This Stylish 2017 Racing Flick Included a Pair of MCU Stars (2024)

Baby Driver

This Stylish 2017 Racing Flick Included a Pair of MCU Stars (1)

By Jalyn Smoot

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This Stylish 2017 Racing Flick Included a Pair of MCU Stars (2)

Featuring high-stakes heists and road-burning racing scenes, the 2017 action flick Baby Driver is a heart-thumping tale of a getaway driver's attempt to retire from a life of crime. Written by Edgar Wright, the directorial mind behind the cult classic film Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Baby Driver was an unexpected box office hit. Produced on a $34 million budget, the high-octane flick grossed $227 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful heist movies of the 2010s. Despite its modest budget, Baby Driver boasted a star-studded cast, including a pair of MCU stars.

Despite being released during a blockbuster-filled year, Baby Driver performed admirably at the box office. The racing flick's $227 million worldwide gross ranked in the Top 50 films released in 2017, earning more than John Wick: Chapter 2, Power Rangers, and Pitch Perfect 3. Baby Driver premiered at the South by Southwest festival on March 11, 2017, followed by releases in North America and the United Kingdom on June 28 and was an instant hit. The film boasts an impressive 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes and is widely regarded as one of the best heist movies in recent memory.

Baby Driver Delivers a Heart-Racing Classic

A thrilling story of a getaway driver's attempt to retire his life of crime, Baby Driver chronicles a hearing-impaired orphan, "Baby," as he looks to clean his life up. Written by Scott Pilgrim vs. The World director Edgar Wright, Baby Driver was a box office hit and featured an ensemble cast of John Hamm, Kevin Spacey, and MCU stars Jamie Foxx and Jon Bernthal. While most movies rely on dialogue to convey a message, Baby Driver creatively blended visual and musical elements to carry the plot. When reading the script, through the first four pages of the screenplay (written by Edgar Wright), there is no spoken dialogue from any characters. Instead, the audience is introduced to Baby and his world through music playlists he's curated. Without a single line of dialogue, the six-minute opening sequence highlights Baby's rare skill, as he executes an array of high-risk driving maneuvers to navigate a crew of bandits through the busy streets of Atlanta and away from police in pursuit.

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In this same sequence, visual elements reveal the contrast between Baby and the cold-hearted bank robbers he partners with. While Baby has a youthful, playful nature — evidenced by his dancing and air drumming the steering wheel during the heist — his peers are much more stoic, often adorned in black clothing. Later, it is revealed that Baby is part of a bank-robbing gang organized by "Doc," where Baby is constantly the black sheep. Though Doc stated that he never uses the exact same crew twice, some of the rotating members of his nefarious gang include Bonnie and Clyde-esque crime couple "Buddy" (John Hamm) and "Darling" (Eliza Gonzalez), "Griff" (Jon Bernthal), and "Bats" (Jamie Foxx). Unlike the others, Baby has been a part of each heist, as Doc considers the skilled driver "his lucky charm."

Brought in as a teenager to pay off the debt of stealing Doc's priceless Mercedes, the amiable driver Baby is only a few heists shy of settling up with his boss when the film begins. With each passing mission, Baby realizes that the crime-ridden world he was immersed in has little room for an artist and seeks a way out. His desire to retire from his heist-heavy lifestyle is amplified by a young woman, Debora, Baby's love interest, who causes the introverted driver to crave companionship. However, leaving a life of crime is easier said than done, and the story chronicles Baby's hectic journey to escape his past.

MCU Stars Jon Bernthal and Jamie Foxx Shine In Supporting Roles

Baby Driver's heart-thumping plot was elevated by gritty performances by a pair of MCU stars, Jamie Foxx and Jon Bernthal. Foxx, who famously played Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, once again assumed the role of a villain in Baby Driver. This time, Foxx was cast as a trigger-happy bank robber named "Bats" who distrusted Baby due to his seeming disinterest in crime and violence.

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Bernthal, known for his role as Frank Castle in Marvel Studios' The Punisher, also played a character that tested the soft-spoken driver Baby. "Griff," played by Bernthal, only appeared in the film's first heist but made his presence felt. Leery of Baby's introverted tendencies and constant need for music, Griff questions if Baby is mentally challenged. When Doc defends him, Griff angrily informs Baby that he isn't built for a life of crime.

"I think he thinks he’s better than us, Buddy," Griff said, snatching off Baby's shades in the process. "Wants to keep his white shirt clean while we plays dirty. It don’t work like that. Someday you’ll get blood on your hands and find out it don’t wash off in the f***ing sink."

Later in the movie, Bats tries to learn more about the reserved driver. Like Griff, Bats seems bothered by Baby's habit of listening to music, especially during heists. Bats even states that he once had someone bail on a heist because a song he deemed "a hex" played before they entered the bank. Lastly, he tells Baby that he doesn't need music to drive and just needs to put his foot on the gas. Once more, Doc defends Baby, stating that he was in a car accident during his youth that caused an ongoing hum in his ear that he likes to drown out with music. Though Griff and Bats taunted Baby differently, each character helped drive his decision to retire from criminal activity, reminding him that he isn't like his violent peers.

