El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Starring: Aaron Paul, Jonathan Banks, Matt Jones, Charles Baker, Todd Terry, Julie Pearl, Jesse Plemons, Tom Bower, Scott Shepherd, Robert Forster, Bryan Cranston, Krysten Ritter
Directed by: Vince Gilligan
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Action, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) flees from his captors and tries to decide where to go next.

Review:

Tim: I have to say, I'm pretty ecstatic that we got El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. "Breaking Bad" was one of my favorite series and one of the few shows that maintained a high level of quality from beginning to end, closing out strongly as well. Although I disliked "Better Call Saul" in the first season, the series continued to grow on me. So, at this point, I'm pretty well versed in Vince Gilligan's world. The idea of getting a "Breaking Bad" movie that focused on Jesse after the events of the series ended was more exciting than I can describe. There was a little bit of trepidation, too. You hoped the movie would be as good as the show.

Fortunately, El Camino is a win. It's a little hard to rate this, because it really feels like an extended episode of television. In this case, that's not a bad thing. You wanted this to feel like an extension of the beloved series and it accomplishes that. It might not quite be a great movie, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable one. I absolutely loved revisiting these characters after seven years. I had a great time watching this movie and it felt like an authentic expansion of the story.

While "Breaking Bad" was very much Bryan Cranston's series (and for good reason, because he was incredible as Walter White), you can't give Aaron Paul enough credit. What he did as Jesse was astounding. He was the perfect partner to Walter. Jesse emerged as a character you cared deeply about. He suffered so much throughout the series and Paul was fantastic in showing all that on his character's face. I was so glad Paul got a chance to play this character again. He understands him deeply and it was so fun to see him inhabit this character again.

I thought the story was so appropriate. It felt like what we'd expect Jesse's story to be. I loved that the film filled in the blanks of what Jesse did next. It was interesting because this movie takes a very television-focused approach. You have long shots, unexpected moments, things that you normally wouldn't find in a movie like this, but would appear normal in a television episode. It was the right call for Gilligan to treat this movie like he's done the series.

In addition to Paul, I was glad to see Cranston show up for a scene. It might not have been totally believable as fitting in as a flashback (Paul looks a lot different than he did several years ago), but it was fun to see. I loved seeing Jonathan Banks, Krysten Ritter, Matt Jones, and all the others. While this is very much Paul's show, the movie also serves as a final love letter to an incredible series.

This movie also has some terrific sequences and exciting moments. One of the highlights has to be the shootout scene (wait, what?) but there were humorous moments, unexpected ones, emotional ones. There's a lot in this little movie.

I'm a big fan of El Camino and I'm thankful to Vince Gilligan for returning to these characters again. It was wonderful to step back into this world for a little while. I don't know if this is the last time we see these characters (I assume so, but you never know these days), but it was a worthwhile trip. I heard critics say it wasn't necessary and that might be true. We might not have needed this movie- but I'm really glad we got it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: "Breaking Bad", "Better Call Saul", Need for Speed