After binge-watching all five unbelievable seasons of the Netflix original series “Breaking Bad,” I had high expectations for “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” a film continuation of “Breaking Bad.” Unfortunately, the movie is merely adequate and hardly reaches the bar set by the series.
“Breaking Bad” follows high school chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston. After receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, White resorts to cooking methamphetamine to support his family after his death. Luckily, his knowledge of chemistry makes him extremely successful.
Ex-student Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, is the main character in “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which picks up his adventure of outrunning the police after his split with White at the end of the “Breaking Bad” series.
Paul’s use of odd facial expressions, gestures and behaviors during the movie portray his mental instability well. Pinkman’s instability confused me but kept my attention.
The movie focuses on the events after Pinkman’s escape, which sadly leaves the audience with no information regarding the whereabouts of many of the main characters from “Breaking Bad.”
Unfortunately, most of the movie is overtaken by flashbacks from Pinkman’s time being forced to cook meth against his will by other drug lords. During his kidnapping, he was often tortured, including punishments like diff erent forms of physical abuse. Throughout the movie, he fixates on the trauma that he endured. Although some of the flashbacks are necessary for understanding the plot, most are unimportant to the film.
Besides the boring flashbacks, the plot is good but predictable, with few surprising events. The scene that stood out most to me was directly after Pinkman is liberated from the meth lab. His emotional distress is clear, as he is not accustomed to regular society after being isolated from his friends and the rest of the world for so long.
The movie is filmed in New Mexico, which has a mixture of landscapes, including mountains, lakes and beautiful desert scenery. Other parts of the movie are filmed in urban settings, providing a nice balance. The locations offer a welcome distraction from the slower parts of the movie.
“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” has a combination of intriguing storylines and dull aspects, which creates an average film. I would only suggest this movie for people who loved “Breaking Bad” because sadly, after the six year wait, it did not nearly live up to the hype.
Released November 2019. Digitized 2025.
