Film Review: El Camino

Words: Gemma Finch

Tuesday 15 October 2019

reading time: min, words

Screen Review Film Netflix

Is the new Breaking Bad film a victim of its own success?

Director: Vince Gilligan

Starring: Aaron Paul, Jonathan Banks, Matt Jones

Running time: 122 mins

An extended epilogue, El Camino had, in theory, plenty of richly woven Breaking Bad content to draw upon and explore to make a compelling follow-up film that could match the dizzy heights of the original series. That is why the disappointment I felt while watching it sits so uncomfortably with me - in actuality, El Camino is a serviceable, yet wholly unessential addition to the exceptionally good Breaking Bad. It lacks the winning formula Vince Gilligan's series honed through five quality seasons, and does nothing new to make up for this. The surprise and anticipation fans had for the arrival of El Camino was never rewarded within its actual duration.

A healthier injection of humour could help El Camino become more endearing, and allow us to overlook the less than ground-breaking content

After much speculation, El Camino was confirmed, and fan's minds naturally turned to Bryan Cranston and whether he could reprise his role as Walter White in some capacity. Some even wondered whether El Camino could pave the way for another season later down the road. Wishful thinking aside, El Camino is ultimately a serviceable but meandering tie-up of the threads exclusively surrounding Jesse Pinkman as he makes his escape from the compound he was kept prisoner in at the end of Breaking Bad. It contains nothing that will truly excite fans, at least the most demanding ones, who will expect nothing less than the perfection which was so consistently delivered in Breaking Bad.

Some scenes seem overstretched, bordering on unnecessary, and do little to serve what fans may truly be looking for in a follow up. This makes the whole experience hollow, as Vince Gilligan is seemingly unwilling to bring too much more character insight to the table. A healthier injection of humour could help El Camino become more endearing, and allow us to overlook the less than ground-breaking content. The scenes that do contain humour however are up to the standard we would expect. A particular stand out scene for its humour, writing and overall Breaking Bad-ishness is the scene containing the late Robert Forster, who died the day the film was released.

El Camino doesn't tarnish Breaking Bad; it merely reminds us just how incredible it truly was.

Did you know? When Jesse opens the glove compartment in the car, we see a pack of Morley cigarettes. Morley was the brand the Cigarette-smoking man smoked in The X-Files, a show where Vince Gilligan contributed in writing and directing many times.

El Camino is available now on Netflix UK

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