4.5 Out of 5 Stars
It’s been almost four years since the last Edgar Wright film and Baby Driver has the auteur back doing just what he does best. The film, which started its life as a music video for Blue Song by Mint Royale back in 2011, has the director essentially making a 2 and half hour cinematic mix-tape combining the Wright’s love of deep cuts with flawlessly edited action sequences. It’s a heist film to a T, but one with Wright’s unique humor and vision that is easily one of the best films of the summer.

The hero of our story is the titular Baby (Ansel Elgort), a fresh-faced devil behind the wheel who made the mistake of stealing a car with a trunk full of drugs from local crime kingpin Doc (Kevin Spacey). Baby didn’t know about the contents of the car’s cargo until it was wrecked, which landed him the gig as Doc’s go to get away driver until he paid off his debt. When we catch up with Baby he has just two jobs left till he is finally square; but if you’ve seen any film in this genre you no doubt know it’s never easy to get out. Especially when you’re as good behind the wheel as Baby is.



(l to r) Baby (ANSEL ELGORT), Bats (JAMIE FOXX), Darling (EIZA GONZALEZ) and Buddy (JON HAMM) decide on doing the heist in TriStar Pictures’ BABY DRIVER.
Wright is one of the best directors out there when it comes to working with music, and thanks to a childhood car accident that left our hero with permanent tinnitus, Baby blocks out the hum using playlists on a selection of iPods. This supplies the film with an almost constant stream of music as Baby curates the soundtrack to his life. Things of course get complicated when the driver meets a beautiful waitress (Lily James) who steals his heart and ultimately becomes the leverage to keep him in the game for one more heist after fulfilling his contract. It’s the kind of love story that is could only happen in a heist film, but its how Wright plays within the confines of the genre that makes this film really shine.

In a summer of sequels and reboots Baby Driver offers a welcome change of gear for viewers not looking to invest in yet another cinematic universe. That being the case it really does makes you wonder, what could have happened with Marvel’s Ant-Man. With a stunning cast that brings to life Wright’s larger than life rogues gallery including a cameo by none other than Swan himself Paul Williams, Baby Driver is the kind of film once you get out of the theater you can’t wait to see again. With its meticulously crafted action montages set against razor sharp needle drops Baby Driver is a masterpiece of action cinema with Edgar Wright in the Driver’s seat for the ride of the summer.