So, Edgar Wright's new film then. Anyone else seen it? I was worried after the overwhelmingly positive reviews that I wasn't going to enjoy it so much, but i'm happy to say that I found it immensely enjoyable. Ansel Egort has a great screen presence, he is captivating to watch, and all the cast are impressive. There are two scenes near the start which are particularly impressive, the opening heist and get away whilst the titular Baby listens and mimes to 'Bellbottoms' by the Blues Explosion and the shots of him getting coffee for the crew whilst listening to 'Harlem Shuffle', both superbly choreographed. There is a great chase scene in the final third too. Overall, it is largely a hugely enjoyable, often thrilling film done in Edgar Wright's signature style. Most impressive.
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Yes, I'm looking forward to this.
One question, is there any dialogue in this film? -
Yes, plenty. Saw it last night and enjoyed it but thought it fell some way short of the expectations I had from the trailer, reviews and pre-release buzz.
I think Egort is probably the main reason for that. He's a weak link in an otherwise excellent cast and, unlike Rob, I found him a relatively bland presence who couldn't really carry the film. The opening scenes referred to above fall short for me because he's not compelling enough to carry them off and it's the later heists and set pieces that work far better because the other actors feature more.
Through a lot of the film I was thinking "I really need to watch 'True Romance' again" and when I came out I read a friend's review on his film blog that also mentioned how much it called to mind that film, Tarantino's other work from the era and mid-nineties cinema in general. Not that any of that is a criticism, there's more than enough to like about 'Baby Driver' but I just wonder how it would have worked with a stronger male lead. Certainly, in terms of indie-accented, kinetic mixes of violence and music I think 'Free Fire' from earlier in the year blows it away.Last edited by Ray de Galles; 29-06-2017, 14:31.Comment
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Seeing it tomorrow, looking forward to it a lot as a huge Edgar Wright fan.Comment
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I've seen the trailer 3 times and even the 1st time it pissed me off as one of those 'what? the whole film?' trailers. Hugely unnecessary for a film of this (apparent) kind, I'd suggest- a hint of driving, music, Lily Whatsit, Kaiser Sauzee, crime, famous black dudes and surely the target audience would go for it anyway?
I like Edgar Wright but am reluctant to go at the moment- maybe I'll catch up with it next year when my anger subsides.Comment
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It's definitely worth seeing. The sequence near the start when Baby is walking to get coffee is superbly put together.
It gets ridiculous towards the end.
Thinking about it, both "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End" also get really silly towards the end. Maybe this is a flaw of Wright as a director?Comment
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Er, you may want to mark the above post for SPOILERS.Comment
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The difference being that The World's End and Hot Fuzz in particular start off silly.Thinking about it, both "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End" also get really silly towards the end. Maybe this is a flaw of Wright as a director?Comment
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I thought the film got better as it went on, more conventional perhaps but also less self-consciously gimmicky.Comment
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Why can't Americans pronounce "tinnitus"?Comment
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Anyhoo.
Result.
Film broke down half way through (launderette scene)
15-20 minutes hiatus.
Comps for a future presentation.
Kapow!Comment
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I will admit I liked the Hallowe'en face mask joke tho'Comment
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And another thing.
I thought Paul Williams had died a couple of years ago.Comment
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Then you will love the documentary Paul Williams: Still Alive. Not kidding...it's excellent.Comment
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and another other thing
I thought the male lead played his part well.Comment
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And yes.
There were bits towards the end it was a little silly.Comment
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Just seen this and, as usual with stuff I watch waaaaaay later than everyone else, i watched Kermode's review - he loved it - and came to the OTF thread to check as well. I agree with Ray's opinion of Ansel Egort. He was a square peg in a round hole. He reminded both facially and as an actor of Tom Hardy who has never convinced me in any part that I have seen him in apart from Mad Max where all he had to be was a protagonist to the car chases (hold on....). I am sure that people will inform me of films, where he is great, which i haven't seen. Egort seemed to have two issues which was that his accent seemed all over the place to an extent where i thought he was English (where Lily James actually is) and his dialogue seemed largely dubbed over after. Actually, as far as the latter is concerned, a lot of the other actors' dialogue seemed the same so maybe that was true.
This issue aside, I really enjoyed. I enjoyed the choreography of the chases and Baby's movement to the music - which was excellent and i will be nicking a whole load of stuff for DJing. I really liked the cast in the way that you like to see familiar faces pop up in Tarantino movies. That brings us to Spacey which presented me with a quandary. I have to say that, however, that, in an unsettling manner, his real life actions actually added something to his character in this. If he had been playing a hero, i would have had more of an issue (in the same manner as i can't think kindly of American Beauty any more). In saying that, his sentimental heroic bit at the end jarred with his cunt of a character for the rest of the film - even leaving aside it being Spacey.
It was interesting to hear Kermode compare it to True Romance and Breathless. I was getting Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs as well as, of course, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead but it is true that it is much more like those two with maybe the car chases being as balletic as the fight scenes in KB. Obviously, it is a stupid film but nowhere near as stupid as any of the Fast and Furious franchise and certainly nowhere near as dumb, exploitative or gratuitous as Atomic Blonde (which was the film i watched which made Netflix recommend BD to me - 96%!)Comment
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Does this movie have that amazing Simon and garfunkel song?Comment
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Atomic Blonde is ace.Comment
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Assuming you mean the pretty decent but in my opinion unamazing "Baby Driver" then Yes, but only over the end credits.Originally posted by The Awesome Berbaslug!!! View PostComment
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