A fun foray into a music video

Rating: 8/10 (7 November 2018)

While the plot of this movie falls apart and wanders quite dangerously in the middle of the film, the characters are compelling and the music sweeps the audience along on the many, many car chases. Young Baby (named thus for the sake of dramatic intrigue) is a car thief and getaway driver prodigy, working for a crime boss. A childhood injury has left him mostly deaf, and his reliance on loud rhythmic music propels his life and his driving in a fantastically devil-may-care fashion. The musical soundtrack of this film features many pop culture songs, as well as several pre-21st-century tunes, and provides a sense of momentum to otherwise stagnating dialogue or over-long chase scenes. Ansel Elgorts well-timed movements, and the rapid cuts and suddenly changing camera angles are well done, if repetitive. Overall, the film feels more like an hour-long music video than a movie with music attached but is nevertheless rather enjoyable.