Driving change on big screen

A scene from Baby Driver.

Baby Driver (MA15+)
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James

Every now and then a movie comes along that redefines or changes a genre in some way – and this seems to be the year when a lot of those movies are being released.
From La La Land to Wonder Woman – there have been some creative takes on popular genres.
Baby Driver is another of those movies – turning the gangster/heist movies on their heads a little.
This is a film full of heart, music and not a little violence.
Ansel Elgort (Fault In Our Stars, Divergent) stars as Baby – a talented, young getaway driver who relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game.
When he meets the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into continuing to work for crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.
Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) the real star of this film is the soundtrack. The first 10 minutes of this movie are some of the best and most original on screen in years. However a stereotyped performance by Jamie Foxx and some fairly clunky dialogue threaten to bring this down. Though an edge of your seat ending saves it from becoming just another heist caper.
This is a lot of fun, a lot of music and something out of the box when it comes to cops and robbers films.
It is thoughtful and fun, not just another shoot-’em-up movie with too much violence and not enough storyline – and yet it never topples over into silly.
– Tania Phillips