Baby Driver

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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Yes, it’s about a driver named Baby. And the body count is … well, hard to keep count of.

Not surprisingly, this zoom-zoom bang-bang movie is titled “Baby Driver.”

Ansel Elgort (you saw him in the “Divergent” films) plays the teenage wheelman who gets coerced into working for Doc (Kevin Spacey), a stony-faced crook who masterminds robberies with a motley crew comprised of Buddy (John Hamm), Darling (Eiza González), and Bats (Jamie Foxx). The robbers quarrel about their nicknames, shoot lots of cops, run over each other with cars.

Baby has a bad case of tinnitus, which he blocks by listening to loud music. Despite his ear buds, we get to hear some of the hard-rocking soundtrack. The drumbeats often coincide with onscreen shots and explosions.

Baby has flashbacks about the childhood trauma that left him screwed up. But Debora (Lily James), a waitress at the diner where Baby’s mom used to work, helps him deal with these unhappy memories.

Baby drives the getaway car as Doc’s baddies rob banks, armored cars, and post office, and the dead bodies continue to mount up. These non-stop car chases will keep you gripping the seat in front of you like white knuckles on a steering wheel.

“Baby Driver” is burning rubber and spitting bullets this week at Tropic Cinema.

This action comedy is directed by Edgar Wright, the Brit who gave us “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End.” He also co-wrote the screenplay for Marvel’s “Ant-Man.”

Surprising that the English director would set his hot car movie in Atlanta, Georgia. But that’s “Smokey and the Bandit” territory, come to think of it.

Wright conceived the idea for “Baby Driver” back in 1994. His 2003 music video for Mint Royale’s “Blue Song” was a rehearsal, in that it featured a music-loving getaway driver working with a group of bank robbers.

Willie Sutton was once asked why he robbed banks. He reportedly said, “Because that’s where the money is.”

Sutton later denied ever saying it, correcting the record: “Why did I rob banks? Because I enjoyed it.”

So why do we go to the movies? That’s where the action is. Well, that and because we enjoy it.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com