Baby Driver

“Baby Driver” is one of the more surprisingly refreshing films to cross the silver screen this year. It’s a genre-bending musical action romance that is equal parts Michael Mann, Steven Soderbergh, and Quentin Tarantino. Writer/director Edgar Wright (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost movies) delivers a truly entertaining film that hits the gas pedal right from the opening credits, and doesn’t let up until the very end.

Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a driving savant. Cooler than Steve McQueen, behind the wheel, he’s unstoppable. His modus operandi is finding the right music to pace him through mind-blowing vehicular maneuvers, and the soundtrack is all over the place, ranging from Queen to Barry White, Beck, to Golden Earring. The music becomes a character in itself, much like the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films. In over his head with crime boss Doc (Kevin Spacey), Baby is tasked with one last job before he’s left alone, but with his skill set, Doc doesn’t want to let his lucky charm get away. Enter Lily James as Debora, the aw shucks, cute-as-a-button waitress at the local greasy spoon diner. She throws a wrinkle in Baby’s plans when she steals his heart, and it’s all up to Baby to get out of his precarious predicament alive.

The supporting cast has a ball in this one. Jaime Fox, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, and Jon Bernthal add A-list name recognition as various racketeers and unscrupulous crooks, while Lily James (“Cinderella”) channels her inner “True Romance” as the sweet, innocent damsel caught in the crossfire. They all play off each other nicely, embracing each of their respective roles in a way that really amplifies the overall feel of the film, which is inspiring. With the exception of Spacey, who seems to go through the motions doing what he’s done so many times before, they are appropriately cast, although I would have liked to have seen Bernthal on screen a bit longer. Spacey’s character in particular was ripe for someone a bit less stereotypical. If it were me doing the casting, I would have gone another direction and chosen someone more physically imposing, like a Steven Lang or Mickey Rourke (don’t judge, I like him). It may have changed the tone of the film a bit, but it was the one missing piece.

The film not only instantly catapults Ansel Elgort into legitimate leading man territory (see Alden Ehrenreich’s epic cowboy scene in “Hail! Caesar” for comparison), but plays it cool with the impressive supporting cast. Their roles are juggled adroitly by Edgar Wright, who seems on the cusp of greatness himself. People love action. People love music. People love capers. People love fast cars. And people have short attention spans, which makes filmmaking a difficult proposition these days. Good directors keep the pace moving from start to finish, but Wright manages to weave romance, humor, strong dialogue, and a compelling story together into a very impressive manner. “Baby Driver” is the total package for an action film, and I was beyond pleased.

There isn’t much to dislike about “Baby Driver” from a critical perspective. It’s a fun movie that’s been missing so far this summer, and hopefully will spark a turning point in quality of film this summer. Personally, I’m looking forward to numerous July releases, and I can only hope they are as satisfying as “Baby Driver.” 9/10.