Baby Driver (2017): An original, thrilling, smart, groovy, action-packed flick from Edgar Wright!

Baby Driver is the story of a young man named Baby (played by Ansel Elgort) who is a get-away driver for a gang of robbers (played by Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Eiza Gonzalez) led by Doc (played by Kevin Spacey) in Atlanta. Baby suffers from tinnitus where there is a constant ringing in his ears and he constantly listens to music on his iPod to drown out the sounds. Once Baby falls in love with Deborah (Lily James), he has to face the danger of escaping the criminal life that threatens him and his love.

Edgar Wright is one of my favorite directors working today due to his unique fact-paced visual storytelling and proper balance of style + substance in both drama and comedy. He did a great job directing Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End, so I was curious to see what his next feature would be like. I have to say, this movie really surprised me in how great it was. It proves how a summer action film should be done: with cool characters, an engaging script, and an original style. The film had a compelling lead character in Baby, good side characters who he goes up against, and a really awesome soundtrack!

All of the actors deliver great performances across the board. Ansel Elgort is good at showing Baby's likable and vulnerable personality for the audience to love, along with showing how skilled he is behind the wheel. He also has good chemistry with Lily James, who provided a sweet and innocent nature to her character. Jon Hamm was also suprisingly good with the way he interacts with Baby, his subtle desparation as to why he's committing these crimes, and the unusual direction taken with his character arc towards the finale. Jamie Foxx as always is quite charismatic with the way he treats his criminal peers since he has some of the film's best dialogues, and also shows an unsettling psychopathic nature from his life in crime. Kevin Spacey was also good in playing Baby's boss due to him getting more screentime than the supporting cast and shows a subtle care for Baby since he properly admires Baby's talent.

I really enjoyed the interactions that Baby has with the robbers and Deborah as he has great chemistry with these characters and is able to show the audience a likable personality due to his wit + skill. The film moves at a quick pace; it never slows down to a dull moment. Even during the small character moments, there is still a sense of tension due certain situations these people get into, building up to an intense finale.

Some of my favorite parts of the movie were the action sequences and the way how music was perfectly incorporated. The music in this movie is basically a separate character as each scene is tuned to the noise + certain beats of the song. This helps drive (hehehe see what I did there) the tension and move the film along at a pace to engage the audience. Not to mention, this movie will definitely prompt many people to want to buy the soundtrack online or on their phones as they speed up their cars to who knows where.

As far as content goes, there isn't a lot to be extremely cautious about. There are curse words between some of the robbers' conversations and a only few scenes of violence and blood.

Overall, Baby Driver is a fun and original action-ride for the summer. I highly recommend it!