Before jumping into this movie I rewatched the hit series it serves as a sequel to in its entirety for the first time in years. I think that was probably the best decision I could have made. While I fully believe you can watch this without any sort of refresher beforehand and still thoroughly enjoy it, I feel like doing so allowed me to pick up on little details or touches that I might have otherwise missed and all while the experience of the preceding 5 season journey remained fresh in my brain. Plus, it was just a good excuse to revisit what may be the best TV show of all time. El Camino picks up from literally right where Breaking Bad’s climax left off. It serves to tie up that one remaining loose end by answering the question of what exactly happened to Jesse Pinkman after he drove off crying and screaming into the night upon being rescued from captivity. With exception to the higher budget cinematography and heavy usage of flashbacks (all of which add new layers to the story rather than simply rehashing old information), in a lot of ways this feels just like a missing episode of the show. A lost epilogue, if you will. Which is to say things start off a bit on the slower side, but gradually increase in intensity until building up to tense, “how the heck are they going to get out of this?!” scenarios. Vince Gilligan is both writing and directing this feature, and he imbues the proceedings not only with the levels of edge-of-your-seat excitement and heartbreaking/warming emotion you would expect, but also an element of humor that harkens back to the vein of dark comedy that was always present throughout its predecessor’s run, although most prominently in its earlier days. On top of seamlessly reviving the tone of his original creation here, he also ensures a lot of familiar faces return. Even very minor characters like Old Joe (Larry Hankin) make an appearance. What’s great about this is that their presence makes sense for the action at hand rather than feeling like cheap cameos included solely for fan service. Truly, about the only real issue I found with all this stems from how many years had passed from between when this was filmed and “Felina” originally aired. The passage of that time is reflected in how some of the actors now look. Jesse Plemons is no longer the young, skinny kid he once was for example, and it kind of breaks the illusion that these events are supposed to be taking place immediately following the ones from a finale that came out roughly 4-5 years before anyone involved in this ever so much as stepped a foot on set when you see that. Ultimately though, it did little to hinder my enjoyment. The film brings a definitive conclusion to an unresolved arc that arguably never needed one, and the Gilligan-verse as a whole is all the sweeter because of it. The fact that this acts as a worthy, logical continuation rather than merely preying on nostalgia makes it a legitimate treat for BB fans, and I can’t recommend it enough to them because of that (the uninitiated however, need not apply as they will be TOTALLY lost). Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to go and finally watch Better Call Saul.