A film’s verisimilitude depends highly on the image system its makers set up. Break the carefully constructed illusion of truth, and viewers lose interest. As over-the-top as their respective universes may be, movies need to feel believable within their construct. Auteur Edgar Wright’s (”The World’s End,” 2013) action thriller “Baby Driver,” fortunately, knows precisely what kind of movie it is, and commits to the bit all the way. In the film, Baby (Ansel Elgort; “The Divergent Series: Insurgent,” 2015) is a reluctant getaway driver whose only friend on the Long and Winding Road is his music. He may want out, but there are way too many mad men around him who’d want nothing more than to put Baby in a corner.

Effortlessly shifting gears between frenetic and free-flowing, Wright brings together an exciting action-comedy through an intricately choreographed musical. The narrative draws viewers into the mindset of its eponymous protagonist, who finds a rhythm in everything he interacts with—in this case, the world of high-stakes robbery. An excellent one-take scene set to the eclectic grooves of Bob and Earl’s “Harlem Shuffle” fits perfectly with its image system, and the preceding action set piece it effortlessly aims to build.

Game, set, match; it’s time to rock ‘n’ roll—both literally and metaphorically. Every action set piece in “Baby Driver” is “Neat Neat Neat”; every explosion, impact, and gunfire is in perfect tandem with Baby’s playlist. Life from his perspective is an every-flavored larger-than-life music video—and if you’ve done your little jig whilst imagining yourself in one every time you’ve donned those headphones and hit play, you will relate.

This plot device could have worked by sheer virtue of its cool factor alone, but there’s a real reason Baby likes wrapping himself up in his own playlist, both in text and subtext. The music drowning out the piercing buzz of his tinnitus serves as a vital character detail that pays off satisfyingly in the final act. That’s only part of the puzzle, though; music was his escape from the many unpleasant noises he had strived to drown out from way back as a kid in a tempestuous, abusive household. Understandably, this exercise is now a part of his life, entrenched deep within his bloodstream, never to get out.

Considering his external circumstances, it works. Baby’s is an accidental life of crime—one that involves the many frightening noises of sirens, guns blazing, and car crashes. Concentration is of utmost importance in his line of work, and he has that figured out just fine. The well-oiled cogs of the machinery of which he’s but only a part include the mastermind (Kevin Spacey; Netflix series “House of Cards,” 2013-present), the glib-talker (Jon Hamm; “Million Dollar Arm,” 2014), his girl, and the self-certified maniac (Jamie Foxx; “Django Unchained,” 2012).

And while they’re all excellent, it is Elgort who takes both the cake and the whole bakery. His performance in “Baby Driver” boasts nuance and restraint. Paired up with Elgort is your conventional love interest, Deborah (Lily James). She may not have much to do, but there is a subtlety to their whirlwind campy romance that is surprisingly commendable.

“Baby Driver” has everything you need in your Friendly Neighborhood Action Thriller—it’s got heists, chases, girls, and guns—except delivered with the kind of verve you’d expect only from a director like Edgar Wright. It’s a tour de force in mainstream action filmmaking, and the perfect marriage of action-comedy and musical. Bolstered by electrifying set pieces, a breakneck pace, and towering performances, it’s an achievement in visual filmmaking that rightfully earns it the due it deserves.