Baby Driver First Reaction

To set the context, I was already pretty excited for Baby Driver when I saw the first trailer several months ago. I think part of that was because of my love for the Ryan Gosling film, Drive, as both have similar themes, a crime heist set around the getaway driver, and that is where the similarities end. Adding on to this was an A list of actors and the great comedy director and writer, Edger Wright. I hoped it was going to be at least good.

It was and so much more!

The first five minutes set the tone of the film extremely well as it starts with the protagonist, Baby, (yes, his name is Baby) sitting in a car with three robbers moments before the heist. Baby throws in his Apple earbuds and starts the music as the robbers get out and enter the bank in the middle of a sunny day. Baby stays in the car and jams out to his music, dancing and singing along in a way that makes you instantly relate to him as we all have had those moments. His jam session has quick breaks as he and the audience observe the robbery from the car. Baby's face giving us a great look at his discomfort to it and insight into his character. The robbers finally return, and they speed off to the first car chase in the film with the song Bellbottoms by Jon Spencer Blues Explosions blaring to the rhythm of the chase, and we see why Baby is the best.

To not mention the music or the driving in Baby Driver would be similar to watching Singing in the Rain and not talking about the music and dance numbers because Baby Driver takes a lot of hints from musicals films. There is a constant run of music in the background as Baby is almost always listening to music to drown out his chronic tinnitus, a constant buzzing in the ears. Because of the constant music, the movie uses it to help find an almost musical rhythm to the character's movements, the action, and the chase scenes. Baby's character is built well using this condition to portray who he is by his mounds of iPods for the different moods he is in and cassette tapes of his creation. 

The writing is fantastic, and the actors and actresses play their parts perfectly. The pairing up of characters with Baby worked perfectly be it the tension with his crime boss, the chemistry with his love interest, or the family aspect with his deaf foster father. All of it was fleshing out the characters beautifully. I also found myself several times surprised by the characters choices, but it never felt out of character for any of them as the surprises were a reaction to another character's instant action or a build up of actions.

The action scenes are great, and the chase scenes are some of the best I have seen in years. Never was I lost in what is going on or didn't know where the characters were. Action films need to have good continuity editing, and this movie has it.

Baby Driver is, without question, my favorite Edgar Wright film and is definitely a heavy contender for my favorite film of the year. I left the theater physically fighting the urge to speed home while listening to the soundtrack on Spotify. 

So, if you can't tell by now, I loved the movie, and you should see it as soon as you can but please, follow the traffic laws after you see it. Safty first!

Thanks for reading!

Baby Driver is Copyright of TriStar Pictures and associated production companies.

Baby Driver