User reviews

Remember that movie you saw when you were a kid, and loved it? Loved it! Best movie ever! You told all your friends about it, the great music, the cool characters, the gear cars? You talked about it for years, for decades, and then it turned up again, so you dragged your family to see a cool movie that was done right. And as you sat through it for the second time, you wondered "What happened to the movie I saw when I was a kid? This is nothing at all like it! The lines are stupid, the music is lame and the actors are gargoyles! What happened to it?"

This is that movie. It's not the movie you saw, it's the movie you remembered. It's got great music and great cars that dance, and actors who behave like Steve MacQueen, and Kevin Spacey shoots the really bad guys -- not the bank robbers, those are the heroes, but the really bad guys, and says "I was in love once." Edgar Wright -- whom I know from the movies he directed Simon Pegg in -- has directed a gangster-car-chase-teen-love movie that does what Justin Lin, Guy Ritchie and those other hot directors tried to do, but could not. Yeah. This is the movie you remembered.

I was able to watch Baby Driver during an advanced screening last week and and yes it's as amazing as the critics say it is. The way it uses the music is just so great. It's so different from all the other movies, but it isn't artsy in a way that only the critics will like it: this is a movie for everyone. I went with a friend who is really hard to please when it comes to movies, but I just knew he would love this. And I was right, I never saw him as excited about a movie as he was about this one. It's just so much fun to watch, but it's also serious when it needs to be and it has very intriguing characters. But I'll be honest, the core of the movie is its music. I think this is the second time I say it, but the music works so well. If I wasn't in the theaters I would sing with the songs. Even though it's completely different, it reminds me a bit of Fury Road in the way that it makes you want to punch your fist and the air and cheer during the movie. In reality I think it's more a mixture of La La Land and Grand Theft Auto (it's definitely not a musical by the way). Go see this movie. I don't want to overhype anyone, but I'll make a bold statement and say this is my favorite Edgar Wright movie. I'll be shocked if this doesn't appear on many 'Best of the Year' lists in December, at least I already know it'll be on mine.

Everything about the film is pretty much pitch perfect if you ask me. Lets start with the cars. I have not been a fan of Fast and Furious films, but the chase scenes in this film run circles around that series if a certain reality of the moves matters to you. This is more in line with Bullit,French Connection, and the Italian Job films as far as great chases.

The music, fun, simply fun. Songs from every decade of my lifetime.

Action best pure adrenaline action in years. You will be truly on the edge of your seat during much of the film.

Humor, what can I say, love Edgar Wright's humor and this is his best.

And oh what a cast! Loved every one of the leads performances. I think Ansel was a standout, but come on Jamie Foxx, Spacey, Hamm and the beautiful Lily James. And the other leading lady, Eiza Gonzalez, was unknown to me, but she was great with one terrific diner speech in particular. I was lucky enough to see this at an early screening in Denver. I will be seeing this in the theaters once again when it opens, and I very rarely watch movies more than once.

Sometimes when I see a review fawning over a film like this, I think troll. Best way to check that out is see how many films the reviewer has reviewed and rated. I have over 4,000 rated films here. Not a lot of tens either.Best film so far this year.

There is never a dull moment in this action crime film about a getaway driver who has his own unlimited getaway soundtrack but who also wants to break free from the crime boss who owns his life.

There is enough style and visceral strut in this film that it neutralizes the one or two credibility gaps in the plot. Ansel Elgort is great as the title character, but Jamie Foxx steals the film with a lively performance as the loose cannon in the crew. Performances all around are solid and the dialogue is so rife with dueling wits, it's like watching a recurring display of verbal fireworks. These firecracker scenes of competitive criminals showing off their bravado are just as exciting as the chase scenes through downtown Atlanta.

