12 Critical Responses To 2017 Films That Make No Sense
3. Baby Driver
The Film:
The latest movie by the amazing Edgar Wright, this is an action movie set entirely to music.
The Response:
It's one of 2017's best-reviewed films and got a lot of 5-star ratings from critics.
Why They Got It Wrong:
Critics complain endlessly about style-over-substance. Here is a film that is entirely style-over-substance yet suddenly it's a great masterpiece?
Baby Driver is extraordinary in regards to action and visuals, so no points removed there. The performances are solid as well, especially from Jon Hamm, but other than that it doesn't live up to the hype.
Fundamentally, it feels like Edgar Wright sacrificing his identity. The Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim were lovable, warm, geeky and painfully hilarious. In contrast, Baby Driver is too dark, too cold and very rarely funny. The Cornetto Trilogy had a wonderfully British feel to them, while Baby Driver just feels too Americanized.
The characters and plot are painfully mediocre, yet for some reason, it's been praised as very well-written. In the end, it is perfectly watchable, but would've worked better as a short film. One gimmick cannot sustain a two-hour movie.
The backlash against this film has already begun and it's fallen off the IMDb Top 250 with considerable speed. When you watch it again, you're likely to enjoy it far less and not just because of how uncomfortable it is watching Kevin Spacey following recent revelations about him.