VERY Original, VERY fun

Rating: 9/10 (2 July 2017)

Walking into the movie BABY DRIVER, I had heard some strong superlatives - "very original", "haven't ever seen anything like it", "a thrilling combination of action and music". So, when I went into the Cineplex to see what the fuss was all about, I sat in my seat with my arms crossed and said "prove it".
And "prove it" they did.
BABY DRIVER is a "very original" film that combines music and action in such a way that I have not seen before. Writer/Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) has a unique vision with the look, feel and storytelling style of this film and delivers - strongly - on all accounts.
Starring Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars, Divergent) as Baby who is a getaway driver for a "crime boss". Due to an accident as a youth, Baby has Tinnitus - a constant ringing in his ears - and copes with it by drowning the ringing out with constant music playing through his earbuds. Consequently, we see the world through Baby's eyes - or more accurately - we experience the world through Baby's ears and so almost the entirety of the action that unfolds in front of us is played to a musical soundtrack that plays out of Baby's i-Pod.
Elgort's performance as Baby is strong - keeping the emotion going on his face, even though he has a tendency to not say much. Director Wright was smart to realize that the color of this film would have to come from the criminals that are in Baby's world - and he casts extremely strong actors to portray these crooks. Starting with Kevin Spacey as the crime boss who brings crooks together for a job. Spacey shows that he still "has it" and brings a strong screen presence to every scene he is in.
Ably assisting in this "rogues gallery" are Jon Hamm (in his best role since MadMen), Jon Bernthal (his usual menacing self), relative unknown (at least to me) Eiza Gonzalez (who is more than "just a pretty face" here) and Flea (yes, Flea!). All of these performances are strong, but they pale in comparison to the "jump off the screen" performance of Jamie Foxx as "Bats" a criminal who got that nickname because he is "Bat-Sh**" crazy - and he is.
Also joining in is Lily James (Cinderella) as Baby's love interest. I've stated earlier about good and bad chemistry between actors. James and Elgort HAVE strong chemistry with each other and I believe that they have fallen in love - even though they meet at the beginning of the film.
The best part of this film is that these strong performances play a supporting role to the dance that is the combination of music and action. As I stated earlier, Director Wright brings a singular vision to the screen and this vision plays out marvelously over the 1 hour 53 minutes playing time - never wearing out it's welcome and knowing when to get off the screen.
This film isn't for everyone - it is ACTION and MUSIC with strong characters. But, if you like this sort of thing (and I do) it is a very ORIGINAL entry into this genre.
Letter Grade: A
9 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(OfMarquis)