You need to get down to your cinema – before it’s too late

Just think, if Edgar Wright had stayed on as director for Marvel’s Ant-Man (2015), Baby Driver might never have happened. If he hadn’t parted ways with Marvel over “creative differences”, this exceptionally stylish, cool, and definitively cinematic thrill-ride may never had seen the light of day. What a tragic world that would be.

Baby Driver is one of the (if not the) stand-out movies of 2017, and this year is shaping up to be quite a good one, by all accounts.

So what’s the spoiler-free story? Baby (Ansel Elgort – which is a strangely easy to say aloud but not in my head) is the best driver in Atlanta. But this young man is caught up in something. By day, Baby looks after his elderly deaf foster dad Joe, but each night he is summoned away by friendly crime boss, Doc (Kevin Spacey), with the recurring promise of “one more job” until he can finally leave his life as the best getaway driver in the game behind him.

But when Baby meets charming young lady Debora (Lily James) who shares his love of music and um… highways(?), the stakes get changed – and Baby is shaken out of his complacency.

Ansel Elgort is great as Baby. He carries off an awkward confidence – masking an endearing social ineptitude – just wonderfully. His dialogue sometimes felt a little over-scripted, particularly in the exchanges with Debora. They talk in the way I wish my conversations go, and how I imagine them later, after I’ve had had several hours to think about clever responses. It doesn’t feel especially real – though I suspect that might rather be the point.

Baby Driver is classic cinema. From start to finish, it chains thrill after stylish thrill, in an old-school romp straight out of the early 80s. I watched this film in the same way I watched Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs for the first time. Owing to my tender years, by the time I first saw these films they were already cult legends. When I saw Baby Driver for the first time – during it’s first theatrical release – I had that same feeling. Like every character was a cherished cultural icon (think Jules & Vincent), and every scene a long-beloved song.

And what of the songs? Baby Driver is packed to the rafters with music. Take a glance at the official Baby Driver album (available on Spotify) and it’s a veritable who’s who of hit-makers – from Queen to Sam & Dave, and T-Rex to the Commodores. The near constant musical accompaniment scores every gunshot, every gear crunch, and every dry quip, rhythmically progressing the film for the entire 1 hour 53 minutes. The music, curated by Baby, who constantly listens to his various iPods to drown out the “hum in the drum” caused by his tinnitus, gives the illusion of the film constantly moving forward, even when perhaps it’s not.

Wright isn’t hung up on making Baby Driver feel ‘real’ – this is not an insight into Atlanta crime, young romance, or anything. It is, however, a succinct and coherent story – told from start to finish, with old-school twists, turns, suspense, and fun.

That’s supported by a wonderful supporting cast featuring teammates Buddy and Darling (John Hamm and Eiza González), a deliciously twisted and enjoyable crime couple who’ve abandoned sanity in a manic pursuit of hedonism. There’s a certain Joker and Harley Quinn quality to them – if the Joker actually gave a damn about Quinn.

Bats (Jamie Foxx) is a necessary but undeniably irritating presence in the movie. Foxx plays crazy effortlessly, and his unpredictability caused pantomime-like gasps in the screening I attended. “I have had just about enough of his sh*t”, commented one exacerbated patron.

If you were to Google reviews for Baby Driver, a lot of the hits seem to be overly negative. Many commented on the fact that it wasn’t a comedy in the ilk of Wright’s earlier work – but thank god for that. I found the likes of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead to be a real chore to watch. All my fellow idiot 13-year-olds thought Hot Fuzz was a comedic revelation, while I just thought it a ghastly slosh of sound bites and slapstick. Though I could see how Wright’s other big hit Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was a good film theoretically, I never connected with it personally.

Still, people loved those films – and they’ve become classics. Testament to Baby Driver, then, that even before its first theatrical run ends, it’s being heralded as another classic. As San Dieago Comic Con kicks off this weekend, already the cosplay demonstrates Baby Driver’s timeless appeal.

Our ride to #SDCC is here. My son as Baby from @BabyDriverMovie says he'll get us from LA to SD in 60 mins. We love the movie @edgarwright! pic.twitter.com/DGC7wWHH3V

— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) July 19, 2017

It’s with that in mind that I implore you to see this movie at the cinema whilst you still can. Baby Driver is set to become a cult classic – if it hasn’t already. You will absolutely have this film in your collection, and by the time you shuffle off this mortal coil, you will know the script verbatim. I don’t even like Hot Fuzz, but I could comfortably quote most of it. That’s the power of cult.

Where Hot Fuzz wouldn’t feel out of place on BBC Three (if it still existed), a quintessentially cinematic thrill like Baby Driver needs to be enjoyed in the cinema.

So many times I have watched my Pulp Fiction DVD jealous of those who saw it in cinemas when it debuted. Blu Rays and LED TVs are wonderful, but seeing a film projected – how it was meant to be seen – is an entirely different experience.

One day, I will get to brag to my kids about watching Baby Driver at my local multiplex one summer’s evening, and they will weep with envy. And I will laugh.

It’s films like this that remind me why I love movies so much. Between the huge superhero and fantasy franchises (which, don’t get me wrong, I adore) that dominate popular culture and public interest, it’s classics like Baby Driver that really demonstrate just how great the medium is, and the value of the cinematic experience as a whole.

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