Ansel Elgort impresses in new film Baby Driver

CERT 15, 113 MINUTES, OPENS 28 JUNE

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Eiza González Director: Edgar Wright

THE PLOT Back in 2011, Drive was the movie that tipped Ryan Gosling from admired young actor to hot star du jour, playing the world’s most talented getaway driver. Now, Ansel Elgort, the fresh-faced 23-year-old graduate of The Fault In Our Stars and the Divergent franchise, gets an equivalent opportunity considerably earlier in his career playing Baby, a demon behind the wheels who has long been working off his debt to criminal mastermind Doc (Spacey). But with the contract nearly fulfilled, his stint as Doc’s getaway driver of choice is soon set to end – just as Baby is making a connection with diner waitress Debora

(Cinderella’s Lily James). Her ambition: let’s head west in a car we can’t afford with a plan we don’t have, keep driving and never stop. You in? WHAT’S RIGHT WITH IT? Shaun Of The

Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright has been adrift in the movie wilderness lately, disappointing with the third instalment of his so-called Cornetto trilogy (The World’s End), and dropping out of Ant-man shortly before the shoot was set to occur. Now he bounces back triumphantly with a superbly confident crime actioner, stirring in youthful romance, largerthan-life supporting characters and a whole lot of crazy driving. At the centre of it all is Baby, an orphaned car-crash victim who drowns out his tinnitus with the MP3 player that’s constantly in his ears – music isn’t just layered over the film to amplify the action, it’s the beating heart of every living, breathing moment. It’s the magic ingredient that simultaneously frees Baby’s mind and gives him pinpoint control behind the wheel. WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT? The criminals Baby is tasked to drive – including Jamie Foxx as a psychopathic character called Bats, presumably short for Batshit Crazy – entertain more than they convince.

VERDICT In a summer already weighed down with its fair share of bloated blockbusters, Baby

Driver is a giddily enjoyable blast of fresh air.