6 years after the reign of Heisenberg was thought to be over, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan returns to the crumbling meth empire Walter White left in his wake in the form of a feature length film centering on his accomplice Jesse Pinkman. And even though Breaking Bad is one of my favorite series of all time, I admittedly didn't really care all that much what happened to Jesse after the finale. He killed Todd and escaped, who cares? He could be driving anywhere in the El Camino, he's free now! Why mess with it? Aside from Better Call Saul, I didn't really see any reason Vince Gilligan would return to the series for any kind of revival but here we are. And he's earned my blind loyalty at this point, so I was ready for whatever he had cooked up.
But unfortunately, it's not a whole lot more than some fan service packaged in a feel good epilogue for anyone who thought Jesse was destined for the same fate as Walter. It's definitely fun to revisit the universe Gilligan created and have Aaron Paul serving as your tour guide in a remarkable performance that absolutely buoys the film. But outside of some fun flashbacks and re-familiarizing yourself with the show's trademark look and sound, it doesn't quite do enough to stand on it's own merits.
El Camino reminds me a lot of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me in that way - it feels more like a chance for the cast and crew to revisit the show that meant so much to them while giving some clarity for the fans curious about some of the show's loose ends. But there aren't really that many loose ends left, just the details of Jesse's immediate escape. Which is definitely not it's own self contained story and for that reason, I really can't see anyone who isn't a fan of the show enjoying it much at all.
But for what it's worth, Gilligan does a brilliant job of picking up right where the finale left off. It feels exactly like a string of Breaking Bad episodes stitched together for one big final send off. But without the episodic breaks and cold opens the show perfected so brilliantly, it does seem to lose a little of the building suspense that the show nailed so masterfully. And while I don't think there needed to be any CGI de-aging effects applied, some of the "flashbacks" could have used a little more attention to detail in making the characters look a little more like they did when the show was on the air. The biggest instance of this being Jesse Plemons who has maybe the largest amount of screen time of any of the former cast members outside of Aaron Paul. The issue being that Plemons seems to have gained a good 30 pounds or so since he was in the show. I don't mean to body shame anybody but come on, dude went from looking like Rounders Matt Damon to The Informant Matt Damon.
And while most of the flashbacks serve as little more than fan service, the film definitely helps to build out Pinkman's character even further and Aaron Paul plays the role brilliantly. It's a harmless 2 hours of bonus material for fans of the series, even if it's not entirely crucial viewing. It definitely removes any ambiguity to Pinkman's plea to embark on a life after Walt, even if it's not all that necessary.
