Heist film Baby Driver is every cool movie you’ve ever seen — but done in a completely new way
Brit director Edgar Wright brings us an unforgettable crime flick with a killer cast
Baby Driver
(15) 113mins
I MAY have seen this film a month ago, but I’m still thinking about it every day.
It’s every cool movie you’ve seen, with the cool-o-meter cranked up to 11 and done in a completely new way.
Baby Driver is one of a handful of movies this year to be both completely original — not a sequel, a reboot or an adaptation — and to have people drooling in anticipation.
It’s certainly the best movie born from a British director since Ben Wheatley's Free Fire.
Edgar Wright, of Spaced and the Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World’s End) brings us this stylish, cool heist movie with a killer cast and an approach to music in film that will leave your mind boggled and your feet tapping.
Ansel Elgort is Baby — a young getaway driver who suffers from tinnitus, seeking relief from the ringing in his ears with seriously cool tunes on his numerous iPods.
MOST READ IN TV & SHOWBIZ
He’s an incredible driver, repaying a debt to crime boss Kevin Spacey by driving his gangs around as they rob banks.
Desperate to escape this life, he hoards his cut under floorboards and plans a future where he can look after his adopted father and the cute waitress he’s been flirting with (Lily James).
As with pretty much all heist movies, it goes completely boobs up, with paranoia, suspicion and suspense all setting in.
There is so much style here it comes dangerously close to being overwhelming.
In fact, every detail has been styled and choreographed to within an inch of its life.
But once you embrace that and let yourself get swallowed by the sheer hipness, you’ll be whacking on the Wayfarers before you’ve even left the cinema. Full credit to Elgort and the rest of the cast.
His lack of experience really helps and the support acts are exemplary, including a deliciously snide Jamie Foxx.
James is perfectly innocent as Debora and together they really nail the True Romance-esque romance.
The 1993 crime flick True Romance is clearly an influence — but it’s one of many.
Take a look at this list — Point Break, The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club — and tell me you don’t really want to see a film that not only pays homage to them, but has them in its crosshairs.
I mean, hot dayum!
★★★★½