I tried twice to write a review for this movie yesterday. Both times, I got a few paragraphs in and realized I wasn't going to convey anything about this movie without really spoiling it. So I'll just say the following:

Baby, played by Ansel Elgort, is a young man who has been working off a debt to Doc, played by Kevin Spacey. Now, having completed one final heist, Baby believes he can walk away and enjoy a normal life with his new girlfriend Debora. Unfortunately, Doc has other plans for Baby.

I was really stoked to see this movie. The trailer makes it seem like an action extravaganza. Unfortunately, it is as deceiving as the trailer was for Drive. Unlike Drive, Baby Driver doesn't have a cool film noir story to keep audiences entertained. It's a mishmash of elements from other car movies like Ronin, The Italian Job and Drive, but not as fulfilling as any of those movies.

I think what got me all out of whack is that Baby is supposed to be this badass getaway driver, but each time he's driving all he does is draw attention to himself until luck intervenes to let him get away from his pursuers. That was strike one for me.

The second aspect of this movie is that Baby relies on a varied music playlist in order to function in life. It's so integral to the plot that it becomes distracting. He literally can't drive unless he's playing the right type of music. When he's walking down the street, he's dancing to the tune while also trying to stay incognito. He'll hold a conversation with someone while still playing music--which we still hear. It just gets to be too much.

Finally, Doc is supposed to be the mastermind behind all the capers pulled in this movie, yet he can barely control the people he hires. It's a wonder that Doc's been so successful.

Anyway, this movie does have some redeeming qualities. Eiza Gonzalez and Lily James are drop dead gorgeous as Darling and Debora. The driving scenes are intense and shot well. Not a lot of shaky cam involved because the shots tend to be wide shots or sweeping shots.

There are no Easter Egg scenes. This is a good movie to rent.

Thanks,

My kids are deep into fast cars and car movies etc. They want to see this but i'll wait to get it on demand.

I watched them film some of the stunt driving scenes and they looked pretty cool. I think they filmed in my building some as we had signs up about it for a month or two. But the movie sounded ridiculous. Then the trailer made it look kinda cool. But now with your review I'm back to believing it will be ridiculous.

FWIW, they're now filming the new Avengers on the street outside my window.

Watched it last night and quite enjoyed it but I'm a fan of Edgar Wright and his other movies.

For a reference he was the writer/director for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The World's End. It's probably safe to say that if you did not like those movies you won't like this one.

I think the trailer for the movie is a case of the studio marketing department putting together what they think would draw the most interest, which unfortunately really doesn't reflect the movie as a whole.

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:
For a reference [Edgar Wright] was the writer/director for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The World's End. It's probably safe to say that if you did not like those movies you won't like this one.

I don't like Hot Fuzz all that much because it has too many elements from Shaun of the Dead in it, but really enjoy the others he's directed.

For whatever reason, Baby Driver just doesn't feel like it was directed by the same guy as those others.

Jamie Foxx = No way in hell I'll watch it.

His character is actually the worst part of the movie, so it's probably for the best that you don't watch it.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:
For a reference [Edgar Wright] was the writer/director for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The World's End. It's probably safe to say that if you did not like those movies you won't like this one.

I don't like Hot Fuzz all that much because it has too many elements from Shaun of the Dead in it, but really enjoy the others he's directed.

For whatever reason, Baby Driver just doesn't feel like it was directed by the same guy as those others.

I think the biggest difference is that his other movies have all had sub genre of horror, fantasy, or sci-fy so that your had the "this isn't trying to be realistic" but with Baby Driver all you have is the kind of off the wall characters. And I do agree with you on Hot Fuzz, it's my least favorite but I liked it more after watching when it was on Netflix recently.

It might be because I'm about burned out on the super hero movies but as far as personal enjoyment Baby Driver has probably been my favorite this year.

Ronin was a "car movie?" Closer, but I didn't really think of The Italian Job in that way either.

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:
For a reference he was the writer/director for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End.

aka the cornetto trilogy. i got ready to go see it yesterday, then on second though decided against it.

I thought Baby Driver was okay, no great shakes. It felt like Edgar Wright wanted to do a '90s Tarantino movie, but since it's Edgar Wright in 2017, it's lighter, fluffier, and cuter.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
For whatever reason, Baby Driver just doesn't feel like it was directed by the same guy as those others.

Well, this film is a tad darker than his previous entries. It still has that young geeky aesthetic of Wright's films since his protagonist is a hip Millennial dancing around wearing iPod buds all the time.

quote:

Originally posted by sureshot45:
It might be because I'm about burned out on the super hero movies but as far as personal enjoyment Baby Driver has probably been my favorite this year.

I did appreciate that this film was a rated-R crime film that was somewhat creative and original and not a PG-13 sequel based on a comic book or superhero. It didn't quite hit the mark, but good try! I hope more studios try to release films like this.

Doesn't he drive a WRX with an auto trans? I know it's silly but I love driving movies where the driver has to shift once in awhile. Whether it's realistic or not.

I just got this on disc from Netflix, and watched it this morning. I enjoyed it, despite it being a bit derivative and the characters pretty over-the-top. It was entertaining. I think it's worth watching, if you can get it for free/cheap.

Rather than being distracting, I thought the frequent inclusion of music was rather well done, with most of the film having actions/movements, background imagery, cuts, and/or sound effects that cleverly sync up with the music playing over the scene. (Similar to the recent Punisher trailer, with Metallica's One.)

This is one of my son's favorite movies currently. Him and his cousins have seen it together and it is a draw

for 17 year olds.

I didn't mind it terribly, but it's not bad for the music saves a lot of it. Keeping the sequencing together with the driving and story line.

Cheers~

I watched it but was indifferent about it. Pretty forgettable.

My mini review: Utterly terrible name for a film, a few imperfections I can forgive, and entertaining enough for me. I liked the music and driving scenes, but it's no Drive.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
Utterly terrible name for a film

It's taken from a Simon and Garfunkle song.

Z-

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
Utterly terrible name for a film

It's taken from a Simon and Garfunkle song.

I'm not sure whether that makes it better or worse.