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Update: August 15, 2017
Dragonlord's Review of BABY DRIVER (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: One of the best action films of the year, Edgar Wright's stylish music-driven crime thriller is high-octane rush.
If you mix in The Driver, Heat and La La Land and add Edgar Wright's snappy, energetic style of filmmaking, you might get something like Baby Driver, one of the best original (not a sequel or superhero) action movies of the year.
The film revolves around Baby (Ansel Elgort), a skillful getaway driver who suffers from Tinnitus and constantly listens to music on his earphones to drown out the noise in his ears. After repaying his debt to crime boss, Doc (Kevin Spacey), Baby is forced to do another bank heist with a bunch of violently unstable crew that puts him and everyone he cares for in danger.
The film starts off with a crackerjack car chase sequence as we see Baby deftly weaving through any obstacles on the road and outmaneuvering his pursuers. All the car chase scenes in the movie are as exhilarating as they are impressive with their use of practical effects and excellent stuntwork.
Music plays a big part in the movie, not just in the way Wright synchs the action with the beats of the songs, but even the characters themselves are talking about the tunes. The eclectic soundtrack, comprising mostly of punk rock, classic rock, soul, R&B, jazz, give the film a retro style. But their use of Bob & Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle” is so goddamn tantalizing because the opening fanfare [1] makes me wish it was House of Pain’s “Jump Around” instead.
When they first announced Elgort as the main lead, I thought it was a mistake as he looked too dorky from the few movies I've seen him in previously. After watching Driver, the young thespian still looks awkward but it works for him as it fits his socially inept character. Baby is exceptionally good-natured, which makes him easily likable, and his mad driving skills gives him an aura of coolness. Add in the fact that Ansel is a talented singer, dancer and DJ in real life which just makes him the perfect actor for the role.
Debora, played by the gorgeous Lily James (mine!), is Baby’s love interest and although their courtship is brief, Wright stages it so deftly that makes it somehow believable that the two would be willing to run away together or risk their lives for each other. The beautiful Debora is so disarmingly charming and congenially sweet that the only far-fetched part is how come there isn’t a drove of suitors lining up to woo her.
The film’s rogues gallery is another integral element that makes this American crime caper so gratifying to watch. Bats (wonderfully played by Jamie Foxx) is the most dangerous among Baby’s crew. He is volatile and lacks impulse control. There’s a foreboding sense of danger every time Bats is on screen.
Buddy (Jon Hamm) is a former Wall Street trader turned sociopathic bank robber. There’s an endearing big brother relationship he has with Baby early on which is why it’s unfortunate that things turned out the way they did later on. Jon’s performance also validates what I said months ago [2] that he would be great as Cable.
Rounding up the rest of the memorable outlaws are Darling (hottie Eiza Gonzalez - mine also!), the sexy wild child wife of Buddy; Griff (Jon Bernthal), a brash thug who constantly torments Baby; and Doc (the always superb Kevin Spacey), the criminal mastermind of this gang of thieves.
Baby Driver proves once again why Edgar Wright is one of the most underrated action directors working today. If this is still playing at your local cinemas, go check it out. We need to support more films like this.
Rating: 8.5/10
The following are just my musings on the film and they do not negatively or drastically affect my opinion on the quality of the movie.
For a guy who is supposed to be meticulous and extra cautious, Doc (Kevin Spacey) makes a few questionable decisions like staying in the same location waiting for his crew to show up. What if they were followed? Or what if they were caught and ratted him out.
Another dubious scheme of Doc is his flimsy getaway plan involving parking lot buildings but no concrete method to implement them except for just gambling on Baby’s expert driving skills to deliver them to their destination.
But the biggest head-scratcher is Doc constantly hiring an unstable psychopath like Bats (Jamie Foxx) who has anger and impulse control issues and kills almost everybody he meets or can’t resist to physically assault store employees. All of these results in drawing a lot of heat on him/them from law enforcement. Surely Doc must have a profile already on Bats.
Doc changing his mind and wanting to help Baby and Debora seemed out of the blue. They should have set it up better to make it more convincing.
I really wanted Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Bats to trade places as the Terminator-type antagonist chasing Baby in the third act. I really liked Buddy for the first two-thirds of the movie and that’s why it’s so unfortunate to have him become the villain in the end.
The ending was a refreshing change of pace as Baby didn’t get away scot-free and actually spent years in prison. Thankful also Baby and Debora didn’t go out in a blaze of glory at the end, that would have been a total downer.
Love that one-take shot sequence early in the movie where Baby goes out to get coffee.
Doc's kid nephew was so cute and funny. If there's a sequel, I'd like to see that kid again, probably in his teens by then and being the new crime boss.
After watching the movie, I’ve looked at YouTube clips of Ansel Elgort (alongside Jamie Foxx) promoting Baby Driver in talk shows and radio shows. He is a pretty cool dude and multi-talented. Didn’t really like the guy before this, but now I’m a fan of the actor.
