Baby Driver UHD Review

4.5 Stars Non-stop adrenaline rush

Edgar Wright’s pet project, Baby Driver, slams its foot down on the accelerator pedal from the opening logos and doesn’t let up until the end credits roll, all the while perfectly choreographed with its musical track. It is a wild ride for the eyes and ears.

Baby Driver (2017)
Released: 28 Jun 2017
Rated: R
Runtime: 112 min
Director: Edgar Wright
Genre: Action, Crime, Music
Cast: Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eiza González
Writer(s): Edgar Wright
Plot: After being coerced into working for a crime boss, a young getaway driver finds himself taking part in a heist doomed to fail.
IMDB rating: 8.0
MetaScore: 86

Disc Information
Studio: Sony
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 2160p HEVC w/HDR
Aspect Ratio: 2.39.1
Audio: Dolby Atmos, English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, English DVS 2.0, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD, Other
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Other
Rating: R
Run Time: 1 Hr. 52 Min.
Package Includes: UHD, Blu-ray, Digital Copy, UltraViolet
Case Type: 2-disc UHD keepcase with slipcover
Disc Type: UHD
Region: All
Release Date: 10/10/2017
MSRP: $45.99

The Production: 4.5/5

Baby (Ansel Elgort) is paying off a debt owed to Doc (Kevin Spacey) as a get-away driver for his high-profile heists throughout Atlanta. Baby is a highly talented driver, able to elude police with ease by timing the get-away scenarios to music on his iPod. But his deaf foster father, Joseph (CJ Jones) doesn’t approve, preferring that he use his driving talents to deliver pizza. Baby thinks he has only one job left, so when he meets Debora (Lily James), a waitress at the local diner who is also a music trivia expert like himself, he dreams of leaving the world of crime behind him and drive west with her. Of course, that is not to be, as Doc gently threatens Baby to come back and earn the big bucks so he can continue to wine and dine Debora after pulling off a robbery of the Atlanta Post Office with Buddy (Jon Hamm), his girlfriend Darling (Elza Gonzalez), and sociopath Bats (Jamie Foxx).

The opening sequence, a bank heist involving Buddy, Darling, and Griff (Jon Bernthal) followed by a car chase along the city streets and highways of downtown Atlanta, is perfectly constructed and choreographed to Bellbottoms by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and continues with an amusing title sequence set to Harlem Shuffle by Bob & Earl as Baby is sent to get coffee for the team. Writer-director Edgar Wright doesn’t let his foot off of the gas pedal for the nearly two-hour running time, all the while keeping actors moves and even gun shots to the beat of the music. Ansel Elgort is completely in tune with his character of Baby (pun intended), understanding how music plays such an important role in the young man’s life. Elgort and Lily James have a definite chemistry that sells their romance. Kevin Spacey walks a thin line between playing the main villain of the piece and actually caring about Baby, providing some of the funniest gags in the film. Baby Driver is a film where everything and everyone works splendidly together (the cast, direction, script, score, cinematography, editing, etc.), making it one of the best films of the year and definitely Edgar Wright’s best film to date.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

Baby Driver was filmed primarily in Super 35mm and completed as a 2K digital intermediate with Dolby Vision HDR. Sony’s 2160p transfer used on this disc, however, uses HDR10. For most 4K adopters at this stage, that is not exactly a deal breaker, since there are more HDR10 displays and players in the field than those that support Dolby Vision. The result is a much more detailed and vibrant picture than what is found on the included 1080p Blu-ray (which appeared overly bright and somewhat washed out, to me). Blacks are deep and very inky while retaining a great deal of shadow detail, especially during the shootout with the Butcher. Colors are more natural, allowing the viewer to see the minor differences in reds between the three cars that fake out the police during the opening chase sequence. This is a really stunning transfer.

