Cult movie maven Edgar Wright‘s latest popcorn flick, “Baby Driver,” is out in theaters today, and already one major director has stepped forward to champion it: “Pacific Rim” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” auteur Guillermo Del Toro.
On Tuesday afternoon, Del Toro heaped praise upon “Baby Driver” in a series of swooning tweets, comparing the movie’s use of music during its elaborate car chase scenes to Gene Kelly’s dancing in “An American In Paris.” He also compared Wright to famed action and western movie director Walter Hill, whom Wright has mentioned was a major influence when making “Baby Driver.”
“The film is incredibly precise. Flawlessly executed to the smallest detail,” Del Toro gushed. “Breathtaking Russian arm shots, real-world car mount and foot chases executed with the vigour and bravado of a Gene Kelly musical. This is ‘An American In Paris’ on wheels and crack smoke.”
But Del Toro also noted that unlike previous films in Wright’s oeuvre like “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” which were built on ironic humor, “Baby Driver” is an earnest film that, beneath its gory gunfights and intense pursuits, “wears Edgar’s heart on its sleeve.”
And though he didn’t mention the film by name, Del Toro acknowledged Wright’s struggles with Marvel’s “Ant-Man” that led him to leave the project and considered “Baby Driver” a magnificent rebound effort.
“It moved me to see a fellow filmmaker come out of a debacle with a movie that declares his credo again,” he tweeted. “I hope & pray you go and see it on a big screen. I wish you all the joy I felt: I just saw a good pal get the gold. By God, go check it out.”
“Baby Driver” is in theaters now. Del Toro’s next film, “The Shape of Water,” hits theaters December 8. Read Del Toro’s full remarks in the tweets below.
13 Tweets on BABY DRIVER. 1: A long, long time ago (my generation’s youth) a maverick filmmaker named Walter Hill made two promises-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-One: he made a great action flick called THE DRIVER. Two: he promised us, in MEAN STREETS “A Rock N’Roll Fable”. Both movies gave our-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-generation a shot of adrenaline. Now, decades later, Edgar Wright fulfills both promises with the breathtaking BABY DRIVER. The key to-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-understanding it fully- at least for me- is in the fact that it is a fable, complete with its very own Disney prince and princess, but it-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-is also rock n’ roll. Meaning- the magic exists in a dirty, genre-tainted world. The film is incredibly precise. Flawlessly executed-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-to its smallest detail: breathtaking Russian arm shots, real-world car mount and foot chases executed with the vigour and bravado of a-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-Gene Kelly musical.This is An American In Paris on wheels and crack smoke. Its a movie in love with cinema- the high of cinema and motion-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
In love with color and light and lenses and film. But, unlike Edgar’s previous films (all of which I love) this stakes new, unironic-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-territory. This is earnest and unprotected . It wears Edgar’s heart on its sleeve. It’s a riff- a beautiful riff and in many ways-
– Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-send his career in a new direction. It shows us tricks and tunes he hadn’t played before. The cast is in a state of grace and so is the-
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
-entire crew. Imagine that as a carpenter you encounter a precious, precise, exquisite piece of cabinetry. This is how I feel. I’ve always-
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017
I hope & pray you go and see it on a big screen. I wish you all the joy I felt: I just saw a good pal get the gold. By God- go check it out
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 27, 2017