The original Breaking Bad TV series had a certain appeal to it. I think it was a combination of a lot of things that made me fall in love with two crazy meth cooks some 6 years ago: The amazing plot, the pacing and tension, the perfect cinematography, the powerful acting, the list goes on. As for El Camino, I think that Vince Gilligan and Netflix hit the nail on the head.
There was no driving event to the plot, no crazy twist that happens at the beginning of the movie to motivate Jesse’s next actions. This is perfect because one wasn’t necessary. The end of Breaking Bad was poetic, and tied up all of it’s loose ends- except Jesse. Anything that needed to motivate him- to fuel some intense plot- had already occurred in the past. Which is why at the beginning of the movie, he is driving away from a meth lab in a stolen El Camino, ducking to avoid the cops who are on their way to find Jesse’s partner, along with several others, dead. It is also why, at the end of the movie, he is a new man- Mr. Driscoll- ready to start life again in Alaska.
The movie, for being two plus hours (as most movies are these days), certainly went by quickly. This is good, because it meant I was captivated by the story, but of course bad because I never really wanted it to end. The way events in the present were often preceded by flashbacks from the past really added an intensity to each moment, while also paying homage to the original series. While there was no big climactic event, each separate scene had its own climax- each one built up to perfectly. Most notable is the wild-west-style duel in the warehouse. That moment was so beautifully set up, and I was shaking in my seat waiting to see what was going to happen.
The cinematography in Breaking Bad has always been masterful. Hell, one episode was told almost exclusively from the perspective of a fly (one of my favorite episodes, really). El Camino was just as good with it’s visuals. So many scenes were really amplified by the use of camera focus and angle. 
Fresh on my mind is the shot of the card at the very end, where the camera focuses in to confirm what we all suspected: that letter was for his parents. Another great example is when he is hiding behind the mattresses in his previous captor’s home, hiding from who he thinks are cops. The way the camera zooms in through the dark to focus on Jesse there with his gun (right) amplifies the intensity of the scene.
Acting was something I was confident this movie would do well, since many characters had been in the original series. Even with that being said, I feel Aaron Paul’s performance deserves special attention. He always played Jesse so well, but it was different in this movie. More like a traumatized version of Jesse that he had to pull off; a test rat just let out of its cage. I think he portrayed it perfectly. More than reading the emotions on his face, I could feel them inside of me, somewhere deep in my gut.
Certainly a success for El Camino; everything I wanted it to be and more. A worthy sequel to the amazing work that is Breaking Bad. If you missed it this weekend, don’t worry! El Camino is also on Netflix for anyone to watch!
