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El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

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El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Promotional poster
Directed byVince Gilligan
Screenplay byVince Gilligan
Produced by
StarringAaron Paul
CinematographyMarshall Adams
Edited bySkip Macdonald
Music byDave Porter
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Netflix
    (Theatrically and digitally)
  • AMC
    (Television)
Release date
  • October 11, 2019 (2019-10-11)
Running time
122 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget>$6 million[2]

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (or simply El Camino) is a 2019 American neo-western crime drama film that serves as a continuation of the television series Breaking Bad. Series creator Vince Gilligan acts as screenwriter, producer and director of the film, with Aaron Paul reprising his role as Jesse Pinkman. The plot follows what happens to Pinkman following the events of the show's series finale.

A Breaking Bad feature film was rumored ever since the series' finale in 2013. Gilligan approached Paul with the idea in 2017, near the tenth anniversary of Breaking Bad, and filming began in secret in New Mexico in November 2018, lasting nearly 60 days. The project remained unconfirmed until August 2019, when Netflix released a trailer.

The film was released digitally on Netflix, as well as limited theatrically, on October 11, 2019, with television broadcast at a later date on AMC. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised Paul's performance and noted it as closure for fans of the series.[3]

Plot

In flashback, Jesse and Mike discuss their departure from Walt's meth business and what they will do next. Mike opines on relocating to Alaska, an idea Jesse takes to. Jesse expresses a desire to "make things right" but Mike warns him that is something "you can never do".

In the present, following the events of "Felina", Jesse flees the compound in Todd's El Camino, avoiding police that are arriving at the scene of Walt's mass shooting. He goes to his friends Skinny Pete and Badger, who help to hide the El Camino for the night. After cleaning up, including shaving his head, Jesse calls Old Joe to dispose of the El Camino, but Joe discovers the car has LoJack installed, and that authorities will likely be after it. Skinny Pete has Badger drive Pete's Ford Thunderbird several hours out of town, and gives Jesse Badger's Pontiac Fiero to escape town with. Pete stays with the El Camino to provide a cover story to the police.

Several flashbacks show Jesse in captivity under Todd at the compound. During one period, Todd took Jesse to his apartment to help dispose of the body of a cleaning lady that found his stash of money. In the present, Jesse goes to Todd's apartment, which had already been searched by police, to look for Todd's money. He spends all night tearing the apartment up, finding nothing, though he sees from a nearby apartment a news report with his parents, begging Jesse to turn himself in. He falls back against the refrigerator in frustration, only to sense something off, and finds money within the door, just as two police officers, Neil and Casey, arrive. Jesse hides himself as the officers search the apartment, and Jesse is forced to hold them at gunpoint when they discover him. Jesse soon recognizes they are not police, but thugs looking for Todd's money. He offers to show them where it is, as long as they split it equally. As they depart the apartment, Jesse recognizes the thugs as employees of a welding company that helped to secure Jesse at the compound.

Jesse goes looking for Saul's "disappearer", vague on the specific details, but soon deduces the right vacuum store from various elements. Jesse presents Todd's cash to Ed, the disappearer, but Ed wants not only the funds to help make Jesse now, but to also cover for the time that Jesse did not take the offer. Jesse is a few thousand dollars short, and Ed refuses to deal with him until he has all the funds. Jesse calls his parents and feigns being willing to give himself in, as to draw them away from the house. Finding no money, Jesse secures his father's guns and locates the welders' shop.

At the welders, Jesse faces Neil and Casey, asking them for the remaining funds he needs for Ed and willing to avoid violence. They refuse to give up the money, and seeing the gun in his waistband, challenge Jesse to a duel. Jesse agrees, and tricks Neil by using the other gun, hiding in his jacket, to shoot him first, and quickly kills Casey. He forces the remaining men at gunpoint to leave their drivers' licenses and flee, then claims the remaining cash and blows up the shop to cover his tracks.

In a flashback, Walt and Jesse have breakfast at a hotel after one of their meth cooks.[4] Walt tells Jesse "You're really lucky, you know that? You didn't have to wait your whole life to do something special."

