“Baby Driver” doesn’t belong to a franchise. It’s probably not even starting one. There will almost certainly never be a sequel. What it is is the latest from Edgar Wright, and though the maker of “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End” doesn’t do the whole Cinematic Universe thing — the only thing those three films have in common is Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the presence of Cornetto ice cream — he is a kind of franchise unto himself.
In other words, you’re probably excited to see what on earth he’s cooked up for his first full-on action movie. The movie revolves around Baby (Ansel Elgort), a young getaway driver who’s spent years working off his debt to a kingpin known as Doc (Kevin Spacey). He wants out. He wants to run away with his new ladyfriend — a diner waitress named Debora (Lily James). Here’s what happens next:
He gets out, then they bring him back in
Having repaid his debt, Baby quits as Doc’s getaway driver. He decides to use his vehicular talents in a safer occupation: He becomes a pizza delivery boy. No sooner has he done that does Doc re-enter his life. Doc thinks of Baby as his lucky charm; he’s been the driver on his every robbery for years, and each one has gone swimmingly. Doc threatens that if Baby says no, bad things will come to Debora. And so Baby reluctantly, furiously says yes.
Baby makes a bad friend
Throughout the film, one of the only people who hates the quiet, unassuming, inarguably talented (and pretty lovable) Baby is Bats (Jamie Foxx). Bats just doesn’t like him. He’s also a loose cannon. After a meet-up with undercover cops goes awry — for one thing, they didn’t realize they were crooked undercover cops who they shouldn’t kill — a revved-up Bats forces Baby to take the team to the very diner at which Debora works. He almost kills Debora, but Baby stops him. Later, before a post office heist the next day, Baby tries to slip away in the middle of the night. Bats follows him, and makes sure he doesn’t leave. Baby is pissed.
Baby makes a break for it
During the post office heist, Baby manages to kill Bats in a cartoonishly gruesome way: seeing some poles sticking out of a trick parked in front of them, he speeds the car into the truck, impaling the poles in Bats’ face. This attracts the police, and Baby, along with fellow robbers (and marrieds) Buddy (Jon Hamm) and Darling (Eiza Gonzalez), make a break for it. There’s a shoot-out and Darling is killed. Baby makes an escape.
Baby makes another bad friend
Now Buddy is the one who hates Baby. He blames Baby for his wife’s death. The rest of the film finds Baby trying to elude a vengeful Buddy, who trails him back to Doc’s lair. Doc has a change of heart and tries to help Baby, but only winds up getting mowed over by Buddy’s car. Eventually Baby, now with Debora, battle Buddy in a parking lot. He finally manages to knock him off a ledge onto another car, killing him, and letting them go scot-free.
Or maybe not scot-free
As Baby and Debora drive off, leaving Atlanta for parts unknown, they realize they’re being pursued by cops. Baby is still a wanted man. Baby forces Debora to pull over, and he gives himself up. It’s here that what looks like a happy ending seems thwarted: Baby serves jail time. But Debora waits for him. After a few years, Baby and Debora are reunited and allowed to live the rest of their life doing whatevs.
