Genre: Action/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Aaron Paul, Jesse Plemmons, Jonathan Banks, Matt Jones, Charles Baker, Bryan Cranston, Krysten Ritter, Robert Forster
Description: We follow Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) after the events captured in the finale of “Breaking Bad”. Jesse is now on the run as a massive police manhunt for him is in operation.
Review: The story of Walter White has ended, but that of “Breaking Bad” hasn’t. At least, the story of the nice science teacher growing out to become a relentless drug lord, but the story of Jesse Pinkman is still unfinished. Walter White would have never walked the path if he didn’t coincidentally walk into his former student Jesse. He was Walter’s ‘lab partner’ and entrance to the drug world. Where, in five seasons, Jesse was either Walter’s friend or enemy. Walter’s downfall to the drug underworld was always a nice contrast to Jesse’s developments from macho loser to a young man that wasn’t very profound but became more aware of ambition, guilt and responsibility. And his status as a character is big, since he is the only character next to Walter White to appear on each episode of “Breaking Bad”. And he even wasn’t supposed to survive the first season initially.
In the last few episodes of the series, Jesse was imprisoned by some drug producing neo-Nazis. His role was even a little passive, that a suicide mission by Walter was necessary to get him out. “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” is a sequel of sorts, with the goal to let Jesse take matters in his own hands. At the end of “Breaking Bad” it looked like he was driving into a hopeful future, but “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” shows us everything is a little more complicated. With the complete police force of Albuquerque looking for him, he is all on his own. Everything he has learned in the five seasons of the show, he has to use in his advantage. And he has to fight for his freedom.
If you haven’t seen “Breaking Bad” it’s a tough watch, because you are missing a lot of information that you need to see this film. See the series first, before watching this movie. But the film is especially well focused. Don’t expect some kind of ‘farewell tour’ of all the well-known locations and faces that we knew from the show. It’s a two-hour epilogue that give all the events from the series extra weight. Some of the characters make and appearance (both in the current story as in flashbacks), but not only to please fans. The have a purpose in Jesse’s story. Every conversation with friend or enemy is about who Jesse is, was and will become.
This all means that they are fully leaning on Aaron Paul’s acting. Even though Paul won three Emmy Awards for his role as Jesse Pinkman, it was mostly because of the interaction he had with Bryan Cranston’s Walter White. And he is not present in this story. But this gives Paul more room to create a character outside the shadow of Walter White. And when they return to events that happened on the show (flashbacks), it’s immediately clear that it’s past Jesse, because of his attitude. So I can conclude that Aaron Paul can easily carry this film, he does a fantastic job.
“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” is written and directed by Vince Gilligan, who was also one of the forces behind “Breaking Bad”. His directing is great, but it’s especially his writing that deserves praise. Instead of uninspiringly mixing up some old “Breaking Bad” elements just to please fans, he tells a character driven story that goes forward from were the story left us at the end of the final season. It’s a small scaled story, but Gilligan manages to get everything out of it. Every time Jesse gets a step closer to escaping Albuquerque, a new obstacle pops up.
I was skeptical about “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie”, because I thought it was made as pure fan service. But it’s definitely more than that and a really good movie. You should watch the series first, before checking this out. It is necessary to understand the character.
Rating: 4,5/ 5
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