Baby Driver

Edgar Wright deals with the technical aspects very well, be it camera work, cinematography, editing or soundtrack. But in pursuit of the style, he forgot to write good characters. There is absolutely no conviction. You don't feel for any character. Their actions are confusing (like Kevin Spacey in the end). It tells you a lot when I say that the most interesting character was an 8-year old boy with barely 3-4 minutes of screentime. The dialogues didn't help either. No one is interested in the comparison between weapons and different body parts of a pig.

In short, the writing is abysmal and keeps you from enjoying what could have been a very fun watch. Perhaps they could have fed some more lines from Monsters Inc.

There is never a dull moment in this action crime film about a getaway driver who has his own unlimited getaway soundtrack but who also wants to break free from the crime boss who owns his life.

There is enough style and visceral strut in this film that it neutralizes the one or two credibility gaps in the plot. Ansel Elgort is great as the title character, but Jamie Foxx steals the film with a lively performance as the loose cannon in the crew. Performances all around are solid and the dialogue is so rife with dueling wits, it's like watching a recurring display of verbal fireworks. These firecracker scenes of competitive criminals showing off their bravado are just as exciting as the chase scenes through downtown Atlanta.

The film also banks heavily on a heady, omnipresent soundtrack that keeps the tempo perpetually hyperactive. A word of caution: The action can be tough going at times; the film revels in its permanent state of anarchy before ultimately developing a mean streak. But for all the blistering gunfire and screeching tires, this is not a one-note film. It has its moments of quietly boiling tension and eerie backstory flashbacks. It's a film that wears its attitude on its sleeve and doesn't shrivel into conventionality. Not an absolute bull's eye, but recommended to everyone who wants a good rush.

Remember that movie you saw when you were a kid, and loved it? Loved it! Best movie ever! You told all your friends about it, the great music, the cool characters, the gear cars? You talked about it for years, for decades, and then it turned up again, so you dragged your family to see a cool movie that was done right. And as you sat through it for the second time, you wondered "What happened to the movie I saw when I was a kid? This is nothing at all like it! The lines are stupid, the music is lame and the actors are gargoyles! What happened to it?"

This is that movie. It's not the movie you saw, it's the movie you remembered. It's got great music and great cars that dance, and actors who behave like Steve MacQueen, and Kevin Spacey shoots the really bad guys -- not the bank robbers, those are the heroes, but the really bad guys, and says "I was in love once." Edgar Wright -- whom I know from the movies he directed Simon Pegg in -- has directed a gangster-car-chase-teen-love movie that does what Justin Lin, Guy Ritchie and those other hot directors tried to do, but could not. Yeah. This is the movie you remembered.

Edgar Wright remains one of my all-time favourite directors. Why? Because each and every film he crafts reeks of originality, he takes a few similar traits, throws them together, delves down a completely unexpected route and forms something unique, something masterful. From 'Shaun of the Dead' to 'Hot Fuzz' and so on and so forth, each film feels like something you think you've witnessed before, but on a whole new level, something fresh, something alluring, packed with adrenaline... and of course, 'Baby Driver' followed suit.

'Baby Driver' is an utterly engrossing caper-comedy that is (in my personal opinion) the finest film to face 2017 so far, I couldn't help but smile throughout, from the stunningly executed action scenes and stunts, through to the soundtrack (with an abundance of classic rock and soul tracks) and finally the heavily relatable characters. The lack of disappointment in Edgar Wright's work continues with this masterful film, which is ultimately also one of the coolest films of the past decade or so.

Many of the heist films of recent years have been rather disappointing when it comes to both story and technical achievement, however when something like 'Baby Driver' makes an appearance, it's refreshing to know that indie films are still taking this planet by storm and shunting the blockbusters out of the limelight. To know that certain production companies still trust the creativity of a director over the monetary expectations, and by doing so, unleashing a flurry of fantastic independently "driven" films.

I'm gonna finish with this (partially odd) statement / testimonial... when I went to sleep last night, I had odd dreams of car chases and stunt driving to rock classics, and that is thanks to this film, the fact that it stuck with me even when I wasn't fully conscious. That's how much of a damn cool film 'Baby Driver' is... just go watch it, just throw away your tickets to 'Transformers' and 'The Mummy' etc, and go see this instead.

I was able to watch Baby Driver during an advanced screening last week and and yes it's as amazing as the critics say it is. The way it uses the music is just so great. It's so different from all the other movies, but it isn't artsy in a way that only the critics will like it: this is a movie for everyone. I went with a friend who is really hard to please when it comes to movies, but I just knew he would love this. And I was right, I never saw him as excited about a movie as he was about this one. It's just so much fun to watch, but it's also serious when it needs to be and it has very intriguing characters. But I'll be honest, the core of the movie is its music. I think this is the second time I say it, but the music works so well. If I wasn't in the theaters I would sing with the songs. Even though it's completely different, it reminds me a bit of Fury Road in the way that it makes you want to punch your fist and the air and cheer during the movie. In reality I think it's more a mixture of La La Land and Grand Theft Auto (it's definitely not a musical by the way). Go see this movie. I don't want to overhype anyone, but I'll make a bold statement and say this is my favorite Edgar Wright movie. I'll be shocked if this doesn't appear on many 'Best of the Year' lists in December, at least I already know it'll be on mine.