A love letter to the vehicular action genre

Rating: 8/10 (7 August 2019)

Edgar Wright's 5th feature-length film, and arguably his most commercially successful outside of the UK, is an action-packed, musical whirlwind of explosive fights, obscure references and incredible cinematography. To call any of the music-synced scenes anything less than stellar would be an insult to Wright's clear passion for music, with meticulously framed panning shots that must've taken such painstaking effort that I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it in modern cinema. Baby, played by Ansel Elgort, is an endearing character who drives (pun intended) the heart of this film, being genuine fun to watch as he runs around as our eyes in these various heist operations, as well as tugging on our heartstrings in the film's more down-to-earth romance core. Arguably this is the weakest point of the film, with the relationship between Baby and his love interest Debora being very surface level, with lots of emotional beats relying on how much you like this duo, which this film doesn't 100% justify. Though its substance is very baseline, with "mindless action" to get your adrenaline rushing and "simple romance" to get you to feel, the style in this film is not to be glossed over. Truly a marvel for the eyes and ears, this movie plays into a very specific aesthetic and never lets go, hues of pinks and whites overlapping with the sound of Focus and The Damned, keeping the audience invested in this bubblegum thriller through it's many twists and turns. Overall, although it isn't Wright's best, you'd be remiss to miss out on this film, especially if you are a fan of music and/or action cinema.