Release: June 28, 2017 | Runtime: 113 minutes | Rated: R
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Johnathan Jimenez's Review.
Stunt driving and shootouts make Baby Driver an almost guaranteed summer blockbuster, but we still
must wonder if it will be enough to drive people to the theaters. With a cheesy, ambiguous marketing
campaign, it was difficult to set expectations for the film. But despite having a lot that could have gone
wrong, Baby Driver expertly swerves itself into the winning position to become a longtime classic.
An aloof daydreamer with a remarkable skill in stealing and stunt driving cars finds himself at the center
of a high-stakes crime ring in Baby Driver. A getaway driver in a series of armed robberies, the main
character who goes by the moniker “Baby” finds the stakes getting consistently higher with each heist.
Yet we quickly realize that Baby isn’t in it for the money – always lost in his ipod’s music, Baby is mostly
looking for a way out of crime and into a normal life. When he meets the woman of his dreams, he
decides it’s time to escape, but fate seems to have different plans for him.
With trailers that make the movie seem cheap, and the premise and genre having the potential for an
easy cash grab, Baby Driver instead zooms its way past its competition to truly set itself apart from the
pack. Baby Driver is set to be a surprise hit and a future classic. That being said, the plot isn’t terribly
novel nor is it all that unexpected. In the same vein, it avoids any plot twists and it sadly has a somewhat
rushed ending.
Yet what Baby Driver lacks in ingenuity, it makes up for in execution. I still have all the featured classic
songs stuck in my head thanks to a phenomenal soundtrack that elevated the film and gave it a unique
charm. Every getaway is perfectly mirrored by each song and makes all the action more fun and exciting.
The driving and the action avoids being overly cliched and is truly thrilling. Instead of focusing on fast,
fancy cars with little to no stakes in every “race”, Baby Driver instead focuses on normal cars doing
impossible stunts driving through the streets as the heisters try to evade the police. It also never lets you
feel safe. With an insane and unhinged criminal team going on each mission, it always feels like
something could and is about to go seriously wrong. Baby Driver has real stakes and the entire movie is
a giant adrenaline rush.
Yet what sets this film apart from any other action movie is that despite being an amazing action thriller
on the surface, it offers more than meets the eye. It is a creative, heartwarming, and just fun journey.
The way it incorporates its soundtrack almost makes it feel like a musical and the way that it has its
characters interact make you really feel for and love them. Its band of criminals even make it resemble a
comedy at points. Altogether, these elements truly come together to set Baby Driver apart. What could
have been an easy cash grab is instead a truly unique and honestly fun movie that I found myself
amazed by.
Baby Driver is a heist and driving movie fit for even those who do not like films in the genre. Its
lighthearted, energetic, and tongue-in- cheek take will make this a movie that I will watch for years to
come. Baby Driver is a unique, thrilling, and fun movie that is the surprise hit of the year.
Rating: 4 out of 5