I had to sit in the parking lot for a moment after watching Baby Driver to make sure I wouldn’t end up driving like the main characters in the movie. I listened to my own music going to and from the movie. Coming back though, driving felt a whole lot different after watching that film.

Baby Driver, released in the summer of 2017, was directed by Edgar Wright. The movie is centered around Baby (Ansel Elgort), a getaway driver who participates in multiple heists in order to pay off a debt. The movie follows him through the story as he comes into contact with criminals and murderers, highlighting how it affects his personal life.

The acting is great and the soundtrack is on a whole other level. Instead of being used as just mood setters, it serves a much bigger purpose, setting the flow and pace of the movie. Baby himself is an interesting character. He contracted tinnitus at a young age and has a constant ringing in his ears and uses music to drown it out. Thus, he is listening to music most of the time during the film.

During his heists, he uses the music as a form of measurement for the heists, mainly for specific points. Almost all the characters are fleshed out and given unique personalities, especially seen in Bats, a homicidal criminal played expertly by Jamie Foxx.

The movie is heavily song based, but this isn’t the usual Guardians of the Galaxy song based. This movie has been worked around a set playlist and filmed, written and acted on screen to it. Everything on the screen flows with the music. An amazing example is the gunfight scene when Baby and the gang go to pick up weapons from a contractor. Once the fight breaks out, the music begins, and every gunshot, scream, bullet impact and movement are timed with the music and its rhythm.

It doesn’t even have to be an action sequence, seen when Baby goes to get coffee for the crew. Background noise and people on the streets all flow with the song. Even the set itself seems to fit as colors and looks just fit the current song’s mood.    

The movie is great overall, and if you haven’t seen it, I cannot stress enough that you should change that. The movie is driven by music, and it is one of the smoothest cinematic rides you’ll take all year. All you have to do is watch the first six minutes of the movie, as “Bellbottoms” plays over an insanely well choreographed car chase, to know the ensuing film will be great. Edgar Wright has poured love and soul into this film, and he hasn’t failed.