This image released by Sony Pictures shows Ansel Elgort, right, and Jamie Foxx in a scene from “Baby Driver.” (Wilson Webb/Sony/TriStar Pictures via AP)

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Ansel Elgort, right, and Jamie Foxx in a scene from “Baby Driver.” (Wilson Webb/Sony/TriStar Pictures via AP)

Reeling it in: ‘Baby Driver’ takes viewer on a wild ride

  • By Chris Jenness
  • Wednesday, July 5, 2017 10:08pm
  • News

“Baby Driver”

TriStar Pictures

1 hour, 52 minutes

As I strode back to my car after leaving the theater showing “Baby Driver,” I could almost hear a propulsive soundtrack, the beat matching my stride, and I had to resist the urge to hop in the car and peal the tires on my way out of the parking lot. The fact that I drive a Prius made that part a little easier.

A well written, well executed movie can do that — make you think in the language of the characters, the world sticking with you well after the credits have rolled. Writer/director Edgar Wright’s movies are like that. For Wright, the timing is everything. In his movies the soundtrack is a supporting character, and it’s no wonder that the whole goes together like a two-hour song. And a kick-ass one at that.

“Baby Driver” is the story of Baby, a phenomenal get-away driver working off a debt to a ruthless, yet fatherly criminal named Doc, played by Kevin Spacey. Doc sets up the jobs, puts together a crew, and Baby drives. And man does he ever.

“Baby Driver” is good all the way through, but the explosive car chase at the film’s opening is a masterwork. Of course I enjoy movies — why would I do this job if I didn’t — but it’s rare that I find myself grinning from ear to ear, simply delighted with the cool up on the screen. I remember feeling that way during parts of “Mad Max – Fury Road,” and I felt that way within the first five minutes of “Baby Driver.”

The plot that Wright and co. set up is pretty basic. It’s your typical “one more job and you’re out” routine. What makes Baby unique, aside from his devilish skills behind the wheel, is his specific disability. Due to a terrible accident as a child, Baby has permanent tinnitus, a maddening ringing in his ears, which he drowns out with a constant stream of music played through an old-school iPod. This music forms the soundtrack to Baby’s life and the propulsive, emotional beat that Wright plays his story to, but the music, terrific as it is, is only window dressing.

What makes Baby special, and what is revealed gradually, is his vulnerability. Highly skilled and mostly silent, it’s easy to confuse Baby with fully capable adult, but he’s just a kid, one who’s in way over his head. Baby’s world turns upside down at the introduction of Debora, a waitress at Baby’s favorite diner, who enters the film singing “B-A-B-Y, Baby” softly under her breath and steals Baby’s heart forever.

Be prepared to fall in love with Debora yourself. Actress Lily James, who you might also know from “Downton Abbey” or “Cinderella” is absolutely perfect for this role. She draws a sharp contrast for Baby as to what life can be as opposed to what life is. With this first crack in his armor, Baby is about to find out the hard way what kind of people he is really working with.

It’s hard to overstate how much I enjoyed “Baby Driver.” It’s not perfect. Wright’s “Hot Fuzz,” “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim” are each, in their ways, more polished films, but in those moments when it’s firing on all cylinders, “Baby” leaves them all in the dust. I think it’s because, in many ways, the movie feels like a song, or a poem — something deceptively simple yet complicated and interesting at the same time, all set to an infectious beat.

As I said, it has a few issues. The stylishness of the first two-thirds of the film kind of dies away, perhaps necessarily, in the last act, and the very end goes on far too long. Wright was obviously in love with his characters by the end, and had difficulty streamlining the denouement. I get it — I was in love with them too.

I was trying to think of a movie like “Baby Driver,” and while I’m sure there are plenty of musicals you could point to, “La La Land” being the most recent, plotwise I was reminded of Quentin Tarantino’s blood and cool soaked “True Romance.” Clarence and Alabama’s star-crossed affair has the same kind of timing, style, and life and death stakes that you find here.

The difference is probably the same as the actual difference between Tarantino and Edgar Wright. The characters, even the bad ones, in “Baby Driver” are just nicer.

Which is not to say that “Driver” doesn’t have an edge. The supporting cast, including Jon Hamm, John Bernthal, and Jamie Foxx are stellar and dangerous. But be that as it may, I want to spend more time with them. And once this film is available for purchase, I’m sure I will again. “Baby Driver” is the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year so far.

Grade: A

“Baby Driver” is rated R for language and violence.

Chris Jenness is an art teacher, freelance graphic designer, artist and movie buff who lives in Nikiski.

More in News

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai man pleads guilty to 2019 sexual assault

The man was arrested Dec. 4, 2019, after a person reported several injuries at a local hospital.

Economist and research analyst Andy Wink presents “State of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Economy” during the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District Industry Outlook Forum in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPEDD forum focuses on borough economy, vision for future

Where most economic indicators suggest fairly good health, housing appears to be a cause for concern, according to an economist presenting at forum.

State Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage) reviews an amendment on an education bill with other senators during a break in floor debate Monday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Update: Effort to rush compromise education bill through Legislature hits snag due to ‘drafting error’

Bill returned to Senate, which passed it 19-1, to fix error in amendment; House vote expected by Wednesday

Member Tom Tougas speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Tourism Industry Working Group in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tourism working group gets 2-month extension

In a 3-3 vote, the working group had earlier this month rejected a draft document with proposed recommendations.

Various electronics await to be collected and recycled during an electronics recycling event in Seldovia. (Photo courtesy of Cook Inletkeeper)
Cook Inletkeeper celebrates 20 years of electronics recycling

More than 646,000 pounds of electronic waste has been diverted from local landfills.

Liz Harpold, a staff member for Sen. Donny Olson (D-Golovin)​, explains changes to a bill increasing per-student education funding and making various policy changes during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Revised education bill with $700 BSA hike gets new policy measures, advances to Senate floor

Changes easing charter school rules, adding new district evaluations fall short of governor’s agenda.

Students of Sterling Elementary School carry a sign in support of their school during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
District adopts budget with severe cuts, school closures

The preliminary budget assumes a $680 increase in per-student funding from the state.

A vote board shows a veto override attempt Tuesday by the Alaska Legislature on a $1,000 increase to per-student education funding falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority with a 33-27 vote. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Senate adds $700 BSA hike to school phone policy bill a day after veto override on $1,000 increase fails

Lawmakers say quick floor vote by Senate, concurrence by House may set up another override session.

The Soldotna Public Library is seen on a snowy Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna library advisory board hears update on federal funding cuts

The federal government’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services could cause the reduction or elimination of some statewide library services as soon as July 1.

Most Read