The opening scene of “Baby Driver” shows Baby (Ansel Elgort) driving three tough and heavily tattooed individuals holding weapons to a bank. Baby drops the three people off and pushes play on his ipod and the song “Bellbottoms” begins to play (don’t know it? Neither did I but it’s awesome!). Baby jams in the car enthusiastically, clearly knowing the song intimately. He glances over at the individuals robbing the bank and then turns back to his song. Very shortly, the individuals come out and Baby with a casual grace just starts speeding away.

It isn’t long before the bank robbers are in a massive car chase through the city streets of Atlanta trying to evade the cops (and what appears to be the entire police force based on the number of cop cars). It becomes clear why Baby is behind the wheel. He deftly maneuvers around corners, pulls U-turns with ease, drives the wrong-way down a freeway entrance ramp and then, like that’s how you are supposed to enter the freeway, turns around to be going the correct direction. He makes getaway driving look like a car ballet. Throughout the entire chase the song “Bellbottoms” continues to play in the background getting Baby and the audience equally pumped up. The scene is exciting and slick and just downright fun to watch.

Ansel Elgort is just the right person for this role. He was wonderful in “The Fault in Our Stars” and easily steps into the role of Baby, who is a bit of a loner and a dreamer. Baby is an avid lover of music and sounds in general. He keeps a recorder with him at all times just to capture bits of conversation that he then creates into catchy mixes. We learn early in the movie that Baby was in a car accident when he was young. His parents were killed and Baby ended up with tinnitus, which is a constant ringing in the ears. He continuously listens to music because of the ringing as a way to stay focused and concentrate.

Many of the criminals in “Baby Driver” seem to have a problem with Baby. They find him odd because he doesn’t talk much. They think it’s weird he is always listening to his music and is never seen without sunglasses on his face. One can ponder why he is always wearing the shades. Maybe it’s his signature look. Maybe it’s to make identification harder. I personally think it’s because he’s surrounded by hardened criminals and when he takes off the glasses, he looks, quite literally, like a sweet, innocent baby boy.  It’s fun to see a character who has self-assurance and confidence in who he is without any type of bravado and how intimidating that can be for many people (both in the film and in reality I believe).

The cast also include Lilly James playing the love interest and fellow music enthusiast, Kevin Spacey playing the boss, Jon Bernthal (best known from the early seasons of The Walking Dead), Jon Hamm, and Jamie Foxx. When the criminal characters are all in a room together they peacock around trying to prove who is the toughest with constant commentary about the vast many people they’ve killed. One man has a tattoo of “HAT” prominently on his neck. He explains that it used to say “HATE” but he had difficulty getting a job. When asked how the job prospects were after the switch, he said with a shrug, “who doesn’t like hats?” 

“Baby Driver” is a simple movie. The car chases never get too long. I’m not sure there was any CGI. There isn’t a 45-minute, drawn-out action sequence at the end. I also enjoyed that the movie didn’t make emotional decisions for the viewers or fill-in every detail of plot. It allowed the viewer to draw his or her own opinions and theories of the varied characters. It was clear each individual was more than who they said they were to their compatriots. Was Jon Hamm a hardened criminal or a businessman with a coke habit trying to play a criminal? In the end you are allowed to ponder, was Baby a “bad” guy trying to get straight or a “good” guy caught up in a life of crime. 

Something must be said about Baby Driver’s soundtrack. In a word, it is amazing. It’s filled with songs I had never heard before but loved instantly as well as classics. It isn’t so much about any one song specifically but how the music in the movie is like another character. It isn’t a musical but the soundtrack is an integral part of the movie. The music and the songs are a part of every scene. Baby responds and interacts to the songs, the other actors listen to and respond to the music. I wasn’t even out of the parking lot before I had downloaded the soundtrack!

The movie drags ever-so-slightly towards the middle to end and I found myself unnecessarily confused with the details of a heist. That being said, I loved “Baby Driver”. I’m tired of the superhero movies that inundate our theatres throughout the summer months. “Baby Driver” was a breath of fresh air. Simple. Exciting. Fun. A great cast and a killer soundtrack. Does it get any better than that?

Critic Rating: A-

Entertainment Rating: A+