Baby Driver Review

    This was the first Edgar Wright film that I have ever seen. I really had no expectations for this movie since I looked at the reception for Wright’s previous films, he is a well-established director. So it’s without a doubt that Baby Driver is one of the best films to come out in 2017 and is on my top ten favorite films.

    The film's plot is simple, Baby is a driver for a group of robbers in Atlanta. He uses music to help him drive like a NASCAR driver. After his supposed last robbery job, Baby pursues a waitress that he really likes at the local diner. It’s not until his boss named Doc calls back Baby for a bigger heist. What I like about the film is that it is very simple and very grounded in its car chases. In comparison to another film that involves car chases, The Fast and the Furious, Baby Driver easily takes the cake for best displays of car stunts that I have ever seen. None of the shots are computer generated or physics defying. The shots of the variety of vehicles Baby drives show off the great technique of drifting and quick thinking turns. The best example is in the beginning when Baby manages to evade the Atlanta PD with a red Subaru. More so evading the police with a popped wheel. 

    Another aesthetic that I really love about this film is the soundtrack. It is by far, the best soundtrack that I have ever heard in any film. The implementation of the music in the film works in a variety of ways. Let me list a few: in the title sequence Baby walks to get the crew coffee, what plays in Baby's iPod is "Harlem Shuffle". The shot is continuous with Baby dancing and shuffling. A tidbit that is included is that if you watch the scene multiple times, the spray paint mimics the lyrics. As well as the various outside noise in the city to mimic the beats of the song. Another example is when Baby takes the new crew to the local weapons dealer, what is interesting is that on the drive to get the weapons, Darla is singing the song "Nowhere to Run". It symbolizes by just the lyrics and the situation that "Baby" has no control and can't do anything. He is trapped and can't run. One last thing about the music is that Baby creates remixes. He does so by recording the conversations he hears from the crew and plays around with it. I like the process and technology he uses and is one of my favorite moments in the film. 

    Baby is also an interesting protagonist in the movie. I really appreciate his growth in the movie. One detail that I think is genius is that he quotes from other movies such as The Little Rascals, Fight Club, and Monsters Inc. When he speaks to either Doc or any crew members he quotes from those movies. It's like he can't speak for himself. Only when he feels comfortable when he is with Debora and his deaf guardian Joseph. His arc is interesting and is one of my favorite moments in the film. In the second half of the movie is when Baby starts to become more assertive instead of being passive. More so in his wardrobe. In the beginning he wears a black and white letter man jacket with sunglasses. He slowly fades from that particular look to just a t-shirt and pants. It's not noticeable but I really like the attention to detail that Baby is not a bad guy. One more thing is during the discussion of the second heist is that baby drowns out Doc's plan with his music and when one of the members questions if Baby heard Doc, Baby elaborately explains the heist plan.  

    If there is one complaint that I have is that the secondary characters feel one dimensional. I think it was intentional but I feel that the scene when the crew eat at the diner after the botched job at the Gunsmiths highlights the low points at the film. Bats tries to figure the couple's backstory, questioning if their real names are really Buddy and Monica. For as much as its just an assumption of what they did before being robbers, the act of characters telling what they did instead of showing it is a big screenwriting sin. The only kind of backstory we get is from Baby, such as what happened to his parents and the real reason why he listens to music. Another thing I didn't understand was the use of nicknames, there must be something that I may have missed or it was to avoid revealing who their real names are.

    Overall, Baby Driver is an exhilarating film that Edgar Wright managed to pull off with no difficulty. It is easily up there as the single best film he directed aside from any of the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy films. I will eventually review the trilogy in due time, possibly dedicate a whole month to them. 

    Baby Driver gets a 4 out of 5.