Last year's smash hit Baby Driver almost immediately became a cult classic upon release. Being nominated for several Oscar awards including Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing, the general public weren't the only ones to notice this movie. It was pushed out to theatres without too much of a marketing campaign to back it up so was something of a sleeper hit. With the cast headed up by some impressive names in show business, was this movie worthy of all the praise heaped upon it a few short months back?
Baby Driver follows the life of a skilled getaway driver by the name of Baby (played by Ansel Elgort). Having developed a chronic life-long tinnitus condition from a childhood automobile accident which killed both his parents, he manages to find mental solace by continuously listening to music on his iPod. However, in deciding to soon bring his criminal career to a close, Baby plans to settle into a life of so-called normality by attempting to forge a relationship with a waitress at a local diner, Debora (played by Lily James) thus leaving his old life behind. However, when Doc (played by Kevin Spacey) who is the brains overseeing each operation and his boss, refuses to let him abandon employment, Baby is quickly faced with a huge dilemma which could ultimately lead to his, and his loved ones, demise.
This film has got to be one of the most stylish movies I've seen for a very long time. It's tone and narrative borrows heavily from a sort of Taratino-esque standpoint. Each character in Baby Driver is like a kind of over-inflated caricature of themselves. In that their intrinsic persona is exaggerated to the point of being almost cartoonish. However in the context of proceedings, this is by no means a bad thing. The story punches along at a fair pace giving the actors a chance to comfortably stretch their legs. During their heist missions, they are grouped into bunches of four (including Baby) with each member of the ensemble bringing their distinctive traits to the table. Special mention goes to Jamie Foxx as Bats who turns in a great performance as an unstable, dangerous gangster, instantly taking a dislike to Baby. Another memorable personality was Baby's sweet, endearing foster father Joseph (played by CJ Jones). Though their on-screen scenes together are somewhat sparse, what there is just oozes heart-warming, beautiful father/son chemistry. And of course, the irrepressible Kevin Spacey delivers another fine role as the slightly unhinged, though still managing to stay in control, Doc. Every single one of the casting crew outdo themselves to sheer perfection. In short, I was just blown away by the excellent quality of acting all round.
Another intriguing and unique aspect of the movie was the sound. Not only are we treated to a phenomenal compilation of classic "rap, soul and funk" tracks throughout almost the entirety of its two-hour duration, but the main perspective is solely captured from Baby. We hear what he hears, from the as-mentioned musical brilliance to even a high pitched continuous shrill ringing, caused by the removal of his headphone. It's a stroke of genius and allows the audience to settle in to the character of Baby on the most personal of levels. In addition, the editorial excellence of this movie is off the charts. It's little to no wonder why it garnered so many award nominations in this category. The car chase sequences are some of the best I've ever seen. Rivalling even the likes of Bullet or Ronin in terms of out-and-out thrills and seamless vehicular set pieces. Hell, even when the action takes place on foot, it's created with an attention to detail and care that showcases the production team's utter brilliance in their corresponding fields. Incredible stuff. The negatives are few and far between. Possibly the romance between Baby and Debora that could have been drawn out a little more or the odd "action movie cliché" here and there, especially towards within the third act. But, in total honesty, that's just nit-picking in an otherwise stunning achievement here.
To put in bluntly, I was just floored by how great this movie is. Maybe having no expectations going in helped matters, but there is no question whatsoever that a special kind of love and affection went into putting this absolute killer masterpiece together. If a movie lover like I am, you'd be doing yourself a huge disservice in giving this one a miss. The charm, appeal and downright "cool nature" of Baby is something to be commended and applauded. This is as close as I've been so far to giving any movie a "9.5" rating. Words can't express my adoration for this movie. A straight-up classic in it's genre that can only improve with age and just sent the benchmark of filmic quality to the next level.
My Verdict: (9/10)
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Oh my God, hahaha, I could not possibly hope to compete with this!! That's awesome, LOLLLL!!!!
haha epic
Beautiful .. well done
Yes the personality was wonderful can say it was balanced
Thanks for sharing.
I think I missed ever hearing about this one, maybe due to the lack of marketing you mentioned.
