Even if you didn't know Baby Driver was an Edgar Wright movie, you'd sure know by the time the opening sequence finishes.
Kick-starting with the high-speed car chase seen in the trailers – which skilled driver Baby (Ansel Elgort) begins in reverse – it's filled with the stylistic touches Wright has demonstrated since the days of Spaced.
Here that's taken to the extreme with every moment – even the gear changes – tuned perfectly to the beats in the music, an expansion of a music video Wright did for Mint Royale's track 'Blue Song' in 2003.
Wright has made the first action car-chase musical, and it's one where the characters don't even (mostly) sing. The craft behind it is undeniably assured. Unlike his Cornetto trilogy though, it's very difficult to care about the characters, meaning that as thrilling as it looks on screen, it struggles to invite you beneath the surface.
After the successful opening heist, we see Baby dancing down the street – yes, it's that kind of movie – as he does a coffee run for crime boss Doc (Kevin Spacey). A childhood accident left Baby with permanent tinnitus (a "hum in the drum") and he uses music to drown it out, something that has also made him an effortlessly talented driver.
Baby owes Doc money for a past error, so he works as his regular getaway driver on heists, bringing Baby into contact with the decidedly dodgy Buddy (Jon Hamm), Bats (Jamie Foxx) and Darling (Eiza González). In a classic "one last job" action movie set-up, Baby has a final heist before he's cleared of his debt to Doc.
Into the mix comes Debora (Lily James), a waitress who Baby sees the promise of a new life with, as long as he can leave his criminal legacy in the rearview mirror.
It's this central relationship where one of Baby Driver's biggest problems lies. Despite Baby and Debora sharing some cute dates, it's never really clear why Debora would fall so hard for him – an insular and not especially charming career criminal – especially once he puts her life in danger. Elgort and James don't share enough chemistry to overcome the undercooked romance, so the movie stalls whenever it's left to the two of them.
And it's not just Baby and Debora who get the short straw when it comes to characterisation. Sadly every other main character is little more than a stereotype. The worst of them is Darling, relegated to Buddy's arm candy, while Bats is your typical crazy gangster with nothing else to him. There's no-one – not even an antihero – for you to root for, although there is some heart in the relationship between Baby and his deaf foster father Joe (CJ Jones).
The lack of involvement threatens to derail the technically accomplished set pieces, pleasingly achieved mainly through practical stuntwork. Baby is so good at his driving, though, that you never feel he's in peril when he's behind the wheel, assuming you even did care about him. The car chases are visually exciting but never set the pulse racing.
It means that even for a movie about driving, its best set pieces come when Baby is not in the car. A gunfight set to 'Tequila' by Button Down Brass is excellent, every bullet and reload timed to the beat of the song. Later, after the shit hits the fan, Baby is involved in an intense foot chase that also contains one of the movie's best gags.
Crucially, the seriously cool soundtrack, covering soul, pop, rock and more, is one of the strongest of the year. Even if you don't feel the love between Baby and Debora, Wright's passion for the music shines through, as does his movie influences such as The Driver.
Baby Driver is certainly an entertaining ride but when you pop the hood there's not much under its shiny surface.
Director: Edgar Wright; Screenplay: Edgar Wright; Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx; Running time: 113 minutes; Certificate: 15
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