12 Movies That Were Ruined By One Dumb Decision

5. Making It A Sequel - Quantum Of Solace

James Bond hasn't ran for over fifty years, overcoming repeated turns into ridiculousness, directly targeted parodies and a shift in world landscape making it seem obsolete, by making itself impenetrable to new audiences. It's been smart, moving with not only the political, but also cinematic times and turning the periodic character recast into something of a badge of honour. And, unlike its modern counterparts - chief among them Marvel - it doesn't rely at all on an overarching continuity.

Oh, of course there was SPECTRE running through Connery's adventures, but that was vague at best, with each movie serving its own purpose; rather then story, it's the general and malleable tropes that make the franchise. When Bond and M drive off in the Aston Martin DB5 at the start of Skyfall's third act the audience chuckle. Even though most of them haven't seen Goldfinger, they appreciate the car's importance in the series legacy. And yet, in the late-naughties, only two years after successfully rebooting the franchise, Quantum Of Solace threw out that convention in favour of making Daniel Craig's second outing a sequel to Casino Royale. No longer would Bond be part of a bigger story; he was a rogue forging his own adventure, with the villain a bland B-story.

The film was really hurt by its action trying desperately to capitalise on the Bourne mould, turning the granddaddy of spy films into a cheap rip-off, but it was in the confused story further stretching out the character's origin that really made it a slog. The lesson was clearly learnt, with Skyfall switching things to not only stand-alone, but dealing with an older and more run-down Bond.