6.5/10. A fitting epilogue. El Camino will satisfy your love for Breaking Bad even if it might not be as exciting as the TV series that it’s based on.
When El Camino was first announced, I was very skeptical.
Already the news seemed like this was going to be another of those movies made by resurrecting a beloved franchise with the sole purpose of being an easy Netflix cash grab. Something that didn’t add anything meaningful to the original series and worse could potentially damage its legacy.
I mean, the ending of Breaking Bad was everything it needed to be.
Unlike other popular shows (Dexter, Game of Thrones), almost no one was complaining about how Breaking Bad ended or had burning questions that made the series feel unresolved.
So, the idea of making something that answered the question of what happened to Jesse Pinkman was almost not necessary. Would it be nice to know? Sure. Were we dying to know? Not really.
Thankfully after seeing El Camino, we were still happy to know what happened even if I can’t say it was as good as watching the TV series itself.
The best part about this telemovie sequel was how well everything felt and flowed seamlessly back into the original series. El Camino’s overall tone is exactly the same as Breaking Bad. It oozes a mixture of foreboding dread that quietly builds up to interesting dramatic boiling points that are interspersed with witty dialogue scenes between quirky characters.
That’s what we love about Breaking Bad and the same goes for El Camino.
It’s no surprise that this was written and directed by the creator Vince Gilligan but having finished the series back in 2013, we’re still glad he was able to seamlessly tap back into the same feel from the original.
And while we say this film could still work on its own, had you not known anything about the Breaking Bad universe, El Camino is really amplified by its connections back to the past. We really enjoyed the little side missions and flashbacks which tied back into the original because they weren’t just a glimpse back into the past but also had a purpose for why they were relevant to the present.
With such praises you’re probably wondering why the rating we’ve given seems so low but don’t be fooled, a 6.5 still means a good film.
What’s holding it back from being great is that the story feels repetitive at times and lacks exciting action climaxes. If you don’t want to read any spoilers skip to the end of this review but essentially El Camino is scenes of Jesse looking for money in different places before eventually driving off into the distance…once again.
We’re not saying these scenes weren’t interesting, because there were still some great moments of tension, but we were hoping for more. Maybe show us a Jesse Pinkman a couple of years down the track, whose past comes up to catch him, rather than literally documenting his escape within the next 24 hours.
Overall, as a Breaking Bad fan, El Camino did not disappoint and I’m happy with how everything ended even if I still have reservations about it. I’m just relieved that this wasn’t a dumb easy cash grab that didn’t add anything meaningful to the original series and for that, I have to give kudos to Vince Gilligan for.
Watch this if you loved Breaking Bad and let us know if it worked for you. See it.
Want to get in contact with us? Leave us a comment at the bottom or shoot us a message using the form below.
[contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form]