EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VINCE GILLIGAN / STARRING: AARON PAUL, JONATHAN BANKS, MATT JONES, CHARLES BAKER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
After six years of wondering what happened to Jesse Pinkman (Paul), questions have been answered thanks to the release of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
Revisiting a TV show or a film franchise after a number of years passing by can be a huge risk towards the reputation. But when there’s a huge fan demand of wanting to see just a little bit more of the Breaking Bad cast – it was always going to tempt writer Vince Gilligan to discover new paths of what was a thrilling show. A lot was on the line when Netflix announced the fan’s dream of a Breaking Bad film less than a couple of months before the release.
The movie starts moments after the events of the final episode as a scarred and a soul destroyed Jesse is driving away from the compound where he spent many months cooking meth as a slave for a neo Nazis gang. Jesse drives away in a Chevrolet El Camino completely unspotted by the police who are heading straight to the scene of the crime. A crime scene where ‘the great Heisenberg’ also known as Walter White was found dead as Jesse hears the confirmation from a radio news report in the El Camino. This signaled the sequel fully focusing on Jesse’s next move.
The film’s is two hours and two minutes but it feels longer. Some parts feel slowly paced with that urge of wanting the film to get to the point. There are many flashbacks with some of the past and present characters including Jesse’s old drug crew of Badger and Skinny Pete, but the majority of the flashbacks belonged to a chubbier Todd Alquist, portrayed by Jesse Plemons – the one character you wouldn’t have thought would have so much airtime.
Somehow Todd had put on weight during Jesse’s imprisonment, losing all that weight before he was strangled to death at the end of the series. Incredible body shaping Mr Plemons! Some of these flashbacks fill you in on even the smallest of details that you would have forgotten from the TV series.
The one feeling you do get back is the love for Aaron Paul’s character. Despite the crimes and people Jesse has affected throughout the five seasons, all you want is what’s best for Walter White’s lab assistant. You just hope that Jesse will be given a second chance at life. A synopsis Gilligan did well to take advantage of from the TV series.
This is not one of Gilligan’s finest projects, but it brings closure to all the die-hard Breaking Bad fans. It could be that the road has come to an end, but there are one or two possible storylines that could be looked into if there was any urge to keep the franchise alive.
