Just watched El Camino last night. Loved Breaking Bad, much respect for Vince Gilligan, and enjoy the Jesse Pinkman character a lot.
It was mildly entertaining but felt like it never really got airborne. My 18 y.o. son thought similarly (he loved BB). Anybody else have that reaction?
Some good moments (Badger and Skinny Pete scenes were hilarious as usual), but overall really flat. Seemed like it was all about the "plot" with very little character development or even new insights into Jesse. Aaron Paul did a fine job, it just seemed like the writing was not very strong.
Surprised Gilligan wasn't able to do more with this project, since I'm sure he had total control of all aspects and whatever budget he needed from NF. Just seems like the screenplay wasn't up to par. I guess that's the problem when you create a series like BB--the bar gets set so high it's hard to return to that level.
But from a writer's perspective, it just seemed like he focused a lot more on plot mechanics and a lot less on the interpersonal and character stuff that made BB so engaging and memorable. Felt like he wasn't "swinging for the fences" on this.
Makes me wonder if maybe he got offered a big pile of $$ to do this project but maybe wasn't fired up with creative inspiration.
The "wild west gunfighter" scene was almost cringe-worthy--the scene setup was strong, there was a lot of tension built up, but then it turned into this odd Sergio Leone moment that felt out of place.
Maybe I should go get caught up on Better Call Saul--I watched the first season and enjoyed some of it, maybe there's more gold there. I think Gilligan can be brilliant when he's on his game.
It was mildly entertaining but felt like it never really got airborne. My 18 y.o. son thought similarly (he loved BB). Anybody else have that reaction?
Some good moments (Badger and Skinny Pete scenes were hilarious as usual), but overall really flat. Seemed like it was all about the "plot" with very little character development or even new insights into Jesse. Aaron Paul did a fine job, it just seemed like the writing was not very strong.
Surprised Gilligan wasn't able to do more with this project, since I'm sure he had total control of all aspects and whatever budget he needed from NF. Just seems like the screenplay wasn't up to par. I guess that's the problem when you create a series like BB--the bar gets set so high it's hard to return to that level.
But from a writer's perspective, it just seemed like he focused a lot more on plot mechanics and a lot less on the interpersonal and character stuff that made BB so engaging and memorable. Felt like he wasn't "swinging for the fences" on this.
Makes me wonder if maybe he got offered a big pile of $$ to do this project but maybe wasn't fired up with creative inspiration.
The "wild west gunfighter" scene was almost cringe-worthy--the scene setup was strong, there was a lot of tension built up, but then it turned into this odd Sergio Leone moment that felt out of place.
Maybe I should go get caught up on Better Call Saul--I watched the first season and enjoyed some of it, maybe there's more gold there. I think Gilligan can be brilliant when he's on his game.
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