Jesse pays Ed, who smuggles him to Alaska. Jesse hands Ed a letter to Brock to mail. As Jesse drives off to start his new life, he has a flashback to his time with Jane. He tells her how he admires that she always lets the universe take her wherever it pleases. She says that is not always the best thing, because sometimes the universe pulls you to a bad place, and "sometimes, it's better to make those decisions for yourself."

Cast

Additionally, Todd Terry reprises his role as SAC Ramey from Breaking Bad. David Mattey and Julie Pearl reprise their roles as Clarence 'Man Mountain' and Suzanne Ericsen from Better Call Saul.

Production

Vince Gilligan wrote and directed the film.

Vince Gilligan had the idea for El Camino during the final stages of filming the last season of Breaking Bad, asking himself what would happen to the character of Jesse Pinkman following the events of the Breaking Bad finale "Felina", where Jesse escapes from the neo-Nazis' headquarters after being rescued by Walter White. He had not told others of this idea until near the tenth anniversary of Breaking Bad, where he started sharing the idea with former cast and crew members as a means to celebrate the milestone.[2] Aaron Paul, who played Jesse, affirmed that Gilligan had contacted him around 2017 while he was starring in The Path about plans for celebrating the tenth anniversary of Breaking Bad and hinted at something big, and he vowed that he would be eager to be involved with any idea that Gilligan had to continue Jesse's character.[6][2]

Unlike most of his work from The X-Files and Breaking Bad where he worked with one or more co-writers, Gilligan opted to write the screenplay alone until he was ready to present it.[2] After affirming that Sony Pictures Television, which helped to produce Breaking Bad, was on board, Gilligan selectively shopped the film to a few potential distributors, settling on Netflix and AMC due to their history with the show.[2] Gilligan intended the film to have some theatrical release, a goal he had sought during filming of Breaking Bad, which Netflix had been able to do with some of the show's season premieres in limited theatrical engagement.[2]

The film was kept under great secrecy from the pre-production stages, with cast and crew under tight restrictions about what they could say about their project. Gilligan believed that as El Camino was a coda to the series, that it would only really appeal to fans of Breaking Bad, and would not be as enjoyable to those that hadn't watched it.[2] It was only until near the start of filming in November 2018 that rumors of a film continuation of Breaking Bad was in development, with Paul returning as Jesse.[10] In an interview in November 2018, Bryan Cranston, who starred as Walter White, confirmed that a film was indeed in the works but said he had not seen a script, though was interested in appearing if Gilligan called for it.[11]

The film centers on Jesse Pinkman, portrayed by Aaron Paul.

While Gilligan has been involved with theatrical films before, El Camino is the first film he produced.[2] The unspecified budget was stated to be more than the US$6 million that "Felina" cost to produce.[2] The film was shot at a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio using the Arri Alexa 65 camera to capture the work in a cinematic manner.[2] Most of the filming occurred in Albuquerque around November 2018 under the working title of Greenbrier.[12][13] Compared to the pace they had used during Breaking Bad, where they would shoot six to eight pages of script a day, the pace for El Camino was more relaxed, with only one-and-a-half to three pages a day, with the overall shoot lasting fifty days.[2] The larger budget and relaxed schedule allowed Gilligan to capture scenes outside of Albuquerque as well, something he wanted to do but was unable to during Breaking Bad.[2] Cranston does appear in the film; according to Paul, Cranston took two days off from his performance in the Broadway show Network to fly to Albuquerque to shoot the short cameo scene in a diner, which was filled with only crew members and their families as to keep the shot confidential. Paul and Cranston were also ordered to avoid seeing other off-set.[4]

By the time local media made a connection between Greenbrier and Breaking Bad, filming had been mostly completed, according to Paul.[6] Bob Odenkirk, who portrays Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and its spinoff Better Call Saul, stated in August 2019, "I've heard so many different things about it, but I am excited about the Breaking Bad movie. I can't wait to see it." Regarding the film's secrecy, he stated, "I don't know what people know and don't know. I find it hard to believe you don't know it was shot. They did it. You know what I mean? How is that a secret? But it is. They've done an amazing job of keeping it a secret."[14]

