Baby Driver: Some Expert Driving to an Awesome Soundtrack

BABY DRIVER

DIRECTED BY: Edgar Wright

STARRING: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal

GENRE: Action Comedy

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States, United Kingdom

Baby is a young and partially hearing impaired getaway driver who can make any wild move while in motion with the right track playing. It’s a critical talent he needs to survive his indentured servitude to the crime boss, Doc, who values his role in his meticulously planned robberies. However, just when Baby thinks he is finally free and clear to have his own life with his new girlfriend, Deborah, Doc coerces him back for another job. Now saddled with a crew of thugs too violently unstable to keep to Doc’s plans, Baby finds himself and everything he cares for in terrible danger. To survive and escape the coming maelstrom, it will take all of Baby’s skill, wits and daring, but even on the best track, can he make it when life is forcing him to face the music?

Alright, Edgar Wright, what do you have for us this time? The newest film to add to his already impressive catalog, Wright introduces us to Baby Driver, where he sure as hell takes us for one wild ride. The main cast performs rather well, even while being supported by a less than stellar supporting cast. There is a nice balance between action and somewhat vulgar comedy, so neither genre actually surpasses the other. By far the best element is Wright’s usage of the score as a character development tool, everything syncs up perfectly and it is a highlight of the experience.

However, no matter how much we like Baby Driver, there is still a glaring flaw. Our biggest issue is the motivation for Baby and Deborah’s relationship. Sure they met a few times and went on a date, but was that nearly enough to turn into a less murderous Bonnie and Clyde? The relationship definitely receives the action movie treatment, as it doesn’t even feel like a satire. Wright, you excel at satire? What is going on?

PROS:

• Nice balance of comedy and action.
• Main cast performance.
• Use of score for character development.

CONS:

• Supporting cast performance.
• Baby and Deborah’s relationship.
• Lack of satire.

SCORE: 8 / 10

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The Fate of the Furious: Just Fun, Ridiculous, Bulls**t

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS

DIRECTED BY: F. Gary Gray

STARRING: Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron

GENRE: Action

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States

Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game-and the rest of the crew has been exonerated-the globetrotting team has found a semblance of a normal life. But when a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of crime he can’t seem to escape and a betrayal of those closest to him, they will face trials that will test them as never before. From the shores of Cuba and the streets of New York City to the icy plains off the arctic Barents Sea, the elite force will crisscross the globe to stop an anarchist from unleashing chaos on the world’s stage… and to bring home the man who made them a family.

Alright…let me take a deep breathe before I dive into this. The Fate of the Furious is exactly what you would expect from a Fast and the Furious franchise. The action is absolutely ridiculous, with plenty of moments that are over the top in that FnF style. This time though, the ensemble cast of The Fate of the Furious actually look like they are actually having fun. This was a major problem with the last few films in the franchise, as it just seems like each member of the cast was there just to earn the paycheck. But, as always, the soundtrack is just fantastic and upbeat. There is so much life in the music that it wraps of the film in a nice bow.

This needs to be a buddy-cop movie ASAP

However, The Fate of the Furious is exactly what you would expect from a gigantic, dumb, action movie. While the moments are epic and crazy on a scale that really shouldn’t be measured, most of those moments are complete bullshit. Let’s talk about the obvious one shown in the trailer, with Dwayne Johnson throwing the torpedo. Since they obviously couldn’t show the whole scene in the trailer, DJ is able to handle driving a large truck (with very little help from Tyreese) and scoop up the torpedo as it skids across the ice. He even throws it at the pursuing enemies, killing many in the process. That moment had almost our entire team yelling BULLSHIT in unison.

PROS:

• Plenty of dumb action.
• Entire cast chemistry.
• Sexy cars as always.
• Lit soundtrack.

CONS:

• Way too many bullshit moments.
• Storytelling.

SCORE: 6.0 / 10

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Life: What Could Happen If Life Was Found On Mars

LIFE

DIRECTED BY: Daniel Espinosa

STARRING: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, Olga Dihovichnaya

GENRE: Science Fiction, Horror

YEAR: 2017

COUNTRY: United States

Six astronauts aboard the space station study a sample collected from Mars that could provide evidence for extraterrestrial life on the Red Planet. The crew determines that the sample contains a large, single-celled organism – the first example of life beyond Earth. But..things aren’t always what they seem. As the crew begins to conduct research, and their methods end up having unintended consequences, the life form proves more intelligent than anyone ever expected.

It is about time we kicked off with this year’s star-studded space film. Unlike most of the films we review here, we actually have been anticipating Life for quite a while. The film graces audiences with a cast filled with A-list talent and it really does show, as the film gives almost each actor equal time to shine (except Reynolds, those bastards). The evolution of the alien is absolutely intriguing, as each time it devours and feeds it takes another step down the line and grows even more menacing. While it is hard to say what exactly Life accomplished, if anything it actually does showcase a quite realistic outcome of life on Mars.

Science in action.

As with most horror movies (generalizing, we know), the biggest is flaw is that there is very little character development for the characters as they flee for their lives. While Life could have easily worked well as a psychological horror, it almost feels like a futuristic slasher film. If you re-watch it, you can actually see most of the tropes. This is disappointing since with all of the talent behind Life, shouldn’t it be better? We aren’t saying it is necessarily bad, but science fiction films like Gravity and Intersteller have raised the bar a bit too high for Life.

PROS:

• Plenty of star power.
• Realistic outcome of life on other planets.
• Alien evolution.

CONS:

• Feels like a slasher film.
• Sloppy writing.
• Missed the mark.

SCORE: 6.5 / 10

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