After Breaking Bad closed out its historic run, there was a collective exhale by fans the world over when it came to the fate of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Besides getting out of enslavement, barely, with his life, what happened next was largely left to fans’ collective conjecture. In this age of the proliferation of fan fiction, for many the ending of Breaking Bad was a gift for creative minds whose passion knows no bounds for “I am the one who knocks” and creator/writer/director Vince Gilligan’s world. In a shocking move, the world learned that Gilligan, Paul, and many of those fantastic actors from Breaking Bad had made a follow-up movie in the New Mexico desert that follows Pinkman after he made his escape in that now-iconic El Camino.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is out now on a terrific and snazzy Steelbook DVD/Blu-Ray combination package that is about a must-own for fans, new and old, as one can get.
The film itself is everything you would want from a Breaking Bad movie as it wholeheartedly embraces the tone, the tenor and the thrills that made that AMC broadcasted show such a legend. Many, including this writer, have called it one of the best shows ever made (along with its prequel series Better Call Saul). Without missing a beat, Gilligan and his gang of merry movie makers, have not only provided answers to a slew of post-Breaking Bad questions, but also delivered a film that stands all on its own as a wildly entertaining, thought provoking and emotively expressive narrative that is as rich as anything delivered during the show’s five season run.
After managing to somehow get out during that firefight that ensued during that explosive series finale of Breaking Bad, Pinkman escaped Jack and his gang (and the approaching police) and headed off into the sunset. Well, the dark, truthfully. That’s how El Camino commences. One guess where Jesse might turn after such a harrowing experience and escape. For those that know the show, where he went—in hindsight—was hardly a shot out of left field. It made perfect sense. But what Gilligan and his filmmaking team achieved so brilliantly is the complex emotional turmoil that is boiling over in Paul’s character. It is chronicled with such richness and such a trueness to the source material coupled with the hurricane of emotion delivered from the actor who gave Pinkman such an incredibly expressive character arc during the show’s run.
Many of those beloved actors who played such a vital role in making Breaking Bad what it was, return—including Jesse Plemons, Krysten Ritter, Charles Baker, Matt Jones with Robert Forster with Jonathan Banks, and Bryan Cranston. It was incredibly well-received upon its release earlier last year, including nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Television Movie.
What’s utterly fascinating about El Camino is that it answers a slew of questions, but it still doesn’t wrap up the Breaking Bad world in a big, tidy bow. That’s a good thing. After all, the Cranston and Paul starring juggernaut was nothing if not messy. The world of a man dying of cancer who gets into manufacturing meth to leave his family a nest egg long after he perishes is plagued with complicated issues that aren’t resolved with neatness. What Jesse experiences during his “final” two hours in the Breaking Bad universe is immensely beautiful and befits what Gilligan had delivered for years with his Emmy winning series that moved the television creative needle epically. It may seem odd to utilize the word “beautiful” to describe anything in Breaking Bad or El Camino—but it is apt. Anytime the world is enriched by a storytelling creator who works with such seismic strokes of genius, it is a gorgeous thing of the highest order.
When it comes to bonus features on the El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Blu-Ray and DVD Steelbook, fans—both new and longtime—are in for a treat.
One must start with Making El Camino, the stunning behind-the-scenes documentary that features never-before-seen interviews with key players from the cast and crew that not only illuminate the incredible effort that went into filming a follow-up to one of the most beloved television series of all time, but also sheds light on why we adore this entire world so much.
Remember Todd (Plemons) and his adoration of snow globes? Well, we get a new short film—Snow Globe: A Breaking Bad Short—as it finds Plemons’ character as he converses with Lydia, prior to the two of them meeting. Then, we get an unnerving look at his snow globes.
There are seven deleted and extended scenes that add up to about 17 minutes of new content that appreciators of Gilligan’s work will appreciate on a myriad of levels. There’s also a gag reel that is fantastic at its ability to cut through that tension.
Scene Studies with Vince Gilligan is a terrific featurette that finds the show’s creator and the man behind the movie, breaking down a few of the film’s most intense moments and gives us some exclusive insight into how they were created. In that vein, don’t miss Visual Effects Design Galleries that spotlights the production design of the show and the film.
There’s a couple of “commercials” that are included that are both such joys. Rocker Salvage Commercial—a “mock” advertisement for Big Joe’s baby and then there’s the Vamonos Pest Commercial. The latter looks at that fumigation company that was so integral to Walt (Cranston) and Jesse’s business.
When it comes to commentary tracks, there is not one, but two that are worthy of such an important slice of American television greatness. The first, Audio Commentary, features Gilligan and Paul waxing poetic about the making of, not only this film, but the Breaking Bad world. Hearing the creative mastermind behind one of the most ingenious works of television art that was ever endeavored is some of the best home video audio commentary I’ve ever experienced. Next up, the world of Breaking Bad and El Camino opens up enormously as Super Commentary! finds almost 50 of the actors and crew speaking to the making of the movie and the show. Take that every single audio commentary track ever recorded! F-I-F-T-Y artisans come together to add priceless insight, and in the process has this featurette serve as the most comprehensive look at the making-of an entertainment institution.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A