Baby Driver

I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to see this film. So when I first heard of it, I had no context for it, just heard of a movie called Baby Driver and assumed it was some Boss Baby spinoff about a baby who drives but always heard it’s good. Eventually I heard Edgar Wright directed it and thought he must have fallen off. Then I eventually saw images and clips and heard YouTubers I like talk about it or reference it. Realized I was wrong and wanted to see it but never got myself to until my girlfriend talked highly of and decided to watch it sometime. Sometime came.

First thought after seeing it was surprise to see an Edgar Wright film without any hiphop edits which also works with how many times a song was played that was famously sampled by a hiphop song leading you to believe the hiphop song will play but instead you hear the original song. It’s like a film about sampling without being stated as such. You just hear it in the music and see Baby do it when he makes music. But the film still had Wright’s flawless and aesthetically pleasing transitions between scenes. He is such a master of his craft.

The performances were great too. I especially enjoyed Jamie Foxx and John Hamm as well as John Bernthal’s comedic timing and Ansel Elgort and Lily James’ chemistry was so visceral in their performances. The writing had surprises in it too that I definitely did not see coming and the pacing was as quick as Baby’s driving. Even the slower parts felt fast but never rushed but I attribute that to Wright’s directing.

This has me excited to watch Edgar Wright’s newer films as I’ve only seen Spaced, the Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim and now Baby Driver. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who wants to see a captivating lighthearted thrill ride.