never a dull moment in this action crime film about a getaway driver who has his own unlimited getaway soundtrack but who also wants to break free from the crime boss who owns his life.

There is enough style and visceral strut in this film that it neutralizes the one or two credibility gaps in the plot. Ansel Elgort is great as the title character, but Jamie Foxx steals the film with a lively performance as the loose cannon in the crew. Performances all around are solid and the dialogue is so rife with dueling wits, it's like watching a recurring display of verbal fireworks. These firecracker scenes of competitive criminals showing off their bravado are just as exciting as the chase scenes through downtown Atlanta.

The film also banks heavily on a heady, omnipresent soundtrack that keeps the tempo perpetually hyperactive. A word of caution: The action can be tough going at times; the film revels in its permanent state of anarchy before ultimately developing a mean streak. But for all the blistering gunfire and screeching tires, this is not a one-note film. It has its moments of quietly boiling tension and eerie backstory flashbacks. It's a film that wears its attitude on its sleeve and doesn't shrivel into conventionality. Not an absolute bull's eye, but recommended to everyone who wants a good rush.

Edgar Wright deals with the technical aspects very well, be it camera work, cinematography, editing or soundtrack. But in pursuit of the style, he forgot to write good characters. There is absolutely no conviction. You don't feel for any character. Their actions are confusing (like Kevin Spacey in the end). It tells you a lot when I say that the most interesting character was an 8-year old boy with barely 3-4 minutes of screentime. The dialogues didn't help either. No one is interested in the comparison between weapons and different body parts of a pig.

In short, the writing is abysmal and keeps you from enjoying what could have been a very fun watch. Perhaps they could have fed some more lines from Monsters Inc.

A very well choreographed film. Right from the driving sequences, the dance & music moves, the complete score of the film to even the sign language conversations between Baby and Joseph.

Absolutely loved the editing - sleek and clean. I can imagine the efforts needed to shoot the complete the film by calculating the amount of individual shots taken in the film.

3/4th of the film is quite interesting, felt quite a drag towards the end. The love relation between Baby & Deborah is quite interesting.

Overall a good one time watch.

Strong cast of actors.