This summer, filmmaker Edgar Wright makes his eagerly-anticipated return to the big screen with Baby Driver; a slick crime comedy drama - that doubles as a jukebox musical - featuring the likes of Jon Hamm, Lily James and Ansel Elgort. But with heavy-hitters Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey filling out the line-up, does the movie manage to live up to its star-studded cast?
So far, this cinema season's releases have been disappointing to say the least, what with Alien: Covenant ultimately ending up a murky mash-up of Prometheus and previous instalments, the surprisingly unfunny Baywatch and Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge being nothing more than a predictable and pointless addition to the franchise. Fortunately, writer-director Edgar Wright - the man behind cult hits such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Shaun of the Dead - has taken the wheel, stepping up to save the day with Baby Driver, a film that refuses to abide by typical "summer blockbuster" rules and comes out on top because of it.
The film centres on Baby (Elgort); a young twenty-something who becomes the go-to getaway driver for bank-robbing mastermind Doc (Spacey) when he gets caught stealing the latter's car. Using Baby's former crime as leverage for the wheelman's continued involvement in his schemes, Doc takes a cut of Baby's earnings from each successful heist, promising him he'll relieve him off his duties once the debt is cleared. A deal that, unsurprisingly, doesn't take too long to carry out given Baby's talents.
But when Doc conjures up a particularly fruitful plan which could set him and his accomplices up for life, he becomes desperate to get 'lucky charm' Baby back on board. With no other way of persuading him to return to the fold, Doc ditches his father figure-schtick and threatens the safety of Baby's deaf foster parent and new girlfriend Debora, forcing the talented young'un back into the driver's seat one last time (which, of course, turns out to be his most dangerous ride yet).
Okay, so it sounds like your run-off-mill crime caper, right? Well, things couldn't be more different. In fact, you never actually see any of the robberies go down. Instead of revolving around its action, music acts as the backbone to Baby Driver, as we learn that the titular character listens to music 24/7 to help him focus, since a tragic childhood accident left him with a permanent 'hum in the drum'.
As Baby picks out different tracks to compliment his mood, or distract him from the situations he reluctantly finds himself in, audiences are offered an insight into what he might be feeling. It's an inspired move from Wright who reportedly wrote the script around the songs featured.
Even with that, Baby Driver is - on the surface - his seemingly most mainstream outing to date. Yet, it still boasts plenty of the director's typical trademarks; most notably when it comes to both its protagonist and its pacing. Just like in his aforementioned films, Baby is the film's sole focus, as all of the action and plot is told through his eyes. Other characters are more like background noise. Wildly enjoyable background noise, but background noise none-the-less.
It's arguable that Baby is Wright's most endearing character to date too, with his heart-breaking backstory, making it easy for audience members to root for the man-of-few-words. Unlike Scott or Shaun, Baby isn't an accidental hero either. Straight out the gate, he's a skilled resourceful, jazzy sunglasses-wearing dreamer who can't help but ooze cool, whether he's turning recorded conversations into old-school-sounding remixes in his bedroom, lip-syncing to Easy after disposing of a body or executing a perfect 360 drift.
That's not to say the supporting characters are dull. James' Debora - who so easily could have come across as a 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl' - avoids the trope completely with her natural charm and down-to-earth attitude. She may want to set-off on an epic road trip with Baby within the first few minutes of meeting him, but looking at her lonely life and unsatisfying job in a frequently-empty diner, it's not hard to see why.
Foxx almost steals the show as Doc's volatile cohort Bats, as he questions Baby's competence from the get-go due to his ears always being plugged with headphones during Doc's crucial mission briefings and peppers each scene with serious tension. Meanwhile, Eiza Gonzalez and Hamm round out the rag-tag team as Darling and Buddy, tattooed versions of Bonnie and Clyde, brilliantly. The latter in particularly shines as the film speeds towards it's surprisingly bloody final act.
With its tidy, under two-hour runtime, Baby Driver doesn't allow its foot off the gas once and never suffers from a dull moment. Some parts modern and some parts old-school - purely in the sense that it could even come across simple on first watch - Baby Driver is a must-see.
Not only is it refreshingly original and energetic from its thrilling opening car chase to its tense, closing... well... foot chase, where else are you going to see a high-octane shootout set to The Champs' Tequila this century?! G'on, treat yourself.
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