Edgar Wright at full speed.

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2017)

When Edgar Wright left Ant-man, I was really bummed that we would never to get to see his vision of the film. Luckily he makes up for with Baby Driver.
Baby Driver's story is a fairly simple and familiar premise. Young getaway driver who works for a mob boss wishes to escape his life of crime and falls in love but is pulled into one last job. The angle that makes this story different from other action films is the tinnitus aspect giving Baby the need to listen to the rhythm of music to stay focused. And from there the film analyzes how music is a reflection on Baby's emotion and past. The tension builds as we get into Baby's head and he is forced to work even closer then usual with the criminal cohorts he is familiar. There he learns just how truly messed up and dangerous they really are. The layers and twist continue build up the depth of the story.
This is sharpest I have seen Edgar Wright with his directing, and editing. Scenes that could feel tiring or repetitive in less capable hands are constantly injected with fresh and unique ways to marvel at. They're a lot of visual cues that any Edgar Wright fan will recall from his previous films. Things like long tracking shots, the editing being in sync with sound effects and music, background visuals reflecting the character's mood and story all exist in this film but they feel like Wright has taken them to a new level with his artistic style.
This is probably one of the few movies where both characters and actors are a perfect match. Ansel Elgort is the true standout. At 23-years old, he is known mostly for teen dramas but now proves that he is more then capable to play a character as cool and complex as Baby. Elgort does not rely on too much dialogue to show the emotion that Baby feels through the movement of his body when listening to music. Jamie Foxx as Bats nearly steals the show, as a guy who is crazily unpredictable but yet knows how to under people's skin. John Hamm as Buddy really shows an amazing character transformation starting out as an ally to Baby but is then turned into terrifying antagonist. Kevin Spacey's quick line delivery is a perfect match to Wright's sharp screenplay, and has probably the best comic timing in the film. Lilly James's charm as Deborah helps to sell of what could be seen as a typical romantic plot device and really make you feel invested in her and Baby's relationship.
Baby Driver is great but now a 100% perfect all the way through. There are certain plot holes that seem to come out of the blue and a certain character's motivation in the 3rd act felt like it wasn't properly set up. The ending was pretty uplifting but I felt could have shaven 5 to 10 minutes off because I felt like it became unnecessary.
While it may be only second to my favourite Edgar Wright film Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver is the film where Edgar Wright as an artist is having the most creative fun that any director would dream of having. And Edgar Wright having the creative freedom that he needs is definitely something always worth taking the time to see.