The film also banks heavily on a heady, omnipresent soundtrack that keeps the tempo perpetually hyperactive. A word of caution: The action can be tough going at times; the film revels in its permanent state of anarchy before ultimately developing a mean streak. But for all the blistering gunfire and screeching tires, this is not a one-note film. It has its moments of quietly boiling tension and eerie backstory flashbacks. It's a film that wears its attitude on its sleeve and doesn't shrivel into conventionality. Not an absolute bull's eye, but recommended to everyone who wants a good rush.

However Edgar Wright is a director that seems to get more immature as opposed to maturing with his audience as his films go on.

Baby Driver, a film idea that was, no doubt, pulled from a drawer of high concept, high-school ideas from Mr. Wright, has that sort of aged 90's Tarantino vibe, from the musical OTT dialogue, attention to soundtrack, and the Natural Born Killers style star-crossed main characters. Unfortunately that makes the idea very dated and the promise of a musical car-chase movie a bit of misdirection. It's more of a 90's gangster film with a painful hipster hand guiding it, interspersed with music videos made of car chases.

There's some humour, neat little ideas, satisfying and creative moments, but they're unpleasantly jammed in to a a few moulds that don't do some of the core concepts justice. Lily James is a delight but her character is shortchanged, the idea of replacing core characters for each job is nonsensical probably to get rid of actors to other commitments. And the less said about the two dimensional Darling and Kevin Spacey the better.

The film stars Ansel Elgort as the titular character in deep with some undesirables from the criminal underworld. To pay them back, he must use his driving skills to help with a number of heists. During all this, he becomes smitten with a waitress (Lily James) who makes him feel like he's more than just a criminal. He then decides to try and escape his life of crime, but he soon realizes that it's much easier said than done.

I must say, Edgar Wright did a fantastic job with this film. All the music fit so well in their respective scenes, combined with the great acting all around to make one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a long time.

Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, and Eiza González did their parts well and portrayed convincing mentally unstable killers. This is the first time Wright has worked with this much star power, specifically American star power. The actors played well off of each other, especially in scenes involving comedy where they nailed the punchlines.

The music was good, not all of it recognizable by the average viewer, but effective nonetheless. Supposedly Edgar Wright based the whole movie idea around the Baby Driver song by Simon & Garfunkel, which is an accomplishment all on it's own.

Baby Driver was paced well, was never boring, and made me want sit back down in my seat and watch it over again.

I wanted to keep this review kind of short, but I did want to give you enough information to hopefully convince you to go out and see this film if you get the chance.

My suggestion: Do yourself a favor, go enjoy a night out at the movies and go see Baby Driver!

Seen at a advance screening in Roseville, Minnesota.

Edgar Wright remains one of my all-time favourite directors. Why? Because each and every film he crafts reeks of originality, he takes a few similar traits, throws them together, delves down a completely unexpected route and forms something unique, something masterful. From 'Shaun of the Dead' to 'Hot Fuzz' and so on and so forth, each film feels like something you think you've witnessed before, but on a whole new level, something fresh, something alluring, packed with adrenaline... and of course, 'Baby Driver' followed suit.

'Baby Driver' is an utterly engrossing caper-comedy that is (in my personal opinion) the finest film to face 2017 so far, I couldn't help but smile throughout, from the stunningly executed action scenes and stunts, through to the soundtrack (with an abundance of classic rock and soul tracks) and finally the heavily relatable characters. The lack of disappointment in Edgar Wright's work continues with this masterful film, which is ultimately also one of the coolest films of the past decade or so.

Many of the heist films of recent years have been rather disappointing when it comes to both story and technical achievement, however when something like 'Baby Driver' makes an appearance, it's refreshing to know that indie films are still taking this planet by storm and shunting the blockbusters out of the limelight. To know that certain production companies still trust the creativity of a director over the monetary expectations, and by doing so, unleashing a flurry of fantastic independently "driven" films.

I'm gonna finish with this (partially odd) statement / testimonial... when I went to sleep last night, I had odd dreams of car chases and stunt driving to rock classics, and that is thanks to this film, the fact that it stuck with me even when I wasn't fully conscious. That's how much of a damn cool film 'Baby Driver' is... just go watch it, just throw away your tickets to 'Transformers' and 'The Mummy' etc, and go see this instead.

