Baby Driver Review: 5 Ups & 4 Downs

Downs

4. The Characters & Plot Aren't Very Interesting

It's fair to say that Baby Driver is essentially Edgar Wright's hyper-stylised take on familiar heist thriller material, and to that end he sadly doesn't make a ton of effort with either the characters or plot.

Beyond the titular protagonist, most of the characters are familiar archetypes (Kevin Spacey is the mob boss, Jamie Foxx is the hothead, Lily James is the cutesy love interest) and don't feel remotely as developed as, say, Shaun or Ed in Shaun of the Dead.

The narrative, meanwhile, essentially acts out all the basic beats of a heist movie without a ton of variation, and so while it occasionally feels like Wright is preparing to subvert them, he mostly clings pretty eagerly to a plot you've probably seen dozens of times before. The romance and sentimental elements in particular feel rather forced and unnecessary.

The unambitious script isn't a deal-breaker by any means, just somewhat disappointing given the more inspired work Wright has delivered in the past.