FILM REVIEW: Baby Driver (15)

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines and prepare for a wholly original new take on the well worn (and loved) heist getaway driver thriller '“ with added music soundtrack to every scene.
Baby Driver.Baby Driver.
Baby Driver.

Baby Driver is a true romance tale, violent, funny and very cool, imagine Drive mixed with La La Land – so buckle up for super charged (non CGI) car chases, bank heist action and criminal capers all wrapped around a sweet boy meets girl core.

Meet Baby (Ansel ‘Carrie’ Elgort) – a simple young chap who has tinnitus so has to constantly listen to music on an old school iPod after an accident as a child – which also orphaned him. He has incredible driving skills though, which he is coerced to use for dangerous crime boss Doc (Kevin Spacey), in order to pay off a debt but his dreams of escape are heightened when he falls for innocent kindred spirit Debora (Lily James).

Along the way Baby crosses paths with various criminal elements who include the unhinged Bats (Jamie Foxx), who tends to shoot first and leaves a trail of dead in his wake, the ice cold psycho Buddy (Jon Hamm) and his foxy girlfriend / partner in crime Darling (Elza González).

When not driving Baby lives with and cares for his almost blind adoptive guardian and diligently saves his meagre cut of the ill gotten gains that Doc allows him to keep.

But getting out of his criminal life wont be easy (or safe) and so it transpires as the plot accelerates to a violent, crunching showdown.

All the cast do a great job, making the cracking dialogue pop and bring their characters to fully formed life. The cars are supremely cool and threaten to steal the show but Elgort is the stand out here – delivering an iconic performance that should open the door for more leading man roles. Oh and the soundtrack is an absolutely killer too.

Director Edgar ‘Hot Fuzz’ Wright makes all the right moves and delivers an exciting, fast-paced modern classic which immediately stands alongside the greats of the genre.

Baby Driver is a full throttle endorphin rush that really should be seen on the big screen.

Rating: 4/5

Review by Matt Adcock

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