A brisk action thriller that includes fast cars, guns, and a good selection of music.

Though I enjoyed the scenes, the movie is forgettable and presents nothing new to the table. It's a fun movie, yes, but feels like a pulp fiction of the genre. The storyline is shallower than a kiddie swimming pool.

3/5. Average and forgettable. The movie does keep a good pace, but that's not enough to save it.

Exhilarating! Edgar Wright's Baby Driver is an accelerated non-stop action-thriller that will have you in high-gear the entire drive time. Wildly entertaining! It offers up the best car chases, excellent characters, and displays solid writing in this subgenre of action films. During the golden age of Hollywood cinema, grand getaways, robberies, and car chase movies were a staple. Sony/Tristar, et al, demonstrate that one of the foundational plot types that provided audiences with thrills back then can be effectively resurrected today to embody the engine that drove those motion pictures and install it into a new, sleek body design to mesmerize and impress audiences of today. Certainly, Baby drives to the beat of his own mixtape in this movie, but the film itself goes further and integrates the rhythm of action into the sound design of the motion picture. Not to be left behind on the 80s throwback movies and TV shows bandwagon featuring hipsters and mixtapes, Wright crafts a summer film that rises above the all too cliché CGI robots taking to the sky and pirates swashbuckling across the seas to remind us that little can compare to the squeal of the wheel, love, and the witty turning of phrase. In short, Baby Driver is a self-aware pop-culture film but has the soul of a James Dean motion picture.

Meet Baby (Elgort). Yes, that's B-A-B-Y Baby. He's the unparalleled talented getaway driver for Doc's (Spacey) Atlanta crime ring. With earbuds in place, playing classic rock or his own mixtapes, Baby drives, speeds, and maneuvers to the beat of his tunes. No police force is a match for his ability to evade his would-be captors in order to return Doc's henchman (and woman) to the secret lair. As chance would have it, Baby meets Debora (James), the girl of his dreams, at his usual diner. All that stands in his way is one more job for Doc, or so he thinks. With payment in full of his debt to Doc on the horizon, Baby seen this as his opportunity to make a clean break and to ditch his shady lifestyle of crime. But when Doc approaches Baby with yet another job, Baby must decide to whom his allegiances lie and protect those he loves.

Any veteran filmmaker will tell you that it's vitally important to hook the audience within the first three to five minutes of a film. Fail to hook producers at the beginning of the screenplay, and it's file-thirteen for those 120 pages. As a director, it's encumbered upon him or her to grab hold of the audience's attention, creating the urge to want more, to know more. The first scene of Baby Driver is an incredible display of excellence in writing, directing, and the technical elements of motion picture creation. The magic of this scene lies in the ability for Wright to wow the audience without leaving anyone "out there in the dark" (Sunset Blvd) overly stimulated or left with the feeling of utter exhaustion. The scene is perfectly stimulating. It sets the bar high for the film, and continues to keep it up there for the entire runtime. Just like the pace of Baby's driving, the pacing of the film is exquisitely handled and couldn't be better! The biggest difference between this robbery/getaway film and similar films such as The Fast and the Furious is substance. In addition to the incredible cinematography and sound design paired with out of the world car chases, the film provides heart, soul, and qualitative substance that forms the foundation upon which the more superficial elements are laid.

