Baby Driver was fun and fast, but it also slowed down for some touching moments. My favorite scenes are of Baby (Ansel Elgort) interacting with his elderly, deaf/mute foster father (who also happened to be Black), which were both funny and touching. They had funny banter, most of which was in subtitles, and the audience could feel how much they cared for each other through their interactions. I also really enjoyed Baby's maneuvering inside and outside of a car to whichever song he was listening to, which came in the form of various genres.
The action is definitely here, at least to my standards (which may be lower than others, Ha!). There were the expected speeding car chase scenes, as well as some shoot outs and explosions. There was romance without the romance, which I think worked very well in the film. What do I mean by romance without romance? The film was able to exhibit the love between two couples, Baby and Deborah (Lily James) and Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Darling (Eiza Gonzalez), without forcing romantic scenes in a film that didn't need any such scenes. Instead, you felt the relationships through the couples' conversations and actions to protect each other. For Baby and Deborah the conversations were more getting to know each other, whereas Buddy and Darling's conversations were more reflective of how well they knew each other.
Then of course there's Doc (Kevin Spacey) and Bats (Jamie Foxx). Doc is as manipulative as Underwood is in House of Cards, though there is a nice twist or change towards the end of the film. Bats is cold and heartless. While the fear of Doc is based on what level of power he has being implied, Bats shows time and time again he will take anyone out without a blink; on the verge of being completely reckless if not for each time having a valid reason for the bottom line goal of the illegal activity. I suppose this is why Doc brings him back for another round, making Doc an even bigger looming threat for Baby and his desire to protect the ones he love and be done with the criminal life Doc is forcing him to continue in well after paying off his debt to Doc.
Yes, Baby wants out, and it is clear by how he interacts with victims (returning purses and babies before driving off with stolen vehicles) he has a heart and would choose another life if he could. We also get glimpses into his childhood, mostly centered on his parents and focused on his mother (a singer enduring domestic abuse from his father). These glimpses reveal not only the origin of the ringing in Baby's ear that leads to him always wearing headphones, but also to the origins of his love of music and desire to be able to protect the ones he loves.
The film has a plethora of ways to make you feel for Baby and want him to escape as unscratched as possible from the criminal web Doc has forced him into. I won't give it away completely, but the film makes it clear he will definitely leave with some scratches. Towards the end, in a funny twist to the scene you've probably seen in trailers with the actor Mike Myers masks that should have been the Halloween character, Michael Myers, masks; one character definitely seems to become Michael Myers-esque in the final scenes. I had to force myself to remind myself it's a movie, and does not have to be realistic, a few times to allow myself to enjoy those scenes.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable film and is perfect for the summer!
8.5/10