Loose, Loud and Lively, A Great Summer Escape

Rating: 8/10 (10 July 2017)

Loud, raucous good times with fast cars, tough guys, beautiful girls, a talented young wheelman and his ever-present set of earbuds. The key to this picture is its music, which thumps and grooves in time with the chaos outside our driver's private little bubble, so it's a good thing the soundtrack is so hip and catchy. Peppered with a broad mix of genres - motown hits, classic rock, old school hip-hop, first-wave punk, britpop - somehow it all fits together swimmingly, an expertly-paired tune for each mood that smoothly eases right into the next track. It's stylish and fun, with subtle winks and clever lyrical Easter eggs snuggled lovingly into the scenery, but the gimmick never feels too cute. The plot is simple and straightforward, no risk of bucking distracted viewers here, and while a little extra depth might have given us more to chew on, it also would've robbed the film of its charm. There's a certain puppy dog innocence to the whole thing, despite the storm of bullets and bloody end to so many primary cast members, that's not unlike director Edgar Wright's earlier films. A great dose of pure, high-octane summer entertainment with a musical spirit to rival Guardians of the Galaxy, it's just a hair on the light side.