The cast couldn't have been more brilliantly selected. One of the hallmarks of an Edgar Wright film is the charismatic leads that display solid chemistry on screen. Just who are our heroes in this film? You'll just have to watch it and decide for yourself. I love it when films take the more conventional concept of heroes and villains and turns it on its head. For whomever you decide are the heroes, you'll certainly find yourself actively rooting for their survival and rooting for the villains to meet their demise in shockingly creative ways. When Kevin Spacey isn't busy being the President of the United States, or more recently, an ex-President, he is the king pin of an Atlanta- based crime syndicate that stages fantastically wild robberies. And Baby is indebted to him and must reluctantly aid and abet as the best getaway driver ever to hit the screens in recent years-- think a modern-day James Dean. Jaime Foxx plays the veteran head henchman extremely well and adds his own repulsive, yet comedic charm to his role. It would have been far too easy to play off Spacey and Foxx's conventional talents to steel focus away from the central plot, but Wright strikes a perfect balance between his leads and the story. Elgort and Spacey's on-screen chemistry was crafted with strategic precision in order to quickly solidify the frien-emy relationship between the two characters. With Elgot increasing in popularity, Wright could have deflated to playing up the attractive bad boy tropes but instead allows Elgot's Baby to develop organically throughout the film.

If you are seeking a summer film that clearly demonstrates a movie in which all the creative elements work seamlessly together in the manner in which they were respectively intended, then don't miss Baby Driver while it's in theatres. The energy you will feel in this film is nearly unparalleled by any in recent times, and that's because both the major and minor components work together like a well-oiled machine. You will be at full throttle as you are instantly transported from your auditorium seat to the passenger seat in Baby's car.

The execution and quality of the film making was great, but overall I quickly got bored watching this movie as none of the character's motivations seemed realistic or made sense to me. The action sequences were great, but didn't do anything especially unique or carry any suspenseful weight with the plot that I found myself yawning during much of it. Perhaps it needed more shocking gore.

The movie seemed to be a bit confused in its tone, mixing stylized violence with comedy and serious heist elements. It was set in a realistic world, but the characters and their motivations were not. It felt like it was trying to rekindle the essence of a Tarantino cool bad guy heist film like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, but missed the mark. I found myself not believing the heist scenarios enough or having enough of a stake in them. It needed a stronger overall macguffin.

The use of Music was unique, but I would've have got more out of it if more obscure music was used, like what the GTA video game series does curating amazing forgotten B-side gems from famous artists.

I felt like Jamie Foxx's acting talent was a bit wasted, and the bland Atlanta backdrop seemed like a production budget restraint. I wonder what city was written in the original script? I doubt anyone writes for Atlanta. Rather than transporting us to a cool city that feels lived in and feels like a real location, this just felt like a boring block of downtown brick buildings to shoot car chases and shootouts in.

I love most of Edgar Wright's other films, so I'm not sure why this was so boring for me. It just didn't do anything new for me and will probably be forgotten from my film memory years from now.

Edgar Wright's newest film captures everything you can possibly love about going to the movies. It's filled with wonderful characters, great car chases, enough style for a dozen cool flicks, and yes, a soundtrack that is better than sex. While using a familiar story template (the Driver & Drive), Wright completely makes it his own, infusing it with his love for music and his film geekiness. Wright has a perfect filmography at this point and definitely deserves to be ranked as one of the finest directors of the past 20 years. This may be his best movie yet.

The cast is note perfect, the only downside is that Jon Bernthal's role is almost more of a cameo (considering the top billing). Ansel Elgort is wonderful as Baby, bringing an instant likability and purity to the character. The supporting cast is equally great with Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Eiza Gonzalez as the standouts. The scenes between all three of them contain the most electricity and tension.

The car chases are brilliantly shot, eschewing the dull over-the-top silliness of the Fast & Furious franchise for something much more grounded and much more exciting. The lack of special effects keeps up the tension with actual stunt driving, continuing the good trend of recent actions films going back to doing things for real, showing an understanding of the genre.

Usually, I try to not let myself get too hyped about a new film coming out, but this is the exception. I can't remember the last time I had this much pure fun at the movies and all of you need to see it. I was lucky enough to get into an advanced screening and I almost regret it: waiting two months before I can see it again is unbearable torture.

