Because AMC’s crown jewel Breaking Bad wrapped up quite neatly in 2013, it was a surprise to many that El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie was slated to release on Netflix a full six years later. Of course, any apprehension die-hard fans might’ve felt were likely quelled some by the return of creator and director Vince Gilligan and fan favorite Aaron Paul as Jesse.
That said, a made-for-streaming movie that acts as a latter-day epilogue to what many call one of the greatest television shows of all time is a premise that’s almost a perfect set up for a hit-or-miss scenario.
In her review, Mashable’s Angie Han explained that “the best reason to watch El Camino is that it’s simply fun to be back in this world again” and that the film lacks essential elements when it comes to the broader narrative arc of the Breaking Bad universe.
The rest of the reviews are in… and they’re split between two camps: does El Camino hold its own? Or, is it just an unnecessary continuation of the shows final episode, “Felina”?
El Camino is worth the watch as it adds to Breaking Bad
Judy Berman, TIME
It’s to the credit of Gilligan, who wrote and directed the film, that it feels like a continuation of Breaking Bad without also feeling like merely an extra-long TV episode. It’s a true movie, with the taut pacing, satisfying conclusion and grand visual scale that distinction implies. The big screen does justice to the same detailed sound design and nimble camera work—replete with destabilizing effects such as scenes that open from bizarre vantage points or follow heretofore unknown characters—that made for one of the most cinematic series in the history of television… Even if you have a Netflix subscription, this harsh splendor is worth the price of a movie ticket.
Shirley Li, The Atlantic
Is it worth continuing a story that already had such a definitive ending?
The answer, as it turns out: absolutely. El Camino, out today, lives up to Breaking Bad’s legacy of propulsive storytelling. The film is a visceral, ruminative, and emotionally satisfying epilogue in which the broken Jesse reconciles with his past and searches for the hope and humanity he’d lost—or, rather, been denied by Walt.
David Griffin, IGN
It appears that the what-happened-to-Jesse scenario is a creative itch Breaking Bad creator and El Camino writer-director Vince Gilligan had to scratch… And we’re sure glad he did.
The film is a skillfully written thriller centering on Jesse’s narrative shortly after he escapes from the Neo-Nazis’ meth facility… El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie gives Jesse Pinkman the swan song he deserves, with a compelling two-hour story that brings us back into the high-stakes world of drugs and thrilling shootouts.
Aaron Paul’s reprisal of his career-making role, Jesse Pinkman, “carries” El Camino
Shirley Li, The Atlantic
The film, for all its guest stars, relies on Paul to carry it—and the actor proves himself more than up to the challenge. He vibrates with intensity, a frayed nerve conveying Jesse’s trauma in practically every scene.
Judy Berman, TIME
Fully re-inhabiting a role he hadn’t played for years, he endows Jesse with the same mix of (waning) goofiness and (escalating) existential terror that propelled him through the finale. Yet the movie, which contains as many nail-biting moments as the show used to spread over a full season, gives him something new to be: an action hero—albeit a uniquely conflicted, exhausted and in many ways broken one.
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter
El Camino is a high-quality piece of suspense and action filmmaking carried by Paul’s still-tremendous performance as Jesse Pinkman.
But, the film might’ve benefitted more from a flash-forward into a more distant future
James Poniewozik, The New York Times
But that’s why I wonder if a more interesting film would have picked up with Jesse in Alaska. That story might have avoided being a “Breaking Bad” cover band by jumping ahead and changing up its rhythms, much as “Better Call Saul” found new moral angles on its subject by delving into the past. Instead, “El Camino” has more in common with the narco-drama half of “Saul,” which hunts the “Breaking Bad” desert to unearth origin stories and hide Easter eggs.
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter
I’d suggest that maybe revisiting the character a year or two (or six) further along might have been a better approach. Not “What happened to Jesse immediately?” but “What happened to Jesse eventually?” That’s not this. This is a simulacrum of past momentum and the tiniest of slaps in the face to viewers who thought the second half of that final season was exactly the end Gilligan wanted only to be told, “Fooled you! Here’s a post-script.”
Matt Goldberg, Collider
If El Camino were recut, you could easily see the film just becoming a few more episodes that weren’t included in the final season because they would seriously slow the momentum. The problem is that even as a movie, El Camino doesn’t provide the depth and texture of Breaking Bad… It’s not as sublime as the acclaimed show, and it was never going to recapture what made Breaking Bad special without the Walter White of it all, but El Camino doesn’t diminish the towering legacy of Gilligan’s series. Instead, it’s a neat addendum that could have gone a bit further in exploring Jesse’s character…
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is now available to stream on Netflix.