However, with the stellar @ezzy recommendation I think I might have to convince the wife to watch it with me. I think I saw it on our streaming service. After reading this I did check out the trailer and the sound track is filled with my type of jams!
It's a sweet movie, bro. and I'm sure one the wife will love too as even the violence is quite "tougue-in-cheek". But the jams certainly do play a huge part in making this movie as good as it is... :)
Oh yes, I have already watched this movie and it´s really great, nice review again @ezzy bro! 👍
I watched this during a flight, and I was completely surprised how enjoyable it was. Sure, I mean, I should have known better than to doubt Edgar Wright's skill because I loved most of his other movies. But man... The sync with the music and action looked so effortless, and the sequences were superb. Makes you think what could've been had he directed Ant-Man. If only he could've reached a compromise with Marvel.
Edgar Wright is a damn titan when it comes to straight up mind-blowing originality in movies. Again, your insightful descriptions run parallel to mine in every respect. And thanks so much for giving that "Ant-Man" easter egg. Damn, had no idea! Makes you think what could have been (although Reed still pulled off an impressive job).
Have you seen the trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp? It's interesting to see how it fares without Wright's hand in it.
When I saw that title, I thought it was some kind of parody movie, or something like that.
I just saw trailer, and the acting crew is pretty good.
I'm a big fan of Kevin Spacey since I saw The Usual Suspects, which is one of my all-time greats, as well as Jamie Foxx.
"I was just floored by how great this movie is. "
I see that it has a good grade on imdb, and you're rating it as 9/10.
I'll definitely watch it.
I doubt I would've ever watched it I didn't open this post, becuase of the name of the movie, and I'm not a fan of "childish" movies.
This most definitely isn't a childish movie, lol. I found it to be a well thought out and artistically on-point movie. Hope you like it. I certainly did. :)
Have the decency to be internally consistent. You reported the characters were cartoons.
You were right.
That makes it childish.
That isn't good or bad. It is just a fact.
So don't back away from your own report - it makes you look like a flip flopper
Like I mentioned in the previous post.
If you really liked this movie and Kevin Spacey, I'd suggest you seeing The Usual Suspects, if you haven't watched it already.
Magnificent movie, and you won't regret if you watch it.
The Usual Suspects I consider to be one of the greatest movie ever. Pure class from start to finish and an ending to literally end all endings!!
I agree with you on The Usual Suspects. It was one of his best movies. I first saw Kevin Spacey on Seven, though. He's such a good actor.
Very childish movie - the characters are all cartoons so the simple can follow who is good and who is bad.
Worthwhile to watch. But don't expect any depth in the character development. Expect to see a cartoon with live humans.
I've been in two minds about this one because I read unflattering reviews in the past. But it did initially grab me as a type of high octane film (like you - in the Tarantino-esque vein) that would make for great entertainment.
Thanks for reassuring me, now this is one I will give a chance. Thanks for a fine review.
Hey there, @naquoya! Yeah, I'm giving my unbiased and totally *from-the-heart" perspective here, man. The car action set pieces are astounding and if you're generally a fan of Taratino, I'm sure you'll be right at home with this flick. :)
I am a fan of Tarantino. He tends to get style and substance in the right balance, and utilises the movie making processes strengths to great advantage. So I definitely appreciate your unbiased perspective. Looking forward to it now :)
One the one hand, you characterize the characters as caricatures, almost cartoonish.
And then later you report the "excellent quality of acting all around".
I don't see how those could both be true? How can they be cartoons and also excellent quality acting?
I liked the movie. It had a killer sound track. You overlooked mentioning how the action scenes were choreographed to the background music.
It is worth watching if you haven't seen it.
But only 7 out of 10. The acting was cartoonish - which is OK - it was written as a cartoon to make sure the simple can follow.
Not much to disagree with here. Though I will say that I think Deborah could have been written better, or perhaps played by a different actress. Not sure. It wasn't so much that their romance was cliche, but that her character was cliche.
I also think the ending was done poorly. It should have ended with the police ready to catch them on the bridge, and perhaps Baby has to make a choice to keep running or surrender, and then the camera cuts to black and we're left wondering what happened.