I don't consider myself a movie expert or anything but I'd like to think I know a good movie when I see one, even if it's not exactly my cup of tea. Baby Driver was actually supposed to be. It had the potential to be a decent action movie but I was suspicious from the moment I saw it had 8.3 on here. I mean, what could have they done with this movie to deserve such a high rating? So, just in case, I lowered my expectations and, somehow, I still managed to be disappointed. Is it possible I am not seeing the originality and perfection of this movie that everyone keeps talking about?

Let's go over the good parts first. The soundtrack, of course. I was very pleased with the song choices and that alone has salvaged this movie from a tempting lower rating than 6/10. Then, the action. One could argue that is seemed forced in some cases, which is true, but overall, I can appreciate the bad-ass driving scenes and the well executed violent confrontations.

Now it's time for the cons. To begin with, I feel like this had the potential to be a great story and somehow it got boring before it even began. The relationship between Elgort's (Baby) and Spacey's (Doc) characters could have given some wind to the wings of this movie. Baby's past could have done the same. I swear, there are so many things which could have been used to make some sense out of the story and out of the characters, but they just didn't elaborate on anything well enough to interest the viewers. It's like they wanted this movie to be so many different things that they ended up with a little bit of everything which amounted to nothing much when put together. Onto the girl. I just don't find her character believable nor do I see any relevance of having her in the movie other that to slow down the pace of it. I could go on about all the things which were ridiculous about this love story, but then again, maybe I'm just too cynical to understand it. Next stop, Spacey and Foxx. Come. On. Guys. I adore both of them and I was hoping for either of them to be the highlight of this movie. They were not. It felt like Specey couldn't be bothered to deliver a good performance. I was half expecting him to keyser soze his way out of it and turn the whole thing around and there was even a perfect moment to do so. And then nothing. Foxx didn't do a bad job but this character of his was already used in Horrible bosses so I can't give him much credit for it.

The list really could go on for much longer. I don't expect movies like this to have relatable characters nor a reality based storyline, but I do expect a level of consistency, which is something this movie is lacking big time. I enjoy when a movie has more than one thing to offer but this whole "love story from a musical on one side and a serious, violent heist on the other", is just not working in a way I find interesting.

I read an early tweet that described Baby Driver as 'a mix-tape with a film attached to it' and that proved to be an accurate comment. The tweeter may have thought this was a good thing, but I certainly don't.

Yes, there are some good tracks and the action sequences are elaborate and frenetic (a little too frenetic, actually), but the characters are dull, unlikeable and bear very little relation to the real world. I simply did not believe in them, especially Darling, the sassy, kick ass stock character that only a fool would consider to be a strong female character.

Then there's Baby, whose laconic, boyish demeanour makes him a rather uninspiring protagonist. His romance with Debbie, a cute little waitress, is yawn-inducingly clichéd, too.

If you want a stylish heist film that isn't so bloody try-hard, then watch Drive. It's an exercise of style over substance much like this film, but it has suspense, atmosphere and characters that could actually exist rather than blaring music, mind-numbing action and flat, hateful comic book characters.

Baby Driver is one hell of a film,I was lucky enough to go to preview of this film and it was worth it.This film uses music the way no other film has ever, It's stylish and has a cast that bring it to life especially Ansel Elgort,Jamie Foxx,Jon Hamm and Kevin Spacey bring a performance that almost tops all their others.The film has exciting car chases and intense moments that leave you on the edge of your seat just acing to know what happens,the final act is probably where Baby Driver shines in all it's glory.Period. Overall this film is a film for everyone,it has music that makes you want to get up and dance right there in the theater.I give Baby Driver a 10/10,go and see it now.

Thanks to student edge i was given the chance to see the film early, having seen amazing reviews from its screening at SXSW, i went in with incredibly high expectations. Coming out, those expectations still managed to be exceeded.

