EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE

Release Date: Malaysia (Netflix), 11 Oct 2019

Genre: Thriller / Crime

Running Length: 2:02

Cast: Aaron Paul, Matt Jones, Charles Baker

Director: Vince Gilligan
Screenplay: Vince Gilligan

EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE is strictly for the fans. 

Those who have not watched the series will hard it to follow. As a massive fan of Breaking Bad, I hyperventilated when Netflix dropped (out of the blue) a teaser trailer for this "Netflix event" two months ago. "It's REAL. It's FINALLY happening!" 

So is this movie any good?

"Bitch!" This film was a letdown. The plot is so thin, the filmmakers had to add in unnecessary flashbacks to stretch it into a feature-length film. And these flashbacks do not add anything to the character of Jesse Pinkman except as an excuse to showcase some familiar characters from the  Breaking Bad series.

Among all of these cameos, only one was memorable. When he showed up on screen, my eyes just lit up! He looked the same as he was in the series! I can't say the same for the other characters especially one of them who put on so much weight here. Eventhough his performance was on point, his appearance was such a distraction.    

Also, there were a a few decisions that Jesse made which was not believable. In an earlier scene, he couldn't carry out an obvious decision because he was broken and vulnerable but in a much later scene, he was cool as a Marlboro Man cowboy. Perhaps Vince Gilligan (the director and writer) wanted to convey the message that Jesse is finally comfortable in his own skin? I dunno. 

El Camino could have worked better as a one-hour epilogue episode. It's a decent closure to the character of Jesse Pinkman but a lackluster addition to the Breaking Bad universe.  

RATING: 5/10