Director Vince Gilligan’s “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” was released Oct. 11 on Netflix.

This film serves as a direct sequel to the popular AMC show “Breaking Bad.” Airing from 2008 to 2013, there has been no further development in the story’s narrative. That is, until now.

“El Camino“ follows Jesse Pinkman, a role reprised by Aaron Paul, after his escape from his drug cartel imprisonment after the events of the series. The majority of the run time is dedicated to showing Pinkman evading the police and other captors as he attempts to abandon his old life and start anew.

For those who did not have time to re-watch the entire series before the debut of the movie sequel, Netflix provides a helpful three-minute recap before the movie starts. Viewers don’t need to have watched the show much at all to understand the plot, though.

In addition to the recap, the characters do a thorough enough job reintroducing themselves and their positions over others to follow along.

Alongside storylines in the present day, there are also multiple flashbacks to earlier scenes in the series. These flashbacks arguably serve as the best parts of the movie.

Within the flashbacks, old characters from the original series make a comeback. Familiar faces are a refreshing and nostalgic sight to see as they provide a break in the tense present-day chase scenes.

“El Camino” has a few elements that broke the expectations of its genre. Several jump scares and the realistic depictions of human trafficking truly bring out the horror elements of this film. 

That being said, the first half of the film is a bit of a slow burner. There are a few too many scenes of a panicked Jesse running around in the dark that tend to drag on a bit. After a scene that heavily nods to the Wild West genre, things pick up. And fast.

“El Camino” does what it was supposed to do, which is answer questions left after the series finale. Did Walter White die? Does Jesse make it out of the cartel? These questions and more are given canon answers.

Overall, Gilligan’s film provides satisfying, if not slow, closure to a beloved cast of characters and storylines. With a few cameos and comic relief moments thrown in, “El Camino“ makes for a gratifying end to the “Breaking Bad” series overall.