BABY DRIVER Blu-ray Review

BABY DRIVER (Blu-ray + Digital)

Release Date: October 10, 2017

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen

Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1

THE RATINGS

The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ½ ✰

Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

Special Features - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰

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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
"Don't feed me any more lines from Monsters, Inc. It pisses me off!"

Reviewed by Gavin King

In a year of cinema overstuffed (so far, at least) with big-budget trilogy continuations and largely uninspired plotlines, Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is a breath of fresh air, adding consistently hilarious yet smoothly thrilling substance to the table with appreciably stylish swiftness. Anyone who’s been following up on Edgar Wright’s portfolio knows that he’s made one hell of a lineup of fantastic movies like Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and his latest Baby Driver proves that fact beyond the shadow of a doubt. Wright doesn’t leave a single action-comedy hybrid bullet point unchecked, concocting a maniacally crazy yet agreeably realistic thriller that doesn’t hold back on the violence but does hold back on the all too worn out action-comedy clichés that unfortunately plague too many of today’s modern movies. It’s a purebred blast from start to finish, sure to put a grin on every moviegoer’s face while not skimping out on a nicely-flowing storyline.

Was he slow?

Baby (Ansel Elgort) is probably the best getaway driver Atlanta, Georgia can buy. Give him a task, preferably a crime-related one, and he’ll get it done, all with a little added pizzazz from one of his most important life facets – music. As a young boy, a car accident which killed both of his parents caused him to develop tinnitus; therefore, he uses his trusty iPod with earbuds to block out most of the ringing sound, as well as to aid him during his getaway driving tasks. He’s part of a gang involving leader Doc (Kevin Spacey) and his team including Buddy (Jon Hamm), his wife Darling (Eiza Gonzalez), and Bats (Jamie Foxx), in which Baby is their driver. One night after work, he meets the lovely Deborah (Lily James), a waitress at a local diner. They talk each other up and eventually fall in love as all good couples should. But Baby’s romantic status soon crosses over with his life of crime, which Doc and company aren’t very fond of. Now Baby needs to strike a balance between embracing the love of his life and not angering his crime crew, but it surely isn’t going to be pretty.

Music drives Baby Driver (pun intended). Not only does each number act as a scene enhancer to tap the audiences’ feet, but it’s also a vital part of the story that, better yet, doesn’t act as a lame plot device. Wright crafts each scene involving music in a way that progresses the core storyline forward, narratively and rhythmically. He gets things off to a wonderfully provocative start with the big opening heist scene, with the tune Bell Bottoms accompanying the heist-oriented action. Baby’s crew leaves the car, which leaves Baby to groove along with the peppy beat of the song in a ridiculously fun way. He plays an air guitar, mouths along the lyrics, and, most entertaining of all, runs his vehicle to the song’s tempo. He syncs his windshield wipers to the beat. He starts the car to the buildup of the song’s chorus. He drives the automobile in such a way that the creators of the song would be proud of. It’s the zenith of the irresistibly fun opening scene, the perfect way to kick off a movie of this style and yet further proof that Edgar Wright knows his stuff when crafting zany action/comedy.

Deborah.

Of course, the music is a lot more than just rhythmic accompaniment. It’s, as mentioned above, a core story stamp, probably its most important plot element when it comes to character development with Baby and the rest of the gang along for the heist. Baby’s life is, quite simply, dependent on music, not to just simply act as a shield for his accident-caused tinnitus but also as something of a sidekick of his in life’s moments, no matter how humdrum or impacting they may be. When Baby meets Deborah at the diner and quickly gains a love interest for the girl, he walks out in happiness as he plays the song B-A-B-Y. As Baby’s gang plans their time-consuming (at least to Baby, it is) heist at the post office towards the film’s big climax, the song Intermission plays on the car radio. See what Wright did there? He makes music choices that don’t just act as a compliment to the filmed action but also as incredibly brainy story conveniences. Thought-provoking, yet truly satisfying in every way.

The film’s technical aspects are more than up to the challenge of supporting a wonderfully drawn-out narrative. Everyone here gives a memorable performance across the board. Ansel Elgort is great here as Baby, giving that iconic rhythmic jive that the film’s character personality makes so well of him. The rest of the crew does a wonderfully eccentric job, too – Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Eiza Gonzalez, and especially Lily James as Baby’s new love interest, Deborah – but the true credit here goes to Kevin Spacey as gang leader Doc. You know what’s funny? Seeing him transport from such lackluster garbage like the cat-tastrophe that was Nine Lives to an amazing thriller-comedy like this. Spacey’s performance as Doc absolutely destroys and scoffs away his embarrassment on the cat feature, with his portrayal here portending excellent seriousness and comedy to most each of his lines.

