But for Gilligan to pick up where he left off six years after crafting a roundly satisfying conclusion to an all time great suggested that there was something special in the works.īeyond surface thrills, El Camino seems largely to exist to show us, by contrasting past and present, how much the protagonist has changed how he is no longer the traumatised wreck or the cocky idiot exasperating his mentor. From anyone else, a film of El Camino’s quality would be an unquestionable triumph. It’s never less than extremely entertaining but it’s rarely much more than that either. The present-day scenes of Jesse’s attempts to steal Todd’s money and the multiple Mexican standoffs that follow as interfering cops turn out to be far from on the side of the angels are gripping and thrilling, demonstrating again Gilligan’s skill with twists and tightening the screws to make everything one step worse for his characters. Excellent housekeeper”), but never, given how much screen time they take up, providing much that’s new or suspenseful. His and Paul’s scenes are classic Breaking Bad alternatingly creepy and darkly hilarious (“Nice lady. But to be fair, Vince Gilligan’s body of work is a pretty damn good reason to let expectations soar. Maybe, then, the tinge of disappointment is due to unrealistic expectations. And that seems to explain the short lead-in to release, because the only thing El Camino could ever really have been was an addendum.Īs it stands, the film is an enjoyable epilogue, but only essential if you really needed to know how Jesse got away. Breaking Bad in its entirety was such a complete work that it would have taken some kind of giant twist or genuinely new perspective to make this addendum a truly crucial part of the tapestry. That Badger and Skinny Pete were more than just a pair of bumbling sidekicks. That Walt’s influence would linger like a cancer. That Todd was beyond deserving of his fate. That Jesse is wounded but ultimately a capable survivor. There are obstacles and flashbacks along the way, all of which are entertaining, but the conclusion is a foregone one with precious little to surprise us (unless you thought for a second Bryan Cranston wasn’t going to turn up, which, come on).Ĭoming out of the film, it’s hard to parse what we’ve learned that we didn’t know already. Part of this is due to the fact that you can’t achieve in two hours what you can in 10, but beyond that if you had asked anyone, at the end of Breaking Bad, to pitch what they thought Jesse’s logical next steps would be, most probably concluded that he would scrape some money together before going to Ed the disappearer and starting a new life. Yet the film doesn’t hit home with the same power as the best of Breaking Bad. It makes for a curious viewing experience whose event status is not entirely justified by its content yes, it’s great to see Jesse again, yes Aaron Paul gives another Emmy worthy performance, and yes there is a certain giddiness to being back in the throes of a story we all thought was over. Picking up exactly where Breaking Bad left off, El Camino often feels somewhere between an extended episode and a collection of deleted scenes, albeit constructed around the glaring absence (until a third act flashback) of Walter White. It complements what came before without being beholden to it. However it’s hard not to reach the end without wondering whether it was entirely necessary.īetter Call Saul justifies its own existence by telling an inverse story to its predecessor, turning the comic relief of Breaking Bad into a tragic figure and surrounded him with compelling new characters. That’s not to say El Camino is disappointing it looks stunning, the performances are fantastic, and it’s frequently nail-biting.
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