My Personal Thoughts on "Baby Driver"
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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OMG!!! Listen, guys... Thanks for delivering what was possibly the best and most innovative comment I've ever received. You're the greatest!!! Now we just need to have that debut album from the awesome "Steembirds". Here's to hoping... :)
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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... :)