Baby Driver: The ultimate film for car lovers

Forgive our impertinence, but if you haven’t already seen Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver what the hell are you waiting for? It’s blowing up the box office ($8.5 million in Australia and counting), creating a social media sensation and, best of all, has rejuvenated the classic movie car chase format.

Those feeling disenfranchised from the seemingly endless Fast and Furious franchise will find their antidote in this quirky, energetic and entirely original rom-com-cum-action-thriller. And what an antidote it is.

It’s the tale of Baby, a young getaway driver with a heart of gold who ends up plunged into a world of violent crime and becomes desperate to claw his way out and drive off into the sunset with his ladylove.

Here’s why you should see Baby Driver if you’re a car lover – or if you’re not.

Forget James Bond’s completely out-of-reach Aston Martin, this movie shows what you can do in the kinds of cars we mere mortals drive.

Case in point: the very first car chase in the film takes place in a candy apple red Subaru Impreza WRX.

“Edgar wanted a pedestrian kind of car that would blend in but something that would also be cool,” the film’s stunt driver Jeremy Fry told Car Buzz.

“[Stunt coordinator] Robert Nagel had figured the WRX as a pretty cool car that we don’t see much that might give us some options to do some cool driving with.”

Other cars featured throughout the film range from a Chevrolet Avalanche to a Mercedes-Benz S550. All up, the movie used 150 vehicles on set.

The innovative action scenes in Baby Driver make Grand Theft Auto look like a mundane drive to the shops. It’s not so much about explosions, road rage or pimped-out cars with special effects, but about exceptional maneuvers executed perfectly and caught on camera with hawk-eyed precision.

One particular move – coined “the 180 in and 180 out” by the film’s stunt director Darrin Prescott – sees Baby drift his Subaru down a narrow laneway, managing to swerve past several vehicles in its path. It’s a work of art and, fittingly, it was extremely difficult to pull off.

“I had never seen anyone do that stunt before,” Prescott told The Hollywood Reporter.

"It was tough to film ... we did maybe five or six takes. There's a lot going through your head. You don't want Jeremy [Fry, the film’s stunt driver] to get hurt. Also, there's a lot of money being spent to get this on camera. The cameras needed to be out of the way so nobody would get hurt. You see it from a drone shot in the film."

The film’s score was completed even before filming started, with an exhilarating mix of hip hop, classic rock, pop and funk. It kicks off with the straight-up groovy Bellbottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and takes the viewer on a musical journey, with the tempo of the songs perfectly synced to the movements of the cars.

Plus, all the tracks are played off an old-school iPod via an aux cord – no temperamental Bluetooth connection in sight.

For a sample of how the music works with the cars, watch the film’s opening scene.

Every iconic motoring film you’ve ever seen comes together effortlessly in Baby Driver, which shamelessly samples from the best car-centric action films of the last five decades.

Wright has cited some of his inspirations as The Italian Job from 1969, Bullitt from 1968, Vanishing Point from 1971 and The Driver from 1978.

“I can’t make any claims to being a great driver and I’m not even sure you could call me a gearhead (I would struggle to change a flat),” Wright told Indie Wire.

“However, I am a fan of action cinema in its purest form and the best film car chases are some of the most glorious collisions of sound and image in the art form.”

In case you’re not already convinced, please refer to the breathless Twitter rant legendary director Guillermo del Toro fired off immediately after attending a screening of Baby Driver.

“The film is incredibly precise,” del Toro, who directed Pacific Rim, told his 675,000 followers.

“Flawlessly executed to its smallest detail: breathtaking Russian arm shorts, real-world car mount and foot chases executed with the vigor and bravado of a Gene Kelly musical. This is An American in Paris on wheels and crack smoke.

“By God – check it out,” he concluded.

Amen to that.

Footnote:
Some of Edgar Wright's Baby Driver ideas have basis from his previous work as a music video director. Check out this Mint Royale clip starring UK comedian Noel Fielding from 2003.