Edgar Wright’s new film Baby Driver hits theaters late Tuesday June 27. The film is receiving a mountain of advance praise, and is being touted by many media outlets as having the potential to being one of the best films of the summer. However, here at Pop Break we’re a bit split on this new action caper. Pop Break’s film editor Dan Cohen is very apprehensive about the film, while editor-in-chief Bill Bodkin is all in. The two go together to debate.
Opening Argument: Let me be very clear up front about this so we’re all on the same page – in no way do I think this movie will suck. At the very least, it will be a solid little flick. But that’s the point. This is going to be that movie. We get one of these every year. Everyone has already decided Baby Driver is AWESOME. It’s going to get overrated. It’s going to piss people off when it doesn’t get nominated for awards. It’s that movie will be hearing about ad nauseam for the rest of 2017. –Dan Cohen
Opening Argument: I’m going to be 1000% transparent. I love Edgar Wright. I have been a massive fan of his since Shaun of the Dead. I loved Spaced, the series he directed in 1999 and 2001. I loved Hot Fuzz. I loved The World’s End. I enjoyed Scott Pilgrim v. The World. I have high hopes for this film, however I’m not convincing myself that this movie is the end all be all before I see it. I go into this film like I do every — a blank slate, and a hope in my heart. Since I know his work well I have a gut feeling this will be good. Do I think it has the upside to awesome? I definitely do. Oscar worthy? Eh, let’s not jump the gun on that. –Bill Bodkin
On Edgar Wright: Edgar Wright. Good. Not great. I understand the appeal. He taps into a lot of sweet spots: Zombies. Robots. Aliens. Video Games. I get it. Not only does he revel in what many nerds love about pop culture, but he does it in a very zany and creative way that is uncanny fun. Edgar Wright is like eating every flavor of Airheads all at once. At the end of the day, that’s why I sour on him. If you looked up the term “Too much of a good thing” on Wikipedia, there should be a picture of Edgar Wright.
It doesn’t surprise me that his movies have never been big box office successes. His highest grossing film was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World ($31 Million+ domestic), which on a budget of $60 Million, was a box office bomb. That movie perfectly represents what I like and dislike about Edgar Wright.
When I first saw this film, I absolutely HATED it. I found it obnoxious and self-indulgent. After much prodding, I gave it another chance. I liked it a lot better. It’s a fun watch. My problem with it, much like Wright’s other films, is it’s all style with very little substance. Wright is so hell bent on cramming in so many pop culture references and nuances, he forgets sometimes to tell an engaging story about actual characters. They get lost in the pop culture abyss that he creates. You can’t get through a scene in Scott Pilgrim without there being some kind of image in the corner of the screen that references something you see in a comic book shop.
I appreciate Wright’s creativity and style, but the reason guys like Wes Anderson have made the jump to mainstream success and notoriety is he doesn’t let character and story get lost in his unique style. He allows his style to enhance the story. Edgar Wright can’t do that. With Baby Driver, it looks like more of the same. –Dan Cohen
On Edgar Wright: I’d like to take my colleague to task a bit here, as I believe you may be confusing Edgar Wright with Guy Ritchie.
It’s true that Wright is known for his winks and nods to other genres of pop culture, and that he has a very stylistic approach. However, to say his films are “style over substance” is doing a major disservice to the director. Go back to his work on Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson’s series Spaced, or his work on Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End. Yes, I understand the common denominator of these films is Simon Pegg, but Wright has been at the helm of all these projects. And what made these projects not liked but beloved? Was it purely his madcap style? Was it only the pop culture references? No, it’s the characters. People love Shaun, Ed, Danny, and Simon. They love Daisy, Tim, Twist, Brian, Marcia, and Mike. They also love all the random characters that pop up too.
Wright gets the most out of his actors, he helped nurture these characters by bringing their true, weird, and highly original spirit to the screen. He’s been able to direct scenes wrought with emotional, and legitimate dramatic tension. He’s not all whip pans, dutch angles, and frenetic cutting. The man knows how to direct. With that being said, I think you’re going to get some great characters, particularly that of Baby (Ansel Elgort), in this film.