BABY DRIVER Blu-ray - Video Quality

Baby Driver hits the road on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer that is neither great nor terrible. The combination of 35mm film and sleek digital is a little inconsistent. Some shots appear better than others; a handful look well-detailed and finely colored, while others look fairly soft and drained of real saturation or nuance. Detailing doesn’t bring much new to the format, but it gets the job done. It picks up the standardized Blu-ray-friendly details – facial wrinkles and pores, mild fabrics on clothing… but so do each and every one of Blu-ray’s newest shiny releases, and this one doesn’t necessarily raise the bar to high grounds. Coloring is, again, fine, picking up bold hues on Baby’s red car, purple LED glasses, dingier shades in the garage, among a couple other standouts. The image’s most attractive facet is its light, but noticeable (at least to eagle-eyed viewers) film grain. But don’t confuse it with some obtrusive noise, which makes its occasion shown at a number of ventures. There’s also a light pink-purple push to some of the shots in the film. On the good side, no noticeable banding or aliasing or other compression bugaboos were shown. This is by no means a bad transfer, but it’s a far cry from the format’s most impressive, especially for a Sony release.

BABY DRIVER Blu-ray - Audio Quality

Baby Driver’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack satisfies baseline requirements. Music enjoys its fair share of well-prioritized stage presence, by no means jaw-dropping in terms of surround wrap or bass accompaniment but still delivering a well-rounded listen when it comes to the film’s iconic tunes, whether Hocus Pocus or Brighton Rock. Action moments give the system an appropriate weight, with good, solid bass giving ample power to gun blasts in mass shootouts and a nice decency in surround entertainment, especially when paired with certain songs. Car revs and pulses are accessibly potent in bass and intensity. Ambient noise protrudes solid envelopment, whether light city din or reverb in the garage. Dialogue is consistently clear and well-developed in the front-center positioning. It’s not necessarily the audio onslaught fans are hoping for, but it’s still a decent listen. For true reference-quality push, check out the UHD’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack.

BABY DRIVER Blu-ray - Special Features

Director Commentary With Edgar Wright.

Commentary with Edgar Wright and Bill Pope

Extended & Deleted Scenes Include the following: First Heist, Kitchen Dance, Questions, Laundromat, Pizza!, Bacchanalia, Gas Station, Cops and Robbers, Foot Chase, Killer Track, and Behind Bars.

Behind The Scenes A handful of featurettes:

- That’s My Baby: Edgar Wright Director Edgar Wright talks about his passion for the project, and the cast and crew sing their praises about him.
- Mozart in a Go-Kart: Ansel Drives Ansel Elgort (Baby) learns some stylish driving lessons necessary for the film’s rhythmic action scenes.
- I Need a Killer Track: The Music A discussion of the film’s titular soundtrack and the big role it plays in the story.
- Meet Your New Crew: Doc’s Gang A closer look at the gang Baby works for filled with cast interviews.
- Find Something Funky on There: The Choreography How did the filmmakers match the onscreen action with the fun soundtrack so well?
- Devil Behind The Wheel: Car Chases “We had to close 4 major highways and 40 major roads.” That pretty much sums it all up.

Selected Scene Animatics A number of pre-visualization sketches used as rough drafts for certain scenes. Includes the following: First Heist Original, First Heist Pre-Shoot, Killer Track Original, Killer Track Pre-Shoot, Masked Raiders, Farmer's Market Live Action, Farmer's Market Animated, and Foot Chase.

Rehearsals & Pre-Production Auditions and rehearsal footage. Includes the following: Ansel Elgort Audition, Annotated Coffee Run Rehearsal, and Hair, Make Up & Costumes Test.

Mint Royale “Blue Song” Music Video A music video made by Edgar Wright and his pals back in 2003.

Complete Storyboard Gallery Composed of four parts.

Promos and More Trailers among other promotional fluff. Includes the following: Theatrical Trailer, International Trailer, Tekillya Trailer, Chase Me -- Danger Mouse Featuring Run the Jewels & Big Boi, Mike Relm 'Baby Driver' Remix, Mozart in a Go-Kart, Chase Me, Beyond, Skill, Head West, Finest Thugs, Beat, OK Go, Innocent Male, Three Things, Finally, Stories, and Stories Extended.

Previews for other Sony pictures.

BABY DRIVER Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation

Baby Driver is one of the most fun-to-watch flicks of the year so far. Whether complimenting its slick script, snappy cast performances, subtle yet well-integrated comedy, and incredibly pinpoint direction from master-of-his-kind Edgar Wright, the film never fails to impress and entertain, making it impossible to leave the theater without a smile on the face. Sony’s Blu-ray video quality is a tad inconsistent, but far from awful. The audio is fine (though missing the UHD’s Atmos track) and the supplements are very plentiful in quantity. Though I personally prefer the UHD release over this regular Blu-ray, this iteration of Baby Driver still comes highly recommended.


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