Please note: While I have made a genuine effort to avoid any spoilers in this write up.. it could still happen - so if you want to go into this movie blind, you better skip this
El Camino is a follow-up to one of my favorite television shows of all time; Breaking Bad. It focuses on what happened to Jesse Pinkman at the conclusion of the series (which by the way, i think is one of best endings to a series that any TV show has ever done) because there were a lot of unanswered questions. The fans spoke and the producers listened.
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Rather than simply focus on only what Jesse does after he escapes the meth compound - I kind of enjoy the way that this movie jumps back and forth to scenes that are meant to have happened while he was still involved in the meth game, even during times that he was happily involved in it. I don't know if the scenes were unused stock from Breaking Bad or if they filmed all the flashback scenes anew. Either way they took great care to ensure continuity.
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Jesse Plemons (who i really like and think is a fantastic actor) was a little problematic in the flashbacks since he is noticeably a LOT fatter than he was in Breaking Bad
I found the scenes between Jesse (Aaron Paul) and Todd (aforementioned fatty - Jesse Plemons) to be particularly good because Todd (who the El Camino actually belongs to) always seemed to me to be a decent guy who while dedicated to the criminal enterprise, had a lot of empathy towards Jesse and his captive situation - particularly in the last season of Breaking Bad.
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El Camnio sees many of the old characters return for this film and all of them were done extremely well. For me I was surprised at the stand-out performance by Charles Baker and Matt Jones (Jesse's meth-addled idiot friends - on each side of the above picture) because I found them annoying in the series, but they both did an excellent job in the small roles they have in El Camino
From the Netflix official channel
I think it is relatively important that anyone watching this be a fan of Breaking Bad and have watched at least most of the episodes to truly appreciate this film. However, if you are one of the few people that never watched Breaking Bad I actually envy you because IMO that is one of the most perfect TV shows that has ever been made and you should start there.
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On tragic side-note: Robert Forster has a minor role in this production and is spectacular in it. It would unfortunately be the last role he would ever play because he died the day the movie was released.
This 2-hour film starts epic and stays that way throughout the entire runtime. I honestly can find no fault in this film whatsoever which is remarkable considering that its total budget was just over $6 million and it was shot over the course of 60 days.
It is rare that I watch a film intently on my sofa as there are far too many distractions in my living room. However, during El Camino I didn't pick up my phone once and even didn't notice my dog whining at my feet because she wanted to get on the sofa (I let her up eventually despite the fact that she is more than capable of accomplishing this feat on her own.)
There is only one bad aspect of this film: When it is finished, you want more...
Therefore I award El Camino the highest level honor that exists in my personal scale
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I hate to admit this, but I’ve never seen a single episode of breaking bad. I really want to but I haven’t begun to watch them yet. On the other hand I can state that I hate when a series that is so powerful, moving and enjoyable, just plain on ends. You have to like a good spin off, or follow up series that takes you in a new direction. Just reading this post now confirms that I should get off my lazy horse and watch breaking bad. Maybe I need to call off work for a few days and just binge watch! LOL. Probably not a good idea :-/
Breaking Bad is one of the most binge-worthy shows ever made. The way they end each episode is a blessing and a curse that forces you to stay up for "just one more." You are in for a treat pal if you ever get around to it.
The Breaking bad universe never died, there is a great spin-off series called Better Call Saul. It is the backstory of one popular lawyer in Breaking bad and it is from the same creators. In fact, the new season was delayed for next year because they were involved making El Camino movie.
Oh wow. I guess I’m going to be busy watching this winter! Thanks for the additional information.
Thanks for share review
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This movie was a great closure for Jesse’s story, I really enjoyed it despite the fact it was slow, or at least I felt like it was slower than the series.
I think this character had a really tragic storyline and it is good to finally see some well deserved peace in Jesse’s life.
Looking forward to the new season of Better call Saul to continue enjoying the great work from Gilligan.
yeah, i was way behind on Better Call Saul and then binge watched an the entire latest season in 2 sittings. I wouldn't have minded if they had made El Camino a series also but that might have been overkill.
I really enjoyed this movie, but I may have missed something that I'm still thinking about even a few days after watching it. How did Jesse escape with the car? Did I doze off for that part, was it in Breaking Bad and I can't remember, or was it intentionally left out? I have no clue. It would be be funny if I fell asleep for the that part - movies tend to cause that for me.
hesitant to post that because of spoilers. But i am sure you can find that out easily enough :)
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Man, I have heard such different opinions on this film. I've seen lots of people absolutely loving it, and lots of other people saying they thought it was a cash grab film that can't stand on its own feet. I definitely need to strip down, bust out a whiteclaw or two with some KY jelly and just take in this movie, apparently.
i don't think it can stand on its own. I think that without prior knowledge of all of Breaking Bad you would be really confused in this one.
Yeah, I'm not shocked to hear that. I've heard people say it's kind of just like a send off goodbye for beloved characters that is feel good. Which there isn't anything wrong with. But, I dunno if that'd really make me pop a fat boner.
Maybe after the people who run my apartment complex stop raw dogging my asshole I'll have some time to sit down and watch it and maybe review it myself. Hopefully this weekend if things don't suddenly get worse. Whoopeeeee.
Breaking Bad was awesome and I only just found out abut this today.., being on Netflix even better.., does that exist there?
it is on Netflix.
I enjoyed it too. I was always hoping there would be more. I enjoyed how the film flowed. I thought it was well done.
My wife and I haven't gotten around to watching Breaking Bad yet. It is definitely on our list, but we just have so many other things going on it gets hard. We just started watching a new show on Fox called Prodigal Son that is kind of interesting. We are also still trying to get through Sneaky Pete on Amazon and Jack Ryan season 2 starts in about a month. It feels like a never ending game of "catch up"!