Dragonlord's Review of BABY DRIVER (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: One of the best action films of the year, Edgar Wright's stylish music-driven crime thriller is high-octane rush.
If you mix in The Driver, Heat and La La Land and add Edgar Wright's snappy, energetic style of filmmaking, you might get something like Baby Driver, one of the best original (not a sequel or superhero) action movies of the year.
The film revolves around Baby (Ansel Elgort), a skillful getaway driver who suffers from Tinnitus and constantly listens to music on his earphones to drown out the noise in his ears. After repaying his debt to crime boss, Doc (Kevin Spacey), Baby is forced to do another bank heist with a bunch of violently unstable crew that puts him and everyone he cares for in danger.
The film starts off with a crackerjack car chase sequence as we see Baby deftly weaving through any obstacles on the road and outmaneuvering his pursuers. All the car chase scenes in the movie are as exhilarating as they are impressive with their use of practical effects and excellent stuntwork.
Music plays a big part in the movie, not just in the way Wright synchs the action with the beats of the songs, but even the characters themselves are talking about the tunes. The eclectic soundtrack, comprising mostly of punk rock, classic rock, soul, R&B, jazz, give the film a retro style. But their use of Bob & Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle” is so goddamn tantalizing because the opening fanfare [1] makes me wish it was House of Pain’s “Jump Around” instead.
When they first announced Elgort as the main lead, I thought it was a mistake as he looked too dorky from the few movies I've seen him in previously. After watching Driver, the young thespian still looks awkward but it works for him as it fits his socially inept character. Baby is exceptionally good-natured, which makes him easily likable, and his mad driving skills gives him an aura of coolness. Add in the fact that Ansel is a talented singer, dancer and DJ in real life which just makes him the perfect actor for the role.
Debora, played by the gorgeous Lily James (mine!), is Baby’s love interest and although their courtship is brief, Wright stages it so deftly that makes it somehow believable that the two would be willing to run away together or risk their lives for each other. The beautiful Debora is so disarmingly charming and congenially sweet that the only far-fetched part is how come there isn’t a drove of suitors lining up to woo her.
The film’s rogues gallery is another integral element that makes this American crime caper so gratifying to watch. Bats (wonderfully played by Jamie Foxx) is the most dangerous among Baby’s crew. He is volatile and lacks impulse control. There’s a foreboding sense of danger every time Bats is on screen.
Buddy (Jon Hamm) is a former Wall Street trader turned sociopathic bank robber. There’s an endearing big brother relationship he has with Baby early on which is why it’s unfortunate that things turned out the way they did later on. Jon’s performance also validates what I said months ago [2] that he would be great as Cable.
Rounding up the rest of the memorable outlaws are Darling (hottie Eiza Gonzalez - mine also!), the sexy wild child wife of Buddy; Griff (Jon Bernthal), a brash thug who constantly torments Baby; and Doc (the always superb Kevin Spacey), the criminal mastermind of this gang of thieves.
Baby Driver proves once again why Edgar Wright is one of the most underrated action directors working today. If this is still playing at your local cinemas, go check it out. We need to support more films like this.
Rating: 8.5/10
The following are just my musings on the film and they do not negatively or drastically affect my opinion on the quality of the movie.
For a guy who is supposed to be meticulous and extra cautious, Doc (Kevin Spacey) makes a few questionable decisions like staying in the same location waiting for his crew to show up. What if they were followed? Or what if they were caught and ratted him out.
Another dubious scheme of Doc is his flimsy getaway plan involving parking lot buildings but no concrete method to implement them except for just gambling on Baby’s expert driving skills to deliver them to their destination.
But the biggest head-scratcher is Doc constantly hiring an unstable psychopath like Bats (Jamie Foxx) who has anger and impulse control issues and kills almost everybody he meets or can’t resist to physically assault store employees. All of these results in drawing a lot of heat on him/them from law enforcement. Surely Doc must have a profile already on Bats.
Doc changing his mind and wanting to help Baby and Debora seemed out of the blue. They should have set it up better to make it more convincing.
I really wanted Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Bats to trade places as the Terminator-type antagonist chasing Baby in the third act. I really liked Buddy for the first two-thirds of the movie and that’s why it’s so unfortunate to have him become the villain in the end.
The ending was a refreshing change of pace as Baby didn’t get away scot-free and actually spent years in prison. Thankful also Baby and Debora didn’t go out in a blaze of glory at the end, that would have been a total downer.
Love that one-take shot sequence early in the movie where Baby goes out to get coffee.
Doc's kid nephew was so cute and funny. If there's a sequel, I'd like to see that kid again, probably in his teens by then and being the new crime boss.
After watching the movie, I’ve looked at YouTube clips of Ansel Elgort (alongside Jamie Foxx) promoting Baby Driver in talk shows and radio shows. He is a pretty cool dude and multi-talented. Didn’t really like the guy before this, but now I’m a fan of the actor.