Audio: 5/5

Once again, Sony has short changed purchasers of the Blu-ray edition by only providing them with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, yet giving the UHD version a demo-worthy Dolby Atmos mix that will rock the house. This is a very immersive track, with sounds coming at the listener from all angles with excellent fidelity. The simulated tinnitus is much more apparent (or was it my actual ears that were ringing?) in this mix during quieter passages, while LFE gives not only gunshots and car engines extra emphasis, it also provides a much deeper end for many of the musical tracks used. Dialogue remains clear and understandable throughout without being overpowered by music or effects.

Special Features: 4.5/5

All of the extras can be found on the included Blu-ray edition. I really wish Sony would be more consistent with including at the very least the commentary tracks on the UHD disc.

Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Edgar Wright: Wright talks almost non-stop in this first of two commentary tracks, dealing more with the 20-year history of writing the film, the research involved, the casting, having to deal with the vocabulary differences between British and American English, etc.

Audio Commentary with Edgar Wright and Director of Photography Bill Pope: This is, quite obviously, the more technical commentary track, considering it includes cinematographer Bill Pope.

Extended and Deleted Scenes (1080p; 20:28): Viewable individually or as a whole, First Heist, Kitchen Dance, Questions, Laundromat, Pizza!, Bacchanalia, Gas Station, Cops & Robbers, Foot Chase, Killer Track, and Behind Bars.

Behind the Scenes (1080p; 45:15): A look at the making of the film, divided into six parts that can be viewed as a whole or each part individually; That’s My Baby: Edgar Wright, Mozart in a Go-Kart: Ansel Drives, I Need a Killer Track: The Music, Meet Your New Crew: Doc’s Gang, Find Something Funky on There: The Choreography, and Devil Behind the Wheel: The Car Chases.

Selected Scene Animatics (1080p; 35:42): Eight animatics are included, viewable individually or as a whole; 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 (1080p; 17:03): Three segments, playable as a whole or individually; Ansel Elgort Audition, Annotated Coffee Run Rehearsal, and Hair, Make Up & Costume Tests.

Mint Royale – “Blue Song” Music Video (1080p; 4:15): Edgar Wright directed this music video in 2003, and would incorporate much of the style into Baby Driver years later.

Complete Storyboard Gallery (1080p): A four-part slideshow of storyboards from the film.

Promos and More (1080p; 21:10): Viewable as a whole or individually; Theatrical Trailer, International Trailer, Tekillya Trailer, “Chase Me” Music Video – 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.

Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy. Redeeming on SonyPictures.com will give you access to UHD streaming versions on Sony’s ULTRA 4K service and on Vudu. You mileage may vary if redeemed on other providers such as Movies Anywhere and directly on Vudu.

Overall: 4.5/5

I’ve been a fan of many of Edgar Wright’s movies, including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but Baby Driver just may be his best film to date. The UHD is, hands down, a huge step above and beyond the 1080p Blu-ray in both picture and sound.

Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.

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Robert Crawford

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Watched this for 'free' on Netflix today. Good soundtrack, terrible film. Added to my long list of once only films. Glad I didn't have to buy a disc to see it.
I wouldn't think it's your kind of film. I've watched it 3 times so obviously I like the film quite a lot.
 

Keith Cobby

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True, but the benefit of streaming is that you no longer need to buy a disc to see a film. If I had liked the film I would have bought the 4k. I also streamed Green Book recently which I had previously missed. Really enjoyed the film but again don't feel the need to buy the disc. Just shows how streaming is changing behaviour amongst the disc buying community!
 

Robert Crawford

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True, but the benefit of streaming is that you no longer need to buy a disc to see a film. If I had liked the film I would have bought the 4k. I also streamed Green Book recently which I had previously missed. Really enjoyed the film but again don't feel the need to buy the disc. Just shows how streaming is changing behaviour amongst the disc buying community!
I'm not arguing your point about streaming. I actually watched this movie during its theatrical run then bought the 4K disc because I enjoy the film.
 
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