El Camino (Vince Gilligan, 2019)

It may not be as much a standalone film as a drawn-out episode to bring dramatic closure to Breaking Bad with a conclusion to Jesse's story, and it could easily be argued that finishing off the series with Walter dead and Jesse fleeing, out of his mind, was a completely satisfactory ending. Nevertheless, when you've got such strong material to build on, it's hard to resist a viewing.
It starts with a brief flashback to months before, and then moves to Jesse in the moments after the final carnage that ended the series, and subsequently being constantly on the run and trying to get far away with an altogether new identity. The story is punctuated by flashbacks all the way through, but these are fairly clearly signposted by either Jesse having a beard or no beard, or someone appearing who we know is dead. In the present, the character has altered: his harrowing experiences have made him far more determined and focused, to the point of ruthlessness where necessary, but unlike the progression of Walter, Jesse retains a fundamental code of ethics and it comes as a welcome surprise that a succession of tense confrontations leads to none of the gratuitous bloodletting that characterised the last seasons of the series. And the dialogue and tension are as sharp as ever too. Of course, it is a final milking of the cash cow, and will not make any sense to anyone who hasn't watched all of the series, but for those who have, it's really quite gratifying, without ever descending to mere recycling. Now we just have to wait for the next season of Better Call Saul to bring Jimmy's story to a close too...

7/10