Edgar Wright directed the sh1t out of this movie. Everything is filmed beautifully, especially the incredible action scenes and one- takes. The acting is superb, the film balanced out the drama and comedic elements extremely well, and the plot was immensely well developed and entertaining, the characters are rich and engrossing, with the chemistry between Ansel Elgort and Lily James being the stand out part of this film for me, lastly i was very skeptical at the beginning of the film regarding the dominating presence of the soundtrack throughout the movie, but the killer soundtrack was fun, lively and bloody joyful, and blended into the plot seamlessly , it became its own character in the film and definitely brought a smile to my face.

Go into this movie knowing as little as you can, this is an experience like no other.

I went in this movie not knowing anything about it other than the fact that it was probably going to be a bank robbery type of movie. Now it had that, but it was simplified. The action scenes had a comedic aspect to them that just didn't feel right to me along with a lot of action happening behind closed doors. It does make sense since he is a driver and can't see what's going on, but there was one scene where the camera purposefully gets out of the way so we can't see. It really takes out the suspense in everything, which would've added a whole lot more to the movie.

This movie could've been so much more had they not gone the comedic route. Unfortunately though, nothing was believable because of that. You have cops coming out of nowhere and action scenes that are unrealistic. I guess a big mistake of mine is comparing it to the movie Heat, because that's what I was expecting from what little I knew. It was still a decent movie with an interesting story, but it falls short because it resorted to comedy for the action sequences. If you go in not expecting Heat or A Dog Day Afternoon, you may enjoy it slightly more than me.

This is actually my first review on here. I had the chance to see this movie as an advanced screening at my university. I now feel obligated to let fellow movie afficionados know that this movie is simply freaking awesome. I love good music and cars (especially Subarus like the one from the trailer) and that alone was a good enough reason for me to go watch this movie. I was not disappointed.

I find Edgar Wright's movies entertaining. However, this movie was a step above that. Take La La Land, combine it with heist & Fast & Furious elements to it and you have Baby Driver. The casting was great. Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey have similar roles to the ones in Horrible Bosses, but that does not make it any less fun. The cinematography is exceptional and the plot is intriguing and unpredictable. The camera work in one of the opening scenes reminded me of Birdman, which is a Best Picture Academy Award winner, so this movie is definitely executed in a stylish manner, and has a great attention to detail. The soundtrack is picked to perfection and the dialogue is the wittiest, funniest one I have seen in a movie in a long time.

I only see two cons for the movie. One: some of the action sequences did seem a little unbelievable, so if you want a completely realistic movie, you might want to trade some of that for the entertaining factor. Two: it was an advanced screening and the movie only comes out in 2 months... and I already want to watch it again. I rarely rate movies 10/10 but it was the most fun I've had in a theater and that certainly deserves my rating.

A very well choreographed film. Right from the driving sequences, the dance & music moves, the complete score of the film to even the sign language conversations between Baby and Joseph.

Absolutely loved the editing - sleek and clean. I can imagine the efforts needed to shoot the complete the film by calculating the amount of individual shots taken in the film.

3/4th of the film is quite interesting, felt quite a drag towards the end. The love relation between Baby & Deborah is quite interesting.

Overall a good one time watch.

Strong cast of actors.

When it comes to the art, there are few filmmakers who create and perfect their own signature brand. Tarantino, Scorsese, Kuebrick and many others all share distinct characteristics that make there films recognizable to those serious about cinema. The men listed above are all Master Class in my opinion and dare I say Edgar Wright is on his way to joining them?

Summary

Baby Driver follows a young man who goes by the name "Baby" (Elgort) who is what the title suggests, a Driver and a damn good one. His talents led him to becoming the prized getaway driver for a group of criminals. With his heart not aligned with the lifestyle and actions of his co workers he seeks a new start, especially after becoming interested in a girl. It is until he finds himself ready to abandon the life he finds out how intertwined he really is.

