Baby Driver

If movies with a lot of action and violence are not your thing, steer clear of Baby Driver. If on the other hand you enjoy great car chase scenes and don’t mind some gore, you will groove on this fast paced, musical joy ride. If LALA Land had an edgy side, it would be Baby Driver. Not that anyone breaks out into full on numbers but you feel like it could happen at any moment.  Unlike the recent flop Collide which combined stunt driving with star power, Baby Driver has enough unique elements, characters and situations going for it that it doesn’t feel like another rehash or frankenmovie. It has the action of Hardcore Henry and the romance of Badlands.  The story gives its A list actors room to strut their stuff and flex their performance range. As for the lead, Ansel Elgort, it’s refreshing to see someone not as well known as say Ryan Gosling do his thing. Speaking of which, this is the film that I wish Drive had been.

Baby Driver did not fail to inspire. However, as D noted when we left the screening, the epilogue seemed rushed and crushed. Personally, I didn’t mind the parachute touch down after so many hard emotional hits in the film. Even though Baby Driver recalls a lot of other favorites like Shooter or The Fugitive, it does have its unique musical side and that is appropriate since Paul Simon sings the title song. It was after all Paul Simon who mentioned to Annie in Annie Hall, “You are very musical.” If you can catch Baby Driver it in the theater, you should. The stunts are big but the soundtrack rivals them and you won’t have the same experience listening to these jams unless you have surround sound set up in your home. Baby Driver does not have the advantage of story depth like Pulp Fiction.  But to its credit, it does pull off the trick of taking elements that we have seen many times before and creates something different and entertaining with them. It is a heist film that has a big heart and proudly plays to its own beat.