El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Review – An Emotional Extension of Jesse Pinkman’s Character!

A companion piece and a sequel to one of the greatest shows ever made in television history – Breaking Bad, El Camino stars Aaron Paul in the lead role with a variety of characters from the show reprising their roles in limited amounts. Vince Gilligan – the creator of Breaking Bad, handled the directorial duties for the film and also served as the screenwriter for this 122-minute neo-western crime drama.

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The plot of El Camino kicks off right where the show ended with Jesse Pinkman flooding the crime scene in a hurry. With the entire local police department determined to capture Jesse alive, he contacts a few of his old buddies for help and tries to depart from the city unnoticed.

Put together from an effortless narrative which involves Jesse trying to travel from point A to point B, the entire tone and vibe of El Camino felt unhurried and meaningful. The storyline primarily focuses on Jesse’s character, the PTSD and the mental torture he’s suffering from being isolated and locked in a cage for the majority of the last season. Also, the entire film beautifully captures the relationships he developed with a few characters and ties together or concludes the rivalries he had in Breaking Bad. Altogether, the entire movie felt like an emotional send off to the character we all know and love.

Furthermore, El Camino stays true to Jesse Pinkman’s character, facing the misfortune of his lifetime, he never transforms into an evil-doer, and the small anecdotes spread throughout the runtime showcase his brick character marvelously. On the other hand, going into this film, if you’re expecting giant action set-pieces and a major storyline comprising with twist and turns, then you might be disappointed with the end result. Cause it is a very simple-yet-straightforward drama which ends on a promising note.

Without giving away any spoilers, several characters from the Breaking Bad appear in brief cameos in El Camino as it felt like a good trip down memory lane. And the only performance which overcasts the entire film is from Aaron Paul. He does a fantastic job reprising his role of Jesse and displays everything from fear, emotion and desire in his eyes and his body language. Watching him go through a range of emotions was most definitely appealing and did not feel tedious at any moment.

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Overall, El Camino is a nice little extension of the series finale of Breaking Bad and doesn’t alter or further any significant plot points. It is refreshing to see the altercations after the death of Walter White, the continuation of Jesse’s character and a few characters from the show. Watch it with very minimal expectations as this film succeeds in putting a smile on your face by the very end.

Rating – 3.5/5 | Grade- B+

Images via Netflix