One of the pleasant surprises in the summer movie season so far has been Edgar Wright’sBaby Driver. Not that anyone was expecting an Edgar Wright movie to be bad, but the movie surpassed expectations and has actually been a surprise hit at the box office as well. But in case you haven’t seen it yet, or you just want to relive one of the movie’s best moments, the epic opening scene has been released online.
Columbia Picturesdecided it would be a good idea to give people a taste of whatBaby Driveris to try and coax them into the theater to see it. Probably a good strategy. The scene features Baby (Ansel Elgort) driving a getaway car for a trio of bank robbers; Griff (Jon Bernthal), Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Darling (Eiza Gonzalez). The scene isperfectly choreographedto The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion songBellbottoms, which is how many of the scenes inBaby Driverwork. Music isn’t just an important part of this movie. The music is really a character in it and, lucky for us, Edgar Wright knows how to make a great mixtape.
There have been a whole lot of getaway car chases in movies over the years, but something aboutBaby Driverfeels pretty original within that scope. It isn’t any one thing, but the combination of the quirky characters, the music, the choreography and Edgar Wright’s unique flair give this sequence, and many of the other sequences in the movie, their own flavor and help them stand out from other, similar scenes in other movies. Really, it is just a whole lot of fun.
Edgar Wright hasn’t made a bad movieyet, but he hasn’t really had a lot ofmainstream successeither. As it stands,Hot Fuzzis his highest-grossing directorial effort, with $80.6 million worldwide. ButBaby Driveralready has made $76.8 million and, given the very positive word of mouth and since the movie is still rolling out in other countries, it is easily going to surpass that number. Couple that with the critical acclaim and it’s no wonder that Sony has asked Wright to consider writing a sequel already.
Baby Driver is an original, hit moviein a summer that has been littered with disappointing reboots, sequels and movies seemingly nobody was asking for. We’re looking at you,King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. It is also proof that reviews and positive word of mouth really do matter. Which essentially boils down to, if you make a good movie, people will go. Not always, but it is a good rule of thumb. People are at least not willing to shell out for movies likeBaywatch(domestically) if they get the sense it isn’t a great movie. Be sure to check out the opening scene fromBaby Driverfor yourself below and, if you haven’t already, use this as motivation to get you into a theater to see the whole thing. And perhaps it will compel you to check out the epicBaby Driver soundtrack, which is now available on glorious vinyl.
