It seems almost impossible in this day and age to leave a good story done and dusted. JK Rowling is still working away on Harry Potter in various forms, the Toy Story series has had yet another ending and even The Sopranos is getting an upcoming prequel movie. Breaking Bad however is an interesting one to return to as it had the most effective series finale imaginable. Its ending managed to fit perfectly with what came before while also pleasing its legion of fans.

El Camino takes place almost immediately after that finale with Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) having escaped from the neo-nazi thugs who imprisoned him. Immediately, the authorities are on Jesse’s trail as he turns to old friends Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) and Badger (Matt Jones) for help. Director (and former series show-runner) Vince Gilligan certainly recaptures the feel of the show with Jesse now to the forefront. After all this time, it is good to catch up with Jesse but it is difficult to see why we need to catch up with him at all.

The movie is essentially an extended episode as it takes its time tracing Jesse’s journey . There are also many cameos and callbacks to the show which begin to tire when you realise that there is very little plot happening here. This is noticeable when most of the dramatic weight takes place during copious use of flashbacks. There just seems to be no real reason for the film other than to provide a neat anecdote to the original saga.

Yet, it would be impossible to make a bad movie set in this universe. There are certainly highlights including a humorous interaction with a cantankerous ‘hoover’ salesmen and an Old West style stand-off. As well as the returning faces, the series’ signature use of time-lapse shots and that catchphrase both return. Paul is as good as ever and the off-kilter sense of humour is present and correct but there is just no urgency or heft to the story.

All in all, this does not feel like an essential addition to the show. While there are plenty of interesting moments, I found myself on too many occasions wondering why they bothered at all. This is something for the die-hard fans but ultimately feels unnecessary and even fails to add anything new to the ending of the series. Lets just hope that they leave it here and don’t get around to making Breaking Bad 2: Breaking Badder.

Disclaimer Notice: Any thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely my own. Any images (copyrighted or otherwise) have been used according to Creative Commons and if needed, have been referenced to the best of my knowledge.

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