Baby Driver

The getaway driver for a bank-robbing gang (Ansel Elgort) wants out, especially after he meets a pretty waitress (Lily James)—but his boss (Kevin Spacey) doesn’t believe in early retirement. Writer-director Edgar Wright’s movie shifts gears as deftly as its hero—from rock ’n’ roll derby to profane comedy to goo-goo-eyes romance and back, and all set to a pounding soundtrack of the pop tunes streaming from Baby’s iPod. Wright glosses over some plot points in the interest of getting on with things, but the car chases are the point, and they’re terrific. This steering-wheel prodigy drives the way Gene Kelly used to dance—thrusting, twisting, lunging—and Wright and editors Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss assemble these roaring ballets accordingly. Not that it matters, but performances are good too. J.L.