Review

Pros Referencing back to the intro, the first 6 minutes of this film shows why Wright is in a class only a few are in. The scene uses its soundtrack to act as choreography, every snare hit and kick means something and are perfectly timed to the world our characters are in. We the audience soon realize that music is more than just a soundtrack in this film, but provides an arc for our characters, especially Baby. We learn a lot about him based solely off of the music being played, which is unlike anything I have seen at this level. We then proceed to a long tracking shot of Baby navigating to a coffee shop, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful shots of 2017. I never thought Watching someone get coffee would be this entertaining. Wright does a good job from the start of putting us into this kids world while simultaneously showing us why he doesn't belong in it. The casting choices were all good and added different elements to the story. Baby was the only one tied to music physically through his iPod, but each character was choreographed as if they were listening too. The action was shot really well especially the getaway scenes, both on foot and in the car. The car chase scenes are pure brilliance making The Fast and The Furious movies look 2nd tier. Edgar truly kept me engaged and I never felt cheated in any scene.

Cons

Much of the film focused on visuals to the point where I felt some characters were a tad bit flat. Subtracting Baby and Doc (Kevin Spacy), I felt the others could have had a little more substance. Some of their decisions and actions felt somewhat robotic in my opinion. With that being said Buddy (Hamm) and Batts (Foxx) did shine in a couple of scenes due to them being quality actors. With this being said please understand that even this didn't ruin this movie due to them still being entertaining characters.

Lastly the only other minor issue I had was the romance. Although there was nothing wrong with the acting or chemistry between the characters, it was just a little difficult to believe or get invested in.

Conclusion/Grade

What makes Baby Driver great is that it is a unique experience and is visually stunning. Edgar Wright does a great job of blending action, suspense, romance and comedy making it one of the most enjoyable films of 2017.

8.1/10

I somehow felt love and hate sort of feeling for Baby Driver. The movie started off on nice note but then somehow slows down and eventually picks up too much pace in second half. It's pretty hard to keep the interest alive all the time. I really loved the song selection and even noticed me nodding to few beats as well. The car action sequence were well shot too. But then the second half of the movie was so fast that it feels like they just wanted to end this but still wanted to keep it alive. Don't think if there was any need of few gruesome sequences.

The story had so much potential and having some good cast along, it could have gone to great heights. But it disappoints in this area and turns out to be just another mindless action drama for light viewing.

There's something inherently appealing about the concept of a getaway driver.  A skillful 'bad-boy', but not normally bad enough to actually DO the nasty crime stuff…. merely be an active accomplice to it.  As a result, it's a subject that the movies have returned to time after time.  I'm old and crusty enough to remember being wowed at seeing Ryan O'Neal in Walter Hill's "Driver" on the big screen in 1978. And well before that, as a kid, my poor departed mother used to be driven crazy by me begging her to take me to see "The Italian Job" (the original 1969 version) YET again… probably the greatest getaway chase in movie history: I must have seen that film at least 20 times in the cinema. Of course more recently we've also had Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan in "Drive" on the same theme. 

But with Edgar Wright at the helm, a big name cast and an enticing trailer, I had high expectations for "Baby Driver" – and boy was I happy! This is such a seriously cool film on so many levels.

Opening with a bank heist followed by a kick-ass car chase, we follow 'Baby' (Ansel Elgort, "Allegiant", "The Fault in our Stars") as a tinnitus-suffering, music-infused getaway driver under the thumb of the criminal overlord Doc (Kevin Spacey, in icy Frank Underwood mode). Doc recruits an ever-changing mix-tape of villains for each job, including the psychopathic and appropriately named 'Bats' (Jamie Foxx, "Sleepless"), the chillingly dangerous Buddy (Jon Hamm, "Mad Men", "Keeping Up With The Joneses") and his "Bonnie-style" wife 'Darling' (Eiza González) and the moderately incompetent JD (Lanny Joon) (who changed his neck tattoo of "HATE" to "HAT" since it improved his job prospects…. "everybody loves a hat"!).

Baby's life gets more complicated when the hoods become aware of his fledgling relationship with fellow-orphan Debora (Lily James) a waitress in a diner and another lever to keep Baby locked into the job that he is just so, so good at.

