By Baby Driver was pretty good. Our own Matthew Razak liked Edgar Wright’s latest film, though acknowledged in his review that the film’s technical wizardry doesn’t quite overcome the flawed story and sometimes inconsistent characters. I’m more lukewarm on the film overall in that I love the first half but think the second half is marred by a bunch of missed opportunities. Like Matt said, Baby Driver doesn’t sustain the interweaving of music and action in the second half. Instead we get some heist movie cliches. That’s unfortunate because the way the movie moves to the music is what makes Baby Driver worth watching.
Case in point, the opening scene of Baby Driver is now online. This car chase masterfully syncs a bank heist to “Bellbottoms” by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Check out the opening scene of Baby Driver below.
This scene is followed by another great musical moment: an extended single-take shot in which our hero buys some coffee, dancing and walking all the while to Bob & Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle”. It’s a shame this infectious synchronization is missing in the last half of the movie. It’s like going to a pizza place and getting a cheeseburger.
This isn’t the first time Edgar Wright has played with music and bank heists, however. Way back in 2003, Wright directed a music video that feels like a proof of concept for the above Baby Driver clip. Bonus: it has Nick Frost.
Check out the music video for Mint Royale’s “Blue Song” below.