Formal announcement of a Breaking Bad film to be released by Netflix and AMC was made in February 2019.[12] Netflix revealed the film on August 24, 2019, with the name El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, along with the film's first teaser trailer. In the days prior to its formal announcement, Netflix temporarily listed the film on its website, which was noticed by users before it was pulled. The title refers to the Chevrolet El Camino that Jesse drives away with in "Felina".[6][15]

Marketing

The announcement trailer of the film was released by Netflix on August 24, 2019.[16] A teaser premiered during the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on September 22, 2019,[17] while a full trailer was released on September 24, 2019.[18]

Release

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie had its world premiere on October 7, 2019 at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles.[19] The film was released on October 11, 2019, on Netflix, with later airings being planned on AMC.[6][5][20] The film will also have a limited theatrical release from October 11 to 13 in the United States.[21]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 95% approval rating based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 7.55/10.[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]

Steve Greene of IndieWire gave the film a "A–", saying that "The core of El Camino is made up of those returning players, but there are a few new faces to wrestle with as well. Through them, Gilligan asks the audience to once again set aside expectations and follow where they cross Jesse's journey. Though the specter of Jesse’s former partners haunt El Camino, Gilligan effectively holds the audience's attention to keep them focused on the present."[24]

References

  1. ^ "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie". Netflix. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Keegan, Rebecca (September 18, 2019). "'Breaking Bad' Returns: Aaron Paul and Vince Gilligan Take a TV Classic for a Spin in 'El Camino'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  3. ^ Maglio, Tony (October 11, 2019). "'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie' Reviews: Critics Hail Aaron Paul and 'Closure' for Jesse". TheWrap. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Snierson, Dan (October 11, 2019). "Breaking Bad: Aaron Paul on that top secret scene in El Camino". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (February 13, 2019). "'Breaking Bad' Movie Is a Sequel Starring Aaron Paul and Will Air on AMC and Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e Itzkoff, Dave (August 24, 2019). "'Breaking Bad' Movie, Starring Aaron Paul, Coming to Netflix in October". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  7. ^ Porter, Rick (September 17, 2019). "'Breaking Bad' Movie: Matt Jones Reprises Series Role (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  8. ^ Bonomolo, Cameron (September 29, 2019). "New El Camino Movie Trailer Features Return of Another Breaking Bad Character". Comicbook.com. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  9. ^ "Jonathan Banks Confirms 'El Camino' Role". ET Canada. September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  10. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (November 6, 2018). "'Breaking Bad' Movie From Creator Vince Gilligan in the Works". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  11. ^ Respers France, Lisa (November 8, 2018). "Bryan Cranston confirms 'Breaking Bad' movie happening". CNN. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (February 13, 2019). "Vince Gilligan's 'Breaking Bad' Movie Headed To Netflix & AMC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  13. ^ Gomez, Adrian (November 6, 2018). "'Breaking Bad' coming to the big screen". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  14. ^ McVey, Ciara (August 20, 2019). "Bob Odenkirk Teases 'Better Call Saul' Season 5: "Everything's on Fire and It's Burning Down Around Us"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  15. ^ "'Breaking Bad' Movie: Watch the First Teaser for 'El Camino'". Variety. August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  16. ^ Tassi, Paul (August 24, 2019). "Netflix's 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie' Gets A Trailer, Story And Release Date". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Patches, Matt (September 22, 2019). "The teaser for Netflix's Breaking Bad sequel El Camino recalls gruesome details". Polygon. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  18. ^ Welk, Brian (September 24, 2019). "'El Camino' Trailer: Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman Is 'Ready' in First Full Look at 'Breaking Bad' Movie". TheWrap. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  19. ^ "Netflix hosts 'El Camino' premiere in California". KRQE. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  20. ^ Rowles, Dustin (February 2, 2019). "The 'Breaking Bad' Movie Is Currently Shooting in Familiar Locations". Uproxx. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  21. ^ Sharf, Zack (September 18, 2019). "Netflix Sets 'Breaking Bad' Movie Theatrical Release for One Weekend Only". IndieWire. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  22. ^ "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  23. ^ "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  24. ^ Steve Greene (October 11, 2019). "'El Camino' Review: A Riveting Goodbye to 'Breaking Bad'". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved October 11, 2019.