‘Baby Driver’ pulses with beat that is irresistible

The opening of “Baby Driver” delivers an action sequence that is straight out of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. It’s a frenetic sprint through the streets with editing as finely tuned as a Koenigsegg engine. That kind of car nerdiness is not needed to appreciate the flick; it can also be enjoyed as a comedy, a heist thriller, a musical, or an old-fashioned romance, as it adds all to its mix, with electrifying results.

The titular hero, Baby (played by Ansel Elgort) is a quirky, stoic young man who happens to be an ace behind the wheel. He’s indebted to an Atlanta crime head (played by Kevin Spacey) because, as a youth, Baby trashed his car carrying a stash of illegal merchandise. Baby has been providing the getaway wheels for various robberies in the area until the cash is earned back.

This brings the good-natured, mild-mannered Baby into the company of some of the area’s seediest criminals on a regular basis, but he silently sticks to the script, keeping his focus on the financial finish line, so he can finally walk away from the life and start fresh on a life of legitimacy. Included in that life would be a sweet local waitress, Debora (played by Lily James), who catches Baby’s eye ... and heart.

But anyone familiar with these types of film knows there is no such thing as “one last job,” and Baby finds himself putting the keys in the ignition for a job with three hair-trigger thieves, including Buddy (played by Jon Hamm), his girlfriend-in-crime Darling (played by Eliza Gonzalez) and Bats (played by Jamie Foxx). Bats, in particular, grows increasingly suspicious of Baby’s motives and decides to make it his mission to push Baby’s buttons until the young man breaks.

It sounds like a rather dark tale, which could have been the case were it directed by someone other than Edgar Wright. Wright has created some of the most entertainingly unique genre comedies in ages with “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz,” and “The World’s End.” But his musically energetic turn in “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is perhaps this film’s closest cellular relative.

Wright pumps in tunes through almost the entire film, resulting in about a dozen mixtapes of classics, from Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to Beck to Simon & Garfunkel. Music is, pardon the pun, the driving force here, as Baby’s childhood accident has left him with tinnitus, which he combats by constantly piping tunes through his earbuds. His music becomes ours as well, as Wright uses the rhythm to edit his film.

From the chase sequences to the shoot-outs, almost every major scene in “Baby Driver” pulses along with a beat that is irresistible. And while it may not be a musical in the traditional sense, there is a timing within “Baby Driver” that marks some of the tightest cinematic song-and-dance numbers.