You'll be dancing in your seat

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2017)

Through our earbud-obsessed getaway driver protagonist Baby (Ansel Elgort), we are quickly introduced to the illegal schemes of head man Doc (Kevin Spacey) and his misfit master con team Bats (Jamie Foxx) and Buddy (John Hamm).
What unfolds is a series of thrilling car chase scenes that leave a lump in your throat and provide edge of your seat anxiety, each perfectly crafted to Baby's personalised soundtrack.Â With songs ranging from Beck to The Beach Boys, the film hums to an infectious rhythm that you'll have a hard time to stop yourself from smiling about. Each scene becomes even more impressive once you remember they were actually performed with real cars and real stunt drivers. Â
And then everything, of course, quickly goes bad.Â Â
Tied to the ring of criminals by a past mistake, Baby is very much the sore thumb of the bunch. Equal parts endearing and morally questionable, he takes the film from a classic bank heist to a musical-esque action thriller. We quickly realise Baby is never going to escape the firm grip of Doc and can only look on in horror as his fate grows far more sinister.Â
The film is full of Wright motifs, the classic quick cut montage and witty one liners, similar enough to his previous works to make a mark but different enough to keep it feeling fresh.Â
If anything is disappointing it's the hollow back story of Baby's love interest, Debra.Â The chemistry between Baby and Debra is electric - at one point they are practically melting over each other at the dinner table with affection. But we never really learn too much about his sweet-as-pie-diner waitress except for the fact that she looked after her sick mum and sometimes does her laundry. We never understand why she's so willing to run away with a serial murdering thief that she just happened to have met. But maybe that kind of plot history is too much to ask.Â
In the end, there's no denying that Baby Driver is worth seeing. Whether simply for the soundtrack or the car chases, everyone will be able to find something to sink their teeth in to. It definitely has its misses, most notably vague character motivations and a shaky introduction, but it finds its own ways to smooth it all over.