REVIEW: Baby DriverBy Quinn OxleyJune 29, 2017Finally, someone has made a movie about listening to music in the car. The wait is over.

All joking aside, Baby Driver is freaking incredible. Would it be too corny to call it a joyride? Okay, how about this - I felt like I was falling down a rabbit hole, holding my breath, refusing to blink, and all I wanted to do was fall faster and faster until I hit the bottom.

Enigmatic music-addict Baby (Ansel Elgort) drives freelance for Doc (Kevin Spacey), a near-omnipotent crime boss with whom Baby has some history. Doc, however, isn’t keen on letting go of Baby’s incredible services once Baby’s debt is satisfied. The whirlpool of the criminal life threatens to pull Baby back in, endangering his new lover, Debora (Lily James), and everything else that’s precious to him.

I’ve already written a piece fangirling over Edgar Wright, so I’ll try to keep my praise of him short and sweet. Directing, writing, shot composition, transitions - it’s all delectable. He maintains his signature style (seriously, 85% of action movies would benefit by being directed by this man), but keeps it relatively subtle.

Ansel Elgort carries his tight-lipped savant protagonist deftly throughout the film, and Lily James (while a bit perky for liking, but charming nonetheless) nails an American accent, if overcompensating occasionally at times. Their chemistry starts off naturally; it flares a little too quickly to be realistic in the whole sense of the word, but their story is fascinating enough that the speed is easy to forgive. Kevin Spacey is Kevin Spacey (intense, sarcastic, stone-faced, etc.).

Baby Driver’s action sequences are not too frequent to be overwhelming and are placed perfectly throughout the film; they’re shot interestingly, varied, and in a way that action sequences should be filmed - steadily, so you can actually focus on what’s going on. Not to mention that most of it feels like a beautifully choreographed dance, epic soundtrack included. Hats off to the staging manager.

The awesome does taper off toward the end of the film. Unfortunately the rabbit hole ends in a circuitous and not altogether satisfying conclusion, but that’s the film’s biggest caveat. Other than that, there were a few formulaic lines of dialogue; Jamie Foxx’s character was a bit obnoxious, but that serves its purpose in the film. Honestly, I’m just nitpicking now. 90% of Baby Driver is leagues beyond what we’ve been seeing this year - including Wonder Woman.

Is it good, though?

Absolutely. Probably the best movie I’ve seen this year. The end isn’t enough to get me down. Writer/director Edgar Wright is a gem, the leads are more than magnetic, it's atmospheric and stylish, and I can't wait to see it again.

Rating: 8.5/10

P.S. I’m a little jealous, honestly. I also have tinnitus, and I didn’t get any superpowers.

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