Baby Driver

Baby Driver written and directed by Edgar Wright is a unique blend of several elements. In a way it is a musical, it has a love story with depth, it has the element of revenge, it is a heist movie and it has breathtaking car chase sequences. And all this happens within two hours (113 minutes to be precise). With well etched out characters and a story filled with a lot of shades of emotions, Baby Driver is a captivating experience.

Baby is this getaway driver who gets the call from his boss “Doc” for heist jobs. Because of his special health condition, Baby always listens to music to keep himself moving. Inherently he is a nice guy who wants to leave this job and go for a long drive with the girl he loves. But the circumstances weren’t that great and the movie is showing us all those sides of Baby and how he eventually breaks all the barriers.

Most of the musicals I have seen were on the romantic side. Edgar Wright clearly surprises everyone here with a blend of music and high octane action. The pulsating rhythm of this movie is highly aided by the songs and scores from Steven Price. The things I mentioned in the beginning are the elements that make this film cinematically attractive. It is not just that back to back car chase package. It shows us the character of this boy very elaborately. His love for music, his connect with Debora, his equation with Doc, his care for Joseph and the final showdown with Buddy; all these gives the movie a wider canvas and a chance to show the audience everything about Baby.

Ansel Elgort shines as Baby. He gets into that peculiar zone of Baby comfortably. The body language and chemistry of Baby with each character is different and the actor manages to do that perfectly. Lily James has relatively less screen time, but still she has that charm to be that free spirited girl. The incredible Kevin Spacey was really good as Doc and I hope there would be some information about his character’s backdrop in the possible sequel. Jon Hamm transforms impressively from that nice guy to a ferocious baddy. Jamie Foxx in his typical style becomes that irritating Bats.

The pace with which Edgar Wright has narrated this film is really fascinating. The music is in sync with that speed and Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss has chopped the scenes brilliantly maintaining the musical rhythm, anxiety of situation and the adrenalin rush. The screenplay includes small bits of humor cleverly in to the narrative along with things that would show us the good side of this boy. The music is an integral element of this film and works amazingly well. The cinematography also gets the beat of the movie.

Baby Driver isn’t just the fun of seeing some amazing car chase sequences. It has characters with clear agenda, it keeps you on the edge of your seats with its breathtaking speed and ultimately we get to experience a movie that has been written and executed in refreshing style.

Rating: 4/5

Final Thoughts

It has characters with clear agenda, it keeps you on the edge of your seats with its breathtaking speed and ultimately we get to experience a movie that has been written and executed in refreshing st

Signal

Green: Recommended Content

Orange: The In-Between Ones

Red: Not Recommended

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By Aswin Bharadwaj

Founder and editor of Lensmen Reviews.

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