Also, I believe we’re getting Wright at his most motivated. Pilgrim was not a success in America, and he never got to see his version of Ant-Man hit the big screen. In short — he’s never had his moment to shine in America. I have a feeling he’s pulling out all the stops — both from his usual bag of tricks, and something new we’ve never seen from him before. –Bill Bodkin
The Rotten Tomato Factor: As I write this, the film currently stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes on 38 reviews. By the time you read this, it will no longer be at 100%, but will no doubt still be at a very high number. I could write a book on the positive and negative effects Rotten Tomatoes has on the film industry right now, but let’s stick to Baby Driver, and why this insanely high score means absolutely NOTHING to me.
First of all, the movie premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW). It’s the type of nerd crowd that plays right into the people who glorify Edgar Wright as a movie God. Nearly all of the early reviews came from online publications like the Colliders and Nerdists of the world. Once more traditional outlets review the film, we’ll get a better idea. But even the positive blurbs from Rotten Tomatoes speak to my problems with Edgar Wright:
“Baby Driver is certainly an entertaining ride but when you pop the hood there’s not much under its shiny surface.” (Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy)
“Even though the story isn’t as impactful as its stylized packaging, Wright creates a delightful new film that is sure to satisfy his legions of fans.” (Terri Schwartz, IGN Movies)
“Tapping less into emotions and more into adrenaline and wonder, it’s more style than substance, but oh, what style!” (Kristy Puchko, CBR)
Sounds like an Edgar Wright film. And for his legion of fans, they’re going to love it. But for me, it’s disappointing.
I know I’m an asshole for wanting movies to have great characters and a good story. I’m such a jerk face. –Dan Cohen
Rotten Tomatoes: I don’t usually give a lot of credence to Rotten Tomatoes reviews unless they come in extremes. If a movie I’m interested in gets absolutely eviscerated on the site, I’ll give it a hard pass for theaters, and eventually catch it when it comes to home viewing. If it remains high — I’m not only interested, I feel pretty compelled to run to theater to see it.
If 2017 has proven anything to us so far it’s that the RT ratings haven’t let us down yet. Look at the absurdly high ratings, especially leading up to the release, for both Logan and Wonder Woman. Guess what? Both pretty damn good movies. (To be frank, it’ll be tough for Baby Driver to top Logan as the best film of the year so far). This gives me hope for Baby Driver.
Outside RT, the film has received praise from Wright’s peers, reliable entertainment media outlets and some cinematic heavyweights. As Dan said, “sounds like an Edgar Wright film.” –Bill Bodkin
Cast: I know it’s easy to look at this cast and get excited, but to be honest, I’m not that impressed. Lily James and Eliza Gonzalez haven’t done much to go off of, and while Ansel Elgort is definitely a promising up and comer, he’s still unproven. Jon Bernthal is a good guy to have in your movie, and he’ll be fine here, but I’ve never been blown away.
That takes us to the seasoned veterans. Kevin Spacey is obviously a phenomenal actor, but he looks out of place here. It just doesn’t fit. Whenever I see him in the trailers, it feels like he’s in a different movie. It’s Kevin Spacey though, so I’m sure he’ll be good by his mere presence.
It’s the next two actors where I’m going to be Mr. Unpopular. Jamie Foxx is a very good actor, but lately, he’s been off his game. I’m not going to completely blame him for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but it’s still a horrific performance on his resume. In Django Unchained, he’s completely overshadowed by every other actor in that film. He can’t keep up. When I see his name in a movie, I don’t automatically assume he’s going to be great anymore.
Then there’s Jon Hamm. Jon Hamm is overrated. There. I said it. I respect him in Mad Men, but I’ve been VASTLY underwhelmed in everything else he’s ever done. He’s bland. Whenever him and Armie Hammer get brought up for superhero roles, a chill goes down my spine. I don’t get it. It might be one of those cases where he’s so good in Mad Men that it’s hard to look past it, but I’m just not impressed.
Bottom-line: The cast is mediocre. –Dan Cohen
The Cast: As an unabashed fan of his British films, no cast of Wright’s can touch the crew he had there, especially the filthy amount of talent in The World’s End. But to say this cast is “mediocre” is a rather bold, if not overly harsh statement.
Ansel Elgort was literally the only thing I enjoyed about the morbid YA weepfest known as The Fault in Our Stars. The dude has fire, he’s got charm, he’s witty, and he proved in that film he could easily go toe-to-toe with a notorious scene chewer (Williem Dafoe). He’s the heart of this film, and I think he’s going to nail it.