On the surface this might be perceived as being just another good excuse for a lot of CGI-driven car stunts in the style of "The Fate of the Furious". But no. Firstly, as Edgar Wright declared before the special screening I saw, all of the car stunts were actually performed for real on the mean streets of Atlanta (and hats off to the film's stunt coordinator Robert Nagle and his team for these).  And secondly, the car scenes are almost secondary to the fabulous story and character development in the film. The script (also by Edgar Wright) is just brilliant. There are genuinely laugh-out loud moments in the movie, with one of the highlights for me being JD tasked with procuring Michael Myers "Halloween" masks for a heist. If you don't find this scene hilarious, you are not human – official.

Elgort is really strong in the lead role, and suggested to me that if the role of the young Han Solo in the upcoming Star Wars spin-off hadn't already gone to Alden Ehrenreich, then here was a very strong contender.  All of the supporting roles are strong (as you would expect from such a stellar cast) with Jon Hamm being a standout, appearing truly demonic in the closing scenes.  The one role I was less sure about in the film was that of Lily James, whose performance as the 'sweet as apple pie' waitress seemed a little too "animated" for the big screen in the early scenes - I remember an acting class by Michael Caine where he advised that given the size of the movie screen 'stillness was good' sometimes. What works well on the small screen (I am a big fan of her roles in historical TV dramas like "Downton Abbey" and the impeccable "War and Peace") perhaps sometimes needs modifying for the wide-screen experience. I greatly warmed to her portrayal in the action sequences later on though: she's a great actress and one that this film can hopefully now propel into the higher echelons in Hollywood.

Another star of the film is the fabulous soundtrack coordinated by Oscar-winner Steven Price ("Gravity") featuring (amongst many other classics) Queen's "Brighton Rock", Golden Earring's "Radar Love", the Simon and Garfunkel classic (obviously) and Bob & Earl's "Harlem Shuffle", all used to brilliant effect.  This latter track leads me on to some early Oscar predictions:  if this film doesn't get nominated this year for Oscars for Best Editing (Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss, "Scott Pilgrim vs the World") and Best Sound Editing (Julian Slater), then there is no God! The "Harlem Shuffle" coffee run sequence is a masterclass in editing and direction.  Starting off with what I thought might turn into a tribute to "Saturday Night Fever", the scene neatly takes on a style all of its own. It's use of – erm – "subtitles" is just brilliant.

The often subtle, and occasionally not so subtle, edits between scenes are also truly masterful, making this moviegoer laugh-out-loud with delight periodically at the movie-making skill on display.

All of this is orchestrated by Edgar Wright as director who – for me – has been a little inconsistent over the years (loved, loved, loved "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz";  "The World's End" – not so much).  Here, he delivers in spades and this film rockets immediately into my Films of the Year list for 2017.  Awe inspiring. 

Beg, steal, borrow, rob a bank - - do what you have to, but make sure you catch this film on the big screen.

(For the full and graphical version of this review please visit bob- the-movie-man.com or One Mann's Movies on Facebook. Thanks.)

Everyone's gushing about how the music matched a few scenes and I mean like.... Yeah? Welcome to movies, where sound is designed to match the scenes.

There wasn't anything amazing.

Bad acting from the main character. Bad writing as well, he makes a lot of stupid decisions which I suppose are the reason the story exists. Lazy and unrealistic writing. No chemistry between him and his "love" who are in love and run away after a date which entails going for dinner and then ending.

This girl must be lonely as hell despite being a good looking waitress. She wants to leave her job and her friends behind for a man she doesn't know at all, except that he's friends with some criminal elements... And she's like hell yeah lets do this!

OH and I assume she remains celibate for 5 years for him at a point.

Again... They have had one date and barely any conversation, and no nookie.

Just a lot of terrible writing in this like that which bothered me. The action and music scenes were okay. You can find much better looking at any top-lists.