I'm not sure if Edgar Wright is going to make a sequel (doubt it, as the movie is perfect as a standalone), but if he did, a great setup would have been Baby getting out of prison, and perhaps getting pulled back into the game by an associate of Kevin Spacey's character.
Thanks for your feedback, buddy! I mentioned the action was cliched towards the end, but not the romance. However, I definitely agree that the character of Debora seems to get too involved in this new life of danger and unrequited devotion to Baby too quickly. Also, I guess we could have had a multitude of possible different endings, but if that's the vision the director chose to go with, then it works for me too. If anything, it wrapped up the movie up to it's literal final conclusion.
All in all, with a few misgivings here and there, I believe we are on the same page with how we both feel about this movie. Bless and thanks again for stopping by... :)
Yeah, their romance seemed to develop way too quickly, but hey, at the end of the day, that was more just a plot device to get Baby from a to b. And you're right about the multitude of endings, I just thought of another one after I wrote that. 😅 Thanks for the review! I like to hear different opinions on this film. 👍
Baby driver is one of my all time favorite movie, Baby is so much like me in real life. Always on headphones and music is my inspiration. Nice review too.
High five, man! It's the "quiet" ones you gotta watch out for... :)
This one was a more light hearted Drive for me, Baby was a great character, and some of the filming was sick, like when he was getting coffee. I'm a sucker for movies that pull off the music well so I'm pretty close with you on this one. 9.21/10, will watch again
Well observed, @jakeybrown. Some of those moves pulled off in the getaway chase scenes. Pure movie gold... And that explosive soundtrack all the way through... A sheer overload of "sensory goodness". :)
Haha well put!
9/10 ... reaally?
Damn when i saw the preview i told myself this movie is going to suck
guess what i'll be doing after work tonight! and what a nice expression 'sleeper hit' :)
love reading your movie reviews!
Believe me, buddy. I thought the same thing. In fact, even the poster didn't do it for me. As I mentioned in my post, I think the marketing wasn't great but in some ways this now makes me love that movie even more. It turned out to be a pleasant and unexpected surprise... :)
9/10 for me also! It had great reviews but I didn't expect it to be that good! First 5 minutes of the movie and you know it's going to be great. I loved this movie so much that after watching it, I watched it again right after. The music's really awesome and I just love the visuals. All the shots are amazing, the colors are really, really good. And I agree with you on Bats. Jamie Foxx, as always, did a good job.
Yeah, buddy. I'm seeing that a lot about this movie. How expectations weren't that great to begin with. I put that down to a poor marketing campaign. But with a movie of this quality, word of mouth should suffice, lol. The music, visuals, narrative. Everything was a blast!
Thanks for the comments, man. :)
honestly, i didn't even consider watching this movie. the trailer looked so predictable.
okay, so based on this review, i will watch this movie online. thanks for a comprehensive article. :)
Thanks, @ablaire. I hope you enjoy it even half as much as I did. An awesome flick from head to toe... :)
This is one of the best movies I've seen. Period. I just can't find out any reason not to recommend it.
Thank you for bringing it again to my memory.
I'm so with you, man. Sometimes the best movies are the ones that slip under the radar and therefore turn out to be an unexpected delight. This was the perfect example of that... :)
I loved the first half but the second one ruined it by having one convenience after another and eventually becoming a generic action flick
Sure, I can see what you mean to some degree. But man, did they make sure it was a damn fine quality "generic action flick" sequence, lol... :)
wow..!!wow!! wow!!! what a wonderful story..
i really like your story@ezzy ... thanks for share your My Personal Thoughts on "Baby Driver"post
Great to share
and i enjoying full history of this post.
go up dear.
thsnks
Great review! Resteemed!
Thank, bud. :)
Beautiful story
The sound made the movie brilliant, when i started watching the movie i was not expecting it to be much, but wow... i was really wrong.
Totally, buddy. It's interesting how integral sound is to making a movie work so well. This was one of the best examples I can think of. :)
I’m a movie lover of great movies such as “Hacksaw Ridge” I know it’s something totaly different, but at the same time I would give it 9 1/2 rating as well. I definately would watch “Baby Driver” if I get a chance.
