Short Summary is an original series in which I write brief reviews of movies, TV shows, video games, books, and more. Spoiler alert, just in case!

Shaun of the Dead. Hot Fuzz. The World’s End. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. And, almost, Ant-Man. Edgar Wright only has a handful of movies and TV episodes to his name. But the Cornetto Trilogy is one that even casual movie fans are familiar with, and Scott Pilgrim gained a cult following. Now Baby Driver is getting quite a bit of attention and with good reason.

I didn’t expect to like this movie. I love the Wright films that I previously mentioned, and his name alone should have drawn me to the theater on opening night. Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, and Jamie Foxx are all awesome. Driving movies are, at the very least, really good fun.

Yet I kind of wanted to avoid Baby Driver. I mean… the main character’s name is Baby. Now that I’ve seen the movie, I regret not seeing it during its opening weekend because it ended up being well worth watching.

The showing of Baby Driver that Kevin and I went to had optional closed captions, which I thought was interesting. Once we saw the movie, I understood why, and I won’t reveal the reasons here. I will say that Edgar Wright has always excelled at using music for comedic effect and just for his choreography in general. The soundtrack itself is amazing. However, unlike having popular songs simply for the sake of having popular songs in a movie, Baby Driver utilizes each song perfectly.

Edgar Wright has also had a knack for using other movies within his movies. I’m a sucker for characters that recite relevant movie quotes during normal conversations. I do that all the time!

The crime, action, and comedy elements of Baby Driver are fantastic, but amidst those elements is a love story. Baby and Debora themselves as well as the nature of their relationship can be equated to Neil and Eady from Heat, and I love that. There’s really no need to explain it or go into depth about it; their love happens quickly and easily, and it’s intense and passionate.

As one character says, though, “The moment you catch feelings is the moment you catch a bullet.” Baby and Debora are both put in danger when Baby’s life of crime overwhelms them and threatens to ruin everything. That’s when Baby Driver totally gets into gear. It exceeded my expectations and even subverted some as far as the narrative and characters go. This film surprised me in every good way possible. I can’t recommend it enough.