Strap yourself in for a fun ride. I was initially not all that excited to see Edgar Wright's latest directorial effort. I like/love his films, but there was something about this film that didn't really get me initially - I think it was the actual title. As stupid as that sounds, I thought the title "Baby Driver" sounded a bit lame. But, as time went on and I saw a trailer and then the reviews started flooding in, well, I changed my tune.
I asked a mate that loves car films to see this with me. He likes to watch films without knowing anything about them. I told him it was called Baby Driver - that's it. He wouldn't have looked it up. What I was secretly wondering was whether he would indeed like this film - hell, I wondered if I would too. You see, he hated Hot Fuzz after I recommended it to him. I love Hot Fuzz by the way.
What did we think? Not only is it a fun ride, he thought it was awesome. I think he reacted to it better than what I did, and I loved it.
The car scenes are very well executed. They're exciting and tense, and there's some playfulness to them. Baby, the Driver, listens to his iPod almost incessantly. He has specific tracks to drive to. To set the mood, to give him perfect timing behind the wheel. From the first scenes, you know you're going to enjoy the movie.
The other aspect that got me is the emotional story behind Baby. Without going into it, as an audience member it was important to feel that connection to him and his story, and Wright really nailed it. His chemistry with Lily James is on fire. She is just an absolute delight.
The humour is great, but not too over the top. After all, this is a reasonably serious situation for Baby with deadly consequences in this world of crime he's reluctantly involved in. Another aspect I really liked, is that the story doesn't go the way you think it will.
This is definitely a must-see film. The music is groovy and really tops off the driving scenes. I can tell you now, the drive home from the cinema was an inspired one.
4/5
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