Great review!
Thank you!
Hacksaw Ridge is one movie I've always wanted to see. Must check it out for sure. :)
You definately should. I already saw it 3x.
WTF? What is your post supposed to mean. You are giving the movie a 9 1/2 without having seen it.
So how much should we believe that your rating has any meaning at all?
I was talking about the movie I saw “Hacksaw Ridge”.
Read my comment!
So the "it" was supposed to be Hacksaw Ridge. As opposed to the movie that the entire post was about and all the comments were about.
Makes your comment even more bizarre.
A completely random comment about a completely different movie. Cool. Good continuity.
I'm guessing you never have any issues making yourself understood in logical discussions.
You still didn’t get it. I will try to explain it one more time.
Because I saw the movie “Hacksaw Ridge” which I rated 9 1/2. I would be very interested to see “Baby Driver” because @ezzy rated it at 9 1/2 as well. I thing @ezzy got my comment.
nice one. did you actually see it in the cinema?
Sadly, I did not. Feel like a missed out now, lol. :)
I have never even heard of it so it must be a sleeper. I will definitely check it out if you give it a 9/10
Hope you like it, my man... :)
Cult classics always intrigued me.
It's like they're were good, but did badly at the box office during release. But they last forever.
Or like The Room (re: Disaster Artist), it was so bad that it was good lol.
Awesome article, ill check it out
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Hey @ezzy, just wanted to quickly let you know that I have included you in a post here: Paying it Forward - Sharing Some Steemians That Have Been an Inspiration
Thank you for that awesome post by you, my bro. Really humbling, man... :)
Sorry to have spammed a link on your post - I didn't think of that to after. But yes, wanted to let you know. :)
yo I just caught this!
It was good. The script was cheesy at times though haha.
But I love the different characters and how they were played out. It really gave life to them, like the part Jon Hamm cocked the gun for his wife.
Damn, now I feel like watching some heist movies.
Lol! I still loved this movie, bro. Given the slick stylization and memorable characters, I'll forgive it for a little cheese here ad there.
Bring on the heist movies!! :)
Will prob watch Ocean 11's for kicks tonight haha.
Help me plis from upvote @ezzy
I love this movie! The whole soundtrack is on Spotify as a playlist.
I suspected that edgar wright was going to america for the first time; has already reduced the classical fiction technique, but it has further increased the level of music. and increased filmmin traceability by making it compatible with movie scenes. superb music accompanied by a deluxe bank robbery movie with delightful drift scenes. a feature that distinguishes the film from other similar ones is that a character who can not exhibit his secret power from the baby face and music listens to the lead role.
one of the best action films of recent years. It's a great story. a lot of fun
I wanted to take a red subaru wrx and walk around the streets: D. so beautiful, so actionable. the review is excellent to type. congratulations :) sorry for being bad english :)
This is a movie that I'd put at the top of my list for 2017 and you've pretty much explained the reasons why.
Thanks for the great post
I have heard a lot about this movie but never really got the right amount of "DRIVE" to actually watch it. Then comes this post. Currently downloading the movie to watch it hahahah.. Realized i just need the right review for it and this is it. I currently have a lot of time to watch movies and have always been undecided. Following you now @ezzy. Please post more of this <3
Wow ! This is truly wonderful analysis !! Added to my wish list !! Thanks you so much for your effort !!
I love the movie... funny enough i never knew he loved listening to songs for a reason until i read this post.. i find this post interesting... Thank you
film criticism is very good.good work.thanks for us sharing
I actually thought the actor who played "Baby" would have made a good young Han Solo. They even had him dress a little like him sometimes, didn't they? Do Last Jedi next, I'd be interested in your thoughts.
This film has got to be one of the most stylish movies I've seen for a very long time
The graphics, the drifting, the songs and how he was being maltreated by his colleagues was just the best part of the movie..
And how his boss got killed trying to protect him, stylish🔥
The best movie so far!
You should watch 68kills..also another awesome movie
I personally loved the fact that i couldn't predict the villain, thought it was bats, what a superb performance..