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Baby Driver (2017)

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Baby Driver is a fun time. Wright directs with panache and knows exactly how to make the film constantly watchable. Foxx and Spacey are both really fantastic, easily stealing the show. The sound design is truly incredible, constantly making one astound even if they never notice such a thing. It's a joyous film, taking some of the best qualities of the musical and transplanting it into the action genre. Overall, despite all of its faults, Baby Driver remains fun and enjoyable throughout.

 

It's a shame that the film itself never really rises above its cheap fun though. Baby as a character comes off as a generic "adorkable" guy, and Elgort seems to be as severely miscast. He is fine in the role, but it's clear that so many other actors in Hollywood would've done a better job elevating such a mediocre role. Wright also needs to seriously examine how he writes his female characters, as it's super obvious how poorly conceptualized the females are in this film compared to the male characters. The music, although thankfully eclectic, sometimes comes across as picking obscure tunes just for the sake of being niche, and that's disappointing considering how fun it is when one finally recognizes a song that's playing.

 

The action is pretty great, but often blurs together since it all feels the same. Understandably, it's mostly vehicular, but considering how wonderful Wright does hand-to-hand combat, it's really disappointing there's none of that here. More variety would've been appreciated in addition to the spectacular car chases. It's also worth noting that the "action-comedy" label is a misnomer; this is clearly an action movie with a few jokes here and there, and that's slightly disappointing coming from Wright, but not necessarily a knock against the film.

 

Baby Driver amuses, and ultimately, that's all that matters. Wright has crafted a clever action film that utilizes music in a really enjoyable way. However, it ultimately feels more slight than it should, thanks to poorly developed characters and humor, along with a lack of variety with its own action. Still, it feels fresher than most films this summer, and it's definitely worth checking out in theaters for the really phenomenal sound design. It's just a shame it can't elevate itself to any higher than just good, as Wright has proven before that he knows how to play with genre better than most directors working today. He has made a solid straight-forward action movie, but it could've been so much more. An odd disappointment that remains still a fine, technically sound film that's well worth seeing. B

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4 hours ago, WrathOfHan said:

It's a comedy bro

 

So every movie that has moments of humor is a comedy?

 

There definitely weren't that many attempts at humor. Most of them were toward the beginning.

 

Also, AMC gave the action movie welcome card to Baby Driver. ;)

Edited by Jay Beezy
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Really fucking awesome movie. My favorite Edgar Wright movie, and the best action movie since Mad Max: Fury Road (no movie since that has given me a shot of adrenaline as big as this does in its final third). It really has everything: perfect use of soundtrack, exciting and phenomenally-edited action scenes that deserve tech Oscars recognition, great characters, a very fast pace. What else could you want from a summer movie? Ansel Elgort makes for a surprisingly cool action star in his first role away from YA fare and he has great chemistry with the cute Lily James (who is just as delightful here as she was in Cinderella), while seasoned pros Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, and Jamie Foxx are also a blast. I can't wait to see it again. A

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On 7/1/2017 at 10:24 PM, WrathOfHan said:

It's a comedy bro

No, it's not.

 

I actually went in thinking it was a comedy, I assumed it was since Wright's other films have all been comedies. Took a while to realise it's not a comedy but, it's not.

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2 hours ago, Jay Hollywood said:

If Baby Driver is a comedy so is Dr Strange. 

 

It's less of a comedy than The Martian was and now that a movie like The Martian is no longer eligible for the Golden Globe for Best Comedy, I don't see this being eligible.

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I enjoyed the film quite a bit.  First let me respond to @Telemachos assertion that it's a generic story.  As I've said many times, there's only 7 stories you can tell in Hollywood.  It's about the execution of those stories.  All stories have been done before.  But how do you put a fresh spin on them?  And I think Edgar Wright has done a pretty good job with this.  

 

The first fifteen minutes is some of the best car chase stuff I've ever scene.  And when Wright does action, he's is brilliant.  The fact that all the car stuff was without green screen is pretty frikkin amazing.  The first fifteen and last fifteen minutes are pretty epic.  I loved those scenes and the other major heist scenes.  

 

Some of the flaws from my point of view is that there is too much music.  Someone else said that it just seemed like he was getting too cute with his music choices and it's like he wanted you to know how many cool long ago tunes he knew that you didn't.  This worked in Pulp Fiction, it's hit and miss here.  Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.  

 

I also felt like some of the middle stuff for me just meandered a bit.  I would of liked to know more about Spacey's character.  He's mysterious and you get snipets of who he is but not enough for my taste.  

 

As for Elgort, I thought he was terrific.  I don't get all the opinions of him being shit.  He was good.  Foxx was scary here and Bernthal is always good....too bad he dies, or I assume he dies.  Hamm and Gonzalez were also good.  I enjoyed all the performances.  Lilly James were sexy and vulnerable and tough and I liked her too.

 

Not quite good enough to be an A not average enough to just be a B.  So I give it a 7.5/10....B+

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In formal music there's this thing called a show piece.  When you are putting on a diversified concert, with a strong group of musicians, you play a piece that's only purpose is to show off the technical skill.  These are great pieces, and while not every piece of music should be one (especially since there usually isn't much depth beyond the spectacle) they're vital and memorable.

 

Baby Driver felt like Edgar Wright's cinematic showpiece.  There's plenty of technical nuances to make you come back for more, and each scene is littered with right choreography, editing and cinematography.  The story is completely irrelevant because it's about how good of a technical show it is, and it demonstrates the skills and prowess of all those involved (including the actor, to an extent).

 

Now, I risk calling myself a hypocrite by saying this is excellent while criticizing most modern blockbusters of being empty spectacle.  However, the difference here isn't that Baby Driver has some thematic or artistic depth that those movies lack, it's that Baby Driver is competently made and packed to the brim with artistic intention from Wright.  It's all spectacle, but it's a controlled one that leaves the viewer engaged with the inner workings of every shot.

 

My only flaw was the court ending and such felt like a bit of a drag and tacked on. It wasn't necessary, given that in the span of 2 minutes he went from jailed to back on the road with his girl again.  Wright didn't need to let his audience know that Baby had a heart, it was already evident from prior scenes.  He should have either ended it there on the road, or with Baby going to prison (if he didn't want him to get away with the crimes), he was having his cake and eating it too.  

 

Other than that, Wright's at the top of his game here, and it's the best straight technical-action work I've seen since Fury Road.

 

A

Edited by The Panda
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7 hours ago, Jay Beezy said:

Bernthal didn't die. He just took his cut from the first job with Hamm and left.

 

Nope. He says in the movie if you don't see me again it means I died. So he definitely died LOL

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