Fast cars, killer soundtrack, fantastic cast… what more can you ask for?
Fast action packed car racing style films tend to be a dime-a-dozen of late (cough Fast & Furious franchise… anyone? cough) but when you get one with a twist of innocence thrown in and written around a skillfully selected soundtrack, you’re onto a winner.
Writer and Director Edgar Wright knew he was onto something as soon as he put pen to paper.
We’re introduced straight away into the action, where we meet “Baby” (Ansel Elgort) a skilled driver employed by criminal mastermind Doc (Kevin Spacey) to help carry out the deliveries of his teams who are out doing planned robberies. Other than being a talented driver, Baby uses a carefully selected soundtrack on his iPod to stay motivated. Though this is also used to help drown out the tinnitus, which developed after a tragic family car accident when he was a child. Using the distraction, he is able to carry on his task and allowing criminals-for-hire Buddy (Jon Hamm), Griff (Jon Bernthal) Darling (Eiza Gonzalez) and Bats (Jamie Foxx) to do their jobs.
Along the way, he becomes acquainted with Debora (Lily James), a waitress who works at a diner he frequents. While this relationship develops, Baby is also trying to care for his deaf foster father Joseph (CJ Jones) who is encouraging him to ground himself and get a real job. After a promised ‘one last hurrah’, Baby is about to move on and run away with Debora, but gets dragged into doing another job, due to threat of family being in danger, and Bats starting to lose control of the real goal, dragging Baby along with him.
What makes Baby Driver a cinematic masterpiece is that 95% of the film is synced to the actual soundtrack. Every precise gunshot, car rev, glass break, is timed to the track that Wright has chosen for it. Wright is known to have a knack for selecting killer songs for his films (and trailers to boot), so if you’re not sold on the story line, go for the music. You know you want to. The first 5 minutes with the beautiful usage of The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion‘s Bellbottoms is a must.
Baby Driver is in cinemas now.