Baby Realizes The Only Way Out Is Through

In the film's final act, Baby and the rest of the crew find themselves in hot water. Aiming to pull off their biggest score yet, the bank-robbing bandits plan to steal a vault full of gold at a post office located in downtown Atlanta. Problem is, Baby is greeted by a kind-hearted post office clerk, whom he met earlier in the movie, and warns her against entering the building. Just as she approaches an officer, suspecting that Baby may be in danger, Bats, Buddy, and Darling return with the gold, ready to make a speedy escape. Without hesitation, Bats fatally shoots the officer approaching the getaway vehicle, displeasing Baby, a pacifist driver who is visibly shaken by the loss of life throughout the movie. Distraught by Bats' latest murder, Baby refuses to drive the robbers away. Bats then holds him at gunpoint, claiming that he has a few seconds to drive or be shot.

As alarms blare, and Buddy, Darling, and Bats plead with him to drive, Baby puts the car in drive and floors the gas, crashing into a construction truck parked in front of him. The crash kills Bats, who was pierced by a metal pole sticking out of the bed of the truck. Stunned by Baby's actions, Buddy begins attacking him for blowing the heist but is forced to flee as police officers swarm the area. A few scenes later, after splitting up from Buddy and Darling and being chased through the mall, Baby once again runs into the criminally-crazed couple in the mall parking lot. Darling throws the stolen gold into his car and demands that he drive them away since "this is all his fault." Before the trio can make a grand escape, Darling is fatally shot in a standoff with the police, causing Buddy to turn on Baby.

While Buddy engaged in a shootout with the police, Baby flees to go pick up Debora. Once together, Baby drives them to Doc's hideout to request his help. Doc is reluctant to assist, but eventually grants Baby "enough money to get across the border" and says "the rest will be up to [Baby]." Just as Baby and Debora prepare to hit the road, Buddy returns in a stolen police truck, angered by the loss of Darling and seeking revenge against Baby. Wright once again uses musical and visual elements to propel the story, as Buddy returns playing Baby's "killer track" — Brighton Rock by Queen — which Baby told Buddy he plays during high-speed chases. Doc then opens fire on Buddy's truck to defend Baby but is fatally run over by a police truck.

2:42

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This led to the film's crescendo, a standoff between Baby and Buddy. Ironically, the two ex-bank robbers seemed like the least likely to wage war with each other. Earlier in the film, Buddy showed interest in Baby's music obsession and shared a few songs he likes to play when cruising in a car. Plus, after a successful heist in the opening scene, Buddy tells Doc that he'll "return when the nose bag runs low" and jokingly tells Baby "Next time Doc calls, don't pick up." It's almost as if Buddy knew that Baby wasn't built for a life of crime and wanted to steer him in a different direction. Alas, after a failed heist turned the day on its head, Buddy was now embodying the danger he wanted Baby to avoid. After a thrilling car chase through a parking garage, Baby and Debora prevail unharmed, as Buddy plummeted to his death after Baby caused him to lose his balance. With each member of his former bank-robbing crew now dead, Baby and Debora hit the road once more, looking to drive away from all their troubles.

Unfortunately, the next day, the couple reaches a police barricade on the highway. Just as Debora looked to throw the car in reverse and find an escape route, Baby pulled the keys from the ignition, tossed it over the bypass, and told Debora that he was turning himself in. Unwilling to let her get swept in crime's storm the way he did, he also tells her to blame everything on him to clear her name. While many audience members would've been pleased to see the couple hit the road and never look back, Wright's ending was an honest reminder that, even though his intentions were pure, Baby would have to face the music for his actions.

Ultimately, Baby is sentenced to 25 years in prison, with a parole hearing scheduled after five years served. This sets up an Inception-style ending, as a vision of Baby being released on good behavior after five years to an awaiting Debora is shown. Whether or not the final scene, where Debora and Baby reunite, is a future scene or Baby's imagination is unknown. Either way, his lengthy sentence effectively ended his life of crime, which is what he'd been striving for throughout the movie.

This Stylish 2017 Racing Flick Included a Pair of MCU Stars (6)
Baby Driver

R

Action

Comedy

Crime

A young getaway driver known as Baby uses his exceptional driving skills and personal playlist to pull off heists for a crime boss. Seeking a way out of his life of crime, Baby meets the girl of his dreams and plans to leave his dangerous world behind. However, when a final job goes awry, Baby must use all his talents to survive and protect those he loves.

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Director
Edgar Wright

Release Date
June 28, 2017
Cast
Jamie Foxx , Jon Hamm , Jon Bernthal , Ansel Elgort , Lily James , Eiza Gonzalez , Kevin Spacey

Writers
Edgar Wright

Runtime
113 minutes

Main Genre
Action

Budget
$34 million

Studio(s)
Sony

Distributor(s)
Sony
  • Movies
  • Baby Driver
  • jon bernthal

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This Stylish 2017 Racing Flick Included a Pair of MCU Stars (2024)

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