Yes, that catchy Simon & Garfunkel song “Baby Driver” comes into play during Edgar Wright’s zippy thrill ride of a movie; no, it will not easily leave your head (I’ve been humming it for a week); and yes, the movie’s just what you want a summer movie to be. Doc sets up a crew that redefines the term "natural born psychos": Folks with criminal handles like Bats (Jamie Foxx) and Griff (Jon Bernthal), along with Buddy (Jon Hamm) and his main squeeze Darling (Eiza Gonzalez). After finally paying off his debts, he thinks about a different kind of life with sweet diner waitress Debora (Lily James), whose smile is like a happy song. Here's the deal with Baby: To care for Pops (CJ Jones), the deaf gent who raised him after his mother died, he's been driving for crime boss Doc (a wickedly sly Kevin Spacey).
– With a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it's safe to say that Baby Driver was worth the many years director Edgar Wright put into crafting it. The film focuses on the best getaway driver in Atlanta, who goes by Baby, and happens to want to leave his life of crime behind. The problem is that the crime bosses he runs with aren't keen to let that happen. Some reviews: It isn't just a "brilliant, pulse-quickening gem," but "one of the most entertaining thrill rides of this year, this decade. This century," writes Richard Roeper at the Chicago Sun-Times. It features "perfectly timed" action sequences, "one of the most creative and exhilarating car chases you'll ever see," and "spectacular" acting from Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, and Ansel Elgort. Plus it's "crackling with originality," he raves. Moira Macdonald agrees it's a "zippy thrill ride of a movie" and "just what you want a summer movie to be." The highlight is "the way the film marries sight and sound," she writes at the Seattle Times. It's "uncannily choreographed, with gestures and movements timed precisely to the soundtrack's beat" and "dances" in front of your eyes. Wright "turns every one of his protagonist's actions into a signifier of mood, thought and character," writes Justin Chang at the Los Angeles Times, referring to one scene in which Elgort displays "the woozy grace of an under-caffeinated Gene Kelly." Eventually there's a "dark turn" that puts a damper on the fun, but it doesn't take away from the fact that "this is movie craftsmanship and showmanship of a very high order," he says. "Baby Driver has it all: thrills, laughs, sex, nonstop action, a killer soundtrack,” and the list goes on," writes Peter Travers at Rolling Stone. He was especially impressed with the performances. Jon Hamm delivers one "of bracing, nutty perversity," while Elgort gives a "star-making" turn in a "challenging beast of a role." Still, it's Wright who "tops himself with this start-to-finish sensation," he writes.