On June 28th, the world was graced with a criminally underrated cinematic masterpiece named Baby Driver.
It's engaging, riveting and original. In the era of remakes and sequels, this movie clearly stands out from the crowd.
Hauling in a well-deserved $107 million domestically, it's sad to think that some movies earn that in just one weekend. Baby Driver deserves the world, so I am now tasked with writing this article in hopes that just one person decides to watch it. Here are just six reasons Baby Driver is the cinematic masterpiece of our time:
1. The introduction scene alone
The opening scene of Baby Driver plays no games. It's fast-paced, intense and sets up the journey you're about to take perfectly. It's what many superhero movies aspire to do.
2. The Soundtrack
Searching "songs featured in Baby Driver" on Google provides you a quick list of 30 songs you hear while watching the 1 hour, 53-minute movie. There is no denying that music plays a vital role. It works with the movie.
Actions are done on the beat, the lead character, Baby, specifically makes playlists that set the mood for his life at the moment. It's creative and unique, but it helps that the music is good. The diverse soundtrack easily rivals, if not exceeds, the soundtracks of more popular movies, like Guardians of the Galaxy.
3. Its self-awareness
The movie doesn't ever take itself too seriously. There are quirky moments that most action-packed mission movies would never do -- and it works. From restarting a mission because it doesn't fit with the music, morphing words from the movies into music and the gif provided, the movie has many humorous moments. This formula is balanced well, and it still puts you on the edge of your seat, move you and make you gasp.
4. The Cast
Look at the names! The cast is full of A-list actors. Their acting is so impeccable that you can remove them from their previous, more famous roles and invest in their character in this movie and that's quite a difficult task to pull off.
5. The writing
You can tell Baby Driver was carefully written, re-written and concisely edited. The writing is smart. Things throughout the entire movie come back and nothing seems insignificant in the film. It's eye-opening, emotional and impactful many times throughout the movie and watching it a second time only lets you catch more subtle clues dropped throughout the movie.
6. The unpredictable plot
Baby Driver does play into several tropes of the genre, but with a twist. While you can easily predict certain outcomes, you can't predict it all. From the beginning to the end, you are left with constant plot twists and shocking moments that seem to be wild and unpredictable -- but they aren't.
It's laid out throughout the movie, but you are stunned at who lives, who dies and who is in control of the story. Every time I thought I knew the outcome, Baby Driver proved yet again that I didn't.