Baby Driver (Edgar Wright)

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Baby Driver's defining trait may be a gimmick, but it's a good one. Here's a Hollywood summer movie whose action seems genuinely considered and thoughtful - a straightforward yet vibrant marriage of music, editing and choreography that works an impressive spell. This is especially true of the mostly magnificent third act - somewhat abandoning the clean choreography of the first half, Wright sets himself a challenge with a series of more rambling, impatient soundtrack choices. As the **** hits the fan, the form goes nuts alongside it, and the ensuing artful cacophony is something of a wonder.

Lacking the supporting struts offered by straight parody, Baby Driver does have a tendency to struggle in the narrative department, where everything is more or less as expected. The love story is stodgy and unconvincing, one wonderful technicolor laundromat setup aside - the two youngsters just don't have the charisma / chemistry, alas. I found myself unusually frustrated by the film's obsession with portraying Baby as a no-question, ethically pure 'good guy' - nothing wrong with a hero, but there's something about the on-the-nose approach here that doesn't totally gel.

Imperfect then, and part of me wishes Wright made a tighter film where the formal ambition carried completely through the dialogue scenes as much as the action (it does for a bit, but there's just a little too much plot to get through and it does resort to a less propulsive aesthetic for decent chunks). But as far as studio fare goes, this is a cut above - perhaps not the all-encompassing artistic achievement Fury Road was, but the product of a director who may not have anything particularly new to say, but sure as **** has a fresh way of saying it.