This New-To-Prime Video James Bond Movie Changed the Franchise Forever

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Movie Features

Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace

The James Bond franchise is one of the most successful recurring sagas in cinematic history, as over six decades after the release of Dr. No, the franchise is still going strong. However, the franchise was facing an identity crisis in the early 21st century. Pierce Brosnan’s last turn as Bond in Die Another Day was met with sour reviews, suggesting that the 007 series risked becoming irrelevant given the success of rival properties like The Bourne Identity and Mission: Impossible. Thankfully, the soft reboot of the series with 2006’s Casino Royale served as both an introduction to Daniel Craig’s interpretation of the character and a far grittier action film that finally took Ian Fleming’s source material seriously. It reached a level of success that was unprecedented in the franchise’s history, and thus the subsequent film, Quantum of Solace, served as a direct sequel to Casino Royale.

Previously, the Bond series had a very fluid approach to continuity. While the actors cast as M, Q, Moneypenny, and Felix Leiter would appear in multiple films, each Bond installment essentially served as a standalone adventure. This is perhaps befitting, as the release order of the films is wildly different from that of Fleming’s original books. This approach certainly encouraged more attention from casual fans who didn’t feel like they needed to “catch up” on the entire franchise’s history to watch a new entry. However, longtime Bond fans may have been seeking a greater sense of character development and momentum between entries. Quantum of Solace established elements of the Bond continuity that had a significant iteration on the rest of Craig’s tenure as the character.

'Quantum of Solace' Continues the Story of 'Casino Royale'

Casino Royale poster showing Daniel Craig's James Bond next the silhouette of a woman.

Quantum of Solace takes its name from a short story in Fleming’s For Your Eyes Only, but doesn’t really have any connection to the original source material. Rather, Quantum of Solace picks up right where Casino Royale left off, where Bond has reluctantly rejoined MI6 after the death of Vesper Lyn (Eva Green). However, Bond’s loyalty to the organization is still in question, as he still seeks vengeance for Vesper’s death, and figures that she was involved in a larger conspiracy linked to the enigmatic villain Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). After delivering White to M (Judi Dench), Bond begins searching for the men who blackmailed Vesper. His investigation leads him to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a seemingly charitable businessman who actually serves as a leading member of the criminal organization known as “Quantum.”

Bond’s emotional state in Quantum of Solace is a direct result of Vesper’s death in Casino Royale. While the Bond portrayed by Roger Moore or Sean Connery was generally rather jovial and charismatic, Craig depicts 007 as a heartbroken, embittered assassin who is more than willing to use his license to kill. This added a layer of sensitivity to Bond that the series had only briefly touched on before in films like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and License to Kill. It was critical to maintain the emotional high point of Casino Royale. It would've felt superficial to return to the status quo after he suffered such a devastating loss.

Quantum of Solace had the unfortunate fate of going into production during the 2008 writer’s strike, forcing Craig and director Marc Forster to aid in the writing process to meet the intended release date. There are some notable flaws as a result of this stagnated process, including an undeveloped role for Greene and a haphazard third act that lacks the ingenuity of Casino Royale’s final set piece. However, Quantum of Solace succeeds as a lean and mean revenge thriller, which feels closer in tone to classics like Rolling Thunder or Death Wish than it does to campier Bond films like Moonraker or A View To A Kill.

‘Quantum of Solace’ Tied in the Bond Supporting Characters

While she made her first appearance back in 1995’s Goldeneye, Dench’s interpretation of M truly came into her own in the Craig era of the Bond series. While previous versions of M had merely been skeptical employers who gave Bond his assignments, Dench’s version of the character has a much more nuanced relationship with her most trusted assassin. It’s evident that while M still takes her duty seriously, she is aware of the state of heartbreak that Bond is in after the events of Casino Royale. M comes to Bond’s defense multiple times in Quantum of Solace, and given how stone-cold and serious Craig is in the film, the sense of humor that Dench provides adds just the right amount of levity.

Quantum of Solace also established a larger threat for Bond to go up against in the Quantum organization, which fulfilled the same role that SPECTRE had in the Connery films. Eventually, the two organizations were merged in Spectre , which revealed that Bond’s half-brother Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) was secretly orchestrating all the events. Additionally, the expanded role of Jeffrey Wright’s Felix Leiter in Quantum of Solace made his resurgence in No Time To Die more impactful.

'Quantum of Solace' Changed the Arc for Daniel Craig’s James Bond Films

Quantum of Solace served as a redemption story for Bond that signified he had evolved from being a remorseless assassin. While he still wasn’t able to totally forgive himself for Vesper’s death, he ends Quantum of Solace by reasserting his loyalty to MI6. This allowed Skyfall to introduce a more “classical” version of the character and include many references to the franchise’s past. Skyfall continued the serialized nature of the series by introducing supporting characters like Q (Ben Whishaw), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), and Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), who would return for both Spectre and No Time To Die. It's unclear where the series will go next, but it would be savvy to take the right lessons from Quantum of Solace.

‘Quantum of Solace’ Deserves More Credit

Fans of the Bond franchise don’t tend to rate Quantum of Solace to be among the best films in the series, as it is generally agreed to be the worst installment that Craig appeared in. While it doesn’t quite have the relentless pacing of Casino Royale or the emotional power of Skyfall, Quantum of Solace is a terrific action thriller that is among the most visceral installments in the sequel. The backlash to the film may have been a result of the massive expectations, as the Bond series tends to have a pretty high standard when it comes to quality. Although there are a few noted disasters that were met with terrible reviews, such as Die Another Day and Octopussy, a majority of the Bond films are largely entertaining. Even a relatively mediocre Bond film like Quantum of Solace is better than a majority of franchise films; in fact, Quantum of Solace was more favorably reviewed than many of the other blockbuster titles that were released in 2008, such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

This New-To-Prime Video James Bond Movie Changed the Franchise Forever

This 2008 film established elements of the Bond continuity that had a significant iteration on the rest of Craig’s tenure as the character.

Quantum of Solace was an essential film due to its characterization of Bond, who is at his most vulnerable due to his heartbreak after the events of Casino Royale. While the end of that film allowed him to seek vengeance, Quantum of Solace shows Bond in a transitional period in which he questions what his role in the future of MI6 will be now that he has lost the one person that he cares about more than anyone else. Many of the early Bond films received criticism for being “escapist male fantasies” that depicted 007 as a flawless hero who was incapable of being wounded. However, Quantum of Solace showed that Bond is by no means a perfect person and does a solid job at exploring his mental health issues. The film is also fairly balanced in terms of representation and does a better job at giving prominent roles to women and people of color when compared to some of the previous installments.

Quantum of Solace is further proof that Marc Forster is one of the most underrated living filmmakers, even if he is not necessarily a household name in the same way that auteur directors like Quentin Tarantino, Jordan Peele, Greta Gerwig, or Christopher Nolan are. Forster has a very diverse set of films on his resume; some of his best work includes the Best Picture nominee Finding Neverland, the underrated neo-noir mysteryStay, the surprisingly great zombie thriller World War Z, the acclaimed drama Monster’s Ball, and Disney’s reimagining of Christopher Robin. It is rare for a Bond director to return for two installments, but Martin Campbell famously directed both Goldeneye and Casino Royale, and Sam Mendes returned to direct Spectre after the success of Skyfall. If the Bond series wants to shape an exciting future for itself, it might be a good idea to bring Forster back to the director’s chair.