I liked the first half of "Baby Driver," when writer/director Edgar Wright has firm control of the the choreographed heists that result in exciting car chases, underscored by the driving pop score. Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a getaway driver who's been disconnected from reality since his parents were killed in a car crash when he was young and his injury resulted in tinnitus. He constantly listens to music to drown out the noise in his ears so he's never without earbuds connected to several different iPods. In order to pull off his daring driving escapes, Baby needs to be playing just the right song. Baby is beholden to a crime boss, Doc (Kevin Spacey), who uses his skill as the wheel man for his various heist crews (Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm and Eliza Gonzalez). Baby is trying to get out from under Doc's grip, setting up one last job. When Baby falls for Debora (Lily James), a waitress at the diner where his mother used to work, Baby's life becomes more complicated.
But the story has to go somewhere; it can't be all car chases and about half-way though, the tone shifts, whiplash-like, to a violent crime drama. It's hard to see how Wright is going to end this other than having everyone die so his ultimate ending is disappointing, hurting the overall effectiveness of the picture. Elgort seems perfectly cast as Baby - he looks the part and he knows how to rock a pair of sunglasses and white earbuds. Unfortunately, he's a little too remote when it comes time for him to show deep emotion. There's plenty to admire about "Baby Driver," but the story isn't one of them and that's one of the reasons I go to the movies.
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