Netflix, Vince Gilligan
I generally stay away from the critically acclaimed, and the Arizona meth trade may have been a bit of a stretch from my regular rotation, but I couldn’t help but root for Jesse Pinkman. So, when he hit the road to redemption in the Breaking Bad movie, El Camino, I was ready to jump in for the ride.
Skinny Pete and Badger eased us back in with their side-kick banter on gaming and men’s cologne, ‘Obsession’s the bomb, yo.’ They take Jesse in, get him ready for the road, and prove to be true friends and heroes themselves. We got to see the faces that helped and influenced Jesse along the way including Mike, Jane, and Walter. But he had to forge, escape, crawl, and shoot through to make his own way. His face scarred by his experiences, but his compassion unwavering, he had us rooting for him till the very end. As Ed said, ‘Not many of us get a fresh start.’ Settling the mind is the final frontier, and Jesse Pinkman is set up to do just that, to put his past to rest and come to some sort of peace.
When I left the theater, I felt renewed myself, I wanted to talk about the movie, and philosophy, and second chances. Spurred on by the track over the ending credits, Static on the Radio by Jim White featuring Aimee Mann, it sounds like the wide-open road, full of possibilities, and I can’t help but want to get behind the wheel to discover what’s ahead.