Baby Driver - "Wheelie F*cking Good"

The first words in my head to describe Baby Driver after emerging from last night's Cineworld Unlimited Preview were "Wheelie F*cking Good" and not my words Carol but the words of Top Gear Magazine!

Edgar Wright's long term passion project (that wasn't Ant Man) has been parked in neutral for several years but now he has ditched the Cornettos in favour of a Zoom as Baby Driver is the most exhausting thrill ride since Mad Max: Fury Road because one it puts the pedal to the metal, it doesn't take its foot off the gas.

Born out of a music video he directed for Mint Royale and the idea of setting a car chase to the tune of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's song Bellbottoms, this is Wright's love letter to the classic car chase movies. Now we're talking about The Driver, Bullitt, French Connection, etc. NOT The Fast & The Furious franchise.

Wright's first film as sole writer/director is a "World's End" away from Spaced and the Three Colours Cornetto Trilogy. This is a much more American Hollywood style of filmmaking, albeit with some traditional Wright-esque flair when it comes to editing and use of music, with virtually every action sequence meticulously timed to the beat of the song. Think of Michael Mann directing Drive choreographed by Bob Fosse.

Following Scott Pilgrim where Wright worked with Captain America, Captain Marvel, Superman and a Punisher, here he continues to expand his superhero collection with Lex Luthor (Spacey), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and another Punisher (Jon Berthnal). I wonder if Dolph Lundgren will appear in his next film?

Performances are strong across the board with extra praise going to Ansel Elgort (NOT Angel Elsort as I am prone to typing) delivering a breakout, star making role as the getaway driver who just wants to get away, and Jon Hamm having a lot of fun getting to switch gears throughout the three acts.

A breath of fresh air in a multiplex full of sequels and remakes, fantastic reviews and strong word of mouth should drive audiences to the box office ensuring that nobody puts Baby Driver in the corner this summer.

5 stars

The Fault In Our Stars - review

Screenings of The Fault In Our Stars should come with a flood warning as I was nearly drowned by the sea of tears that were shed by the audience during the Cineworld Unlimited Preview that I watched.

I honestly haven't heard that much audible weeping in a cinema screen since the opening day of The Phantom Menace.

Based on the very popular book by John Green, I know because it came out during by sabbatical from the cinema spent at Waterstones, it tells the love story between Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) and Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort) who meet at a cancer support group.

It was once said "for never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo" but this pair of star-crossed lovers would give them a damn good run for their money. Not since Marley and Me has a movie set an audience up for a guaranteed teary ending to a story.

Scripted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the duo behind (500) Days Of Summer, this is Love Story written for the John Hughes generation.

Both lead characters say incredibly cool, witty things all the time, have an inherent sense of humour even in the face of death, have a buddy sidekick who dresses and acts like a young John Cusack/Anthony Michael Hall-type, talk about Peter Gabriel songs and bond over a book (an actual physical novel!), which prompts a "Make A Wish" adventure resulting in the number one example of the old adage "never meet your heroes".

With elements like that it quite easily could have become oh-so-achingly-hipster and twee but the performances and chemistry between Woodley and Elgort really helps to sell the dialogue and their relationship... once you get over the fact that only two months ago you were watching them as brother and sister in Divergent.

It is not all sweetness and light though as while it is ok for these characters to make (breaking) bad jokes about cancer there was one particular moment which stood out as completely unrealistic and in poor taste and that was the moment that Hazel kisses Gus for the first time... in the attic of Anne Frank's house! Followed by awkward crowd clapping and cheering?!

Or the what I think the unintentionally funny moment when the couple are about to have sex and Gus, who lost part of his leg to cancer, tells Hazel as she undresses him that "it ends just above the knee" *cue sniggering at the back*

However they are rare missteps in an otherwise smart, funny film that is full of life and knows that the Big L is more important than the Big C.

4 stars