Jon Hamm has me amped. Unlike, my colleague, I think Hamm has excelled outside of his role as Don Draper (which he was friggin’ amazing in). The Town was just on BBC America this weekend, and guess who was pretty damn good in it? Jon Hamm. You know was hilarious as a raging douche canoe in Bridesmaids? Jon Hamm. I could go on. Hamm has an intriguing character here, we’re not sold on whose side he’s on just yet. I think he’s really going to shine.
Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey are going to give you strong performances. Do they have the upside of being movie stealers? Absolutely. Will they suck? Absolutely not. However, these two have solid track records, and if this movie absolutely blows bags, it will not be their fault.
Where I will agree with Dan is our two female leads. I’m so uncertain about either them, that I cannot forecast what we’ll get from them.
Oh, and Jon Bernthal — he’s a damn scene stealer. Go watch Walking Dead, The Accountant, Daredevil — dude is a charisma machine. –Bill Bodkin
The Music: One of the big themes of Baby Driver is clearly the use of popular songs.
This needs to stop.
When used right, music can certainly enhance a film. Ever since Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014 though, filmmakers are becoming too reliant on music to sell their movies. Ann Hornaday wrote a great piece on this in the Washington Post when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came out. It’s becoming lazy. Not only are we seeing this in film, but trailers are using old school popular songs all over the place. Thor: Ragnarok. Justice League. Kong: Skull Island. The Mummy. ENOUGH ALREADY!
In the context of Baby Driver, the use of music seems essential to a condition the protagonist has known as Tinnitus. I’m not making light of it, but even incorporating this disease into the protagonist seems like an excuse for Edgar Wright to let everyone know what his favorite songs are.
Even though I liked both Guardians of the Galaxy movies, this method of “let’s play cool music” is getting tiresome. As someone who appreciates a great movie score, I’m getting frustrated.
Baby Driver seems to be taking this use of storytelling to its played out boiling point. –Dan Cohen
The Music: Edgar Wright is not following the “new fad” of playing cool music in films — he’s running his playbook. Wright is notorious for picking an eclectic soundtrack and weaving it into his films. He’s used everyone from Italian prog rockers Goblin to The Specials to Eels to Grandmaster Flash to Sex Bomb-omb (yes, I know they’re fake) into his films. Look at the Spotify Playlist for the soundtrack I just included above this paragraph. I don’t see a ton of “popular songs” and artists here. This is pretty obscure (excluding The Commodore’s “Easy” and “Radar Love” by Golden Earring), even songs from the artists you know (Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, Queen) aren’t the hits, this deep cut stuff.
And you know who else throws music they enjoy into their films? Some of the greats.
Quentin Tarantino does this all the time. How many times has Scorsese used The Rolling Stones in his movies? I’m surprised it wasn’t in Gangs of New York. Cameron Crowe did not need to write the club scenes featuring Soundgarden and Alice in Chains in Singles (or cast Pearl Jam), or use all his favorite jams in Almost Famous, or cast My Morning Jacket in Elizabethtown. But he loves them…so he did. Oh, and let’s not forget Zach Braff employed all his favorite bands and songs in Garden State, and used the music as part of the pitch to get the film made.
And honestly I’m glad music means something in movies again. Remember when soundtracks meant something? Remember when you wanted to actually a buy soundtrack? Remember when a song would be created for a film? This has me excited. And don’t tell me that Run the Jewels song penned specifically for this film is not straight fire. –Bill Bodkin
Closing Argument: I want nothing more than to walk out of Baby Driver loving the hell out of it. I really do. I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen though. It looks like every other Edgar Wright film: Overly edited. Overly clever (the Mike Myers mask scene). Overly indulgent. I’ll enjoy it, but much like every MCU movie, the amount of hyperbolic praise it’s going to get will drive me to the point of insanity. –Dan Cohen
Closing Argument: Movie going public, if you’re looking for an original, non-comic book, non-franchise action film this summer, nay in 2017, go see Baby Driver. Whether you love it or hate it’s going to be different. I have a feeling that if you dig action films, are a pop culture maven, or are just looking for something different in your cinematic life, you’re going to get a kick out of this film. –Bill Bodkin
