'Baby Driver' A Review

Baby Driver is an action/heist film about a young getaway driver Baby(Ansel Elgort) who works for criminal architect Doc(Kevin Spacey) paying off a debt. Baby has severe tinnitus and drowns it out by constantly playing music, this provides a constant soundtrack to the film. Getting towards the end of his tenure Baby meets Debora(Lily James) at a diner and the two begin to see each other. He discovers however it's not so easy to escape the dark world he's become mired in and it threatens the few people he cares about.

Elgort has a laid back confidence and charm that makes him exceedingly pleasing to watch in the midst of all the action. His driving competence is believable but more importantly his young adult playfulness and curiosity feels authentic. James does well as the down-to-earth love interest but is mostly underdeveloped, this isn't that big of an issue because none of the characters really are. Spacey as Doc is good enough but flounders a bit in the third act, either he's not doing enough with the character or the script calls for too drastic of a shift. The supporting cast are all go big and clearly have fun most notably Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal(underutilized), and Eiza González as members of various crews. There's an infectious relish to the entire cast and all their portrayals, together with the relentless score, provide a pleasing propulsion to the film.

Most notable of the production elements is the music, a near constant list of hits over the past several decades from an eclectic mix of genres. The soundtrack alone makes the film worth a watch. The action sequences are a close second, extended car chases that are not only exciting but authentic. All the robberies and car chases are shot with clarity so we know what is happening, there's none of the ever popular close-up shakey-cam that plagues contemporary action.

Mostly all enjoyable the film kind of collapses towards the end falling into narrative cliche as well as unmotivated character "twists" but ultimately it doesn't really detract, by that time you're already so invested it doesn't really matter.

Fast, fun, if somewhat thin.

See It.