Netflix’s El Camino delivers a belated epilogue to the series Breaking Bad, giving the show’s sidekick Jessie Pinkman a completed story arc.
With Walter White out of the picture, killed moments before the start of the film, Jesse’s life is thrust into the spotlight. Aaron Paul’s performance is devastating, capturing his character’s emptiness after being held in captivity by his drug trade enemies for so long. Scenes depicting everyday moments intercut with flashbacks of his imprisonment communicate the magnitude of his pain.
The supporting cast is great, too, with Jesse Plemmons, Charles Baker and Matt L. Jones bringing strong reprisals of their characters of Todd Alquist, Skinny Pete and Badger from the series.
The film features striking cinematography, framing scenes in sweeping wide shots in 4k definition. Varied, ambitious shots keep the film engaging; it’s obvious a lot of thought was put into the look of the movie.
Despite its visual appeal, El Camino suffers from extensive flashback sequences that kill the film’s momentum. It basically feels like a two-hour Breaking Bad episode, and it lulls at times, especially toward the middle of the film. Vince Gilligan, the film’s director and creator of Breaking Bad, seems not to have adjusted fully to the feature film format, treating the movie instead as a series installment.
Prior knowledge of the show is definitely needed to watch this film, as it picks up right where the series finale ended, and little time is spent on exposition. Several references to the series’ conclusion are made throughout, giving more context on the impact of the events of the finale on the film’s fictionalized version of Albuquerque.
There aren’t any revelations during the film’s 122-minute run that might upset fans of the show. It’s a very late epilogue to the series, giving Jessie a proper ending without altering with the plot of the show’s acclaimed finale. Even if not completely necessary, El Camino does no harm. It serves to give some closure to the show’s weathered sidekick and does so with all of Breaking Bad’s stylistic charm.
