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cjlasky7Bryan Cranston once said that Breaking Bad had to be a great TV show because it would have been a terrible movie. By that, Cranston meant all the hallmarks of Breaking Bad--the incremental plot progression, the nuanced characterization, the slow build of tension and suspense--would have to be tossed to fit everything under two hours.
Cranston's appraisal of Vince Gilligan's small screen epic comes to mind after watching "El Camino"--the movie sequel that follows Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) as he drives like a bat outta hell from his nightmarish captivity in the BB finale through a maze of hazards as he tries to stay one step ahead of... just about everyone in Albuquerque.
The problem with El Camino is that Gilligan, even when limited to 122 minutes (including credits) can't quite lay off the "granular" storytelling of the mother series. There is entirely too much flashback time spent with Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons), the amiable sociopath from BB S5, detailing the roundabout path to Jesse scoring a bundle of Heisenberg drug cash--cash earmarked to buy Jesse's permanent departure from the Southwest. It's not that the interlude with Todd isn't integral to the plot (it is); but Gilligan's insistence on sealing every conceivable plot hole kills the early momentum of the movie.
Which is a shame--because this movie is stuffed with great performances by BB veterans, and you can see the outlines of two different movies around the margins: 1) a pure action thriller, with Jesse battling the Albuquerque underworld while avoiding capture by the cops, or 2) a more introspective movie, with Jesse recalling the people he's met and loved (and hated) along the way, as he prepares to leave for a new life. I actually would have preferred the second one, because we don't get enough flashbacks with Cranston's Walter White; we don't spend any time with Andrea and Brock; and the brief conversation between Jesse and Krysten Ritter's Jane is so good, you kind of wish it hadn't waited for the back end of the movie. In serving two masters, Gilligan winds up diluting both stories.
But I feel I'm nitpicking here, because the movie works well enough as it is. Aaron Paul, even after all the horrible things Jesse had to do during the series, still makes Jesse sympathetic with a catch in his voice or a look of soulful suffering. When his old buds Badger and Skinny Pete take him in and shelter him from the cops, it feels good that Jesse has friends he can depend on.
And, if nothing else, the whole movie is worth it just for the chatter between Jesse and veteran "disappear-er" Ed Galbraith, played by the late Robert Forster. Forster expands his brief scenes in BB's "Granite State" into a fully realized character with a Zen master's wisdom and a dry, puckish wit. This movie and his surprise appearance in the S5 premiere of Better Call Saul were like precious gifts from a departed friend.
************
"El Camino" capped a five week odyssey through the Breaking Bad Universe. When my wife and I started the rewatch, I thought knowing plot twists would make me bored and impatient. The exact opposite happened: I saw past the plot and savored the choice character touches and gorgeous cinematography I barely noticed before. Just as good as the first time.
Grades:
Breaking Bad (second time through): A
El Camino: B
Better Call Saul (through 5.2): A-
Cranston's appraisal of Vince Gilligan's small screen epic comes to mind after watching "El Camino"--the movie sequel that follows Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) as he drives like a bat outta hell from his nightmarish captivity in the BB finale through a maze of hazards as he tries to stay one step ahead of... just about everyone in Albuquerque.
The problem with El Camino is that Gilligan, even when limited to 122 minutes (including credits) can't quite lay off the "granular" storytelling of the mother series. There is entirely too much flashback time spent with Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons), the amiable sociopath from BB S5, detailing the roundabout path to Jesse scoring a bundle of Heisenberg drug cash--cash earmarked to buy Jesse's permanent departure from the Southwest. It's not that the interlude with Todd isn't integral to the plot (it is); but Gilligan's insistence on sealing every conceivable plot hole kills the early momentum of the movie.
Which is a shame--because this movie is stuffed with great performances by BB veterans, and you can see the outlines of two different movies around the margins: 1) a pure action thriller, with Jesse battling the Albuquerque underworld while avoiding capture by the cops, or 2) a more introspective movie, with Jesse recalling the people he's met and loved (and hated) along the way, as he prepares to leave for a new life. I actually would have preferred the second one, because we don't get enough flashbacks with Cranston's Walter White; we don't spend any time with Andrea and Brock; and the brief conversation between Jesse and Krysten Ritter's Jane is so good, you kind of wish it hadn't waited for the back end of the movie. In serving two masters, Gilligan winds up diluting both stories.
But I feel I'm nitpicking here, because the movie works well enough as it is. Aaron Paul, even after all the horrible things Jesse had to do during the series, still makes Jesse sympathetic with a catch in his voice or a look of soulful suffering. When his old buds Badger and Skinny Pete take him in and shelter him from the cops, it feels good that Jesse has friends he can depend on.
And, if nothing else, the whole movie is worth it just for the chatter between Jesse and veteran "disappear-er" Ed Galbraith, played by the late Robert Forster. Forster expands his brief scenes in BB's "Granite State" into a fully realized character with a Zen master's wisdom and a dry, puckish wit. This movie and his surprise appearance in the S5 premiere of Better Call Saul were like precious gifts from a departed friend.
************
"El Camino" capped a five week odyssey through the Breaking Bad Universe. When my wife and I started the rewatch, I thought knowing plot twists would make me bored and impatient. The exact opposite happened: I saw past the plot and savored the choice character touches and gorgeous cinematography I barely noticed before. Just as good as the first time.
Grades:
Breaking Bad (second time through): A
El Camino: B
Better Call Saul (through 5.2): A-
