Certificate: 15
Running Time: 113 mins
Star Rating: 4/5
IN 2003, director Edgar Wright staged a comical bank robbery in the music video for techno duo Mint Royale's catchy Blue Song. The Dorset-born filmmaker expands on that simple premise in Baby Driver, a high-octane crime caper which gleefully burns rubber to a toe-tapping soundtrack. The stellar ensemble cast wore tiny ear-pieces on set so they could perfectly synchronise their characters' dialogue and movements to the rhythm and harmonies of The Beach Boys, Dave Brubeck, TRex, Martha And The Vandellas, Blur, Queen and Simon And Garfunkel.
It's a daring stylistic conceit, but thankfully, the writer-director packs plenty of substance beneath the bonnet of his well-oiled machine.
Expertly staged car chases get the adrenaline pumping and 23-year-old rising star Ansel Elgort, who broke teenage hearts in The Fault In Our Stars, comes of age with aplomb as the eponymous speed demon. He plays Baby, who has suffered tinnitus since the age of seven. In order to drown out the ringing in one ear, he listens to music at a deafening volume, which allows Baby to focus on his duties as a getaway driver for criminal mastermind Doc (Kevin Spacey).
For his final drive, Baby must assist Buddy (Jon Hamm), his fiery girlfriend Darling (Eiza Gonzalez) and trigger-happy rebel Bats (Jamie Foxx) to pilfer millions of dollars in money order slips. Baby Driver is a bombastic blast, with at least one explosion of shocking violence that hammers home the perilously high stakes for Doc and his crew.
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