James Bond: The True Story Of Quantum Of Solace's Failure

1. The Aftermath...

Despite being the fourth highest grossing Bond movie, Quantum of Solace was a grandiose disappointment by many fans and average viewers. This was a radical difference to the appraisal distributed to the cast and crew of Casino Royale. Quantum of Solace failed at many of the aspects that made Casino Royale such a ground-breaking movie for the 007 brand. Craig’s performance was well received but the narrative was regarded as too confusing and convoluted, poorly explained and reinforced with too many filler action scenes that were disguised as vital plot elements.

Other characters such as Dominic Greene were shockingly underdeveloped and poorly written with motives and intentions that can’t be matched by that of Mads Mikkelsen’s performance as Le Chiffre. Olga Kurylenko’s role as Camille was also poor not because of her acting capability but due to her character being unneeded for the plot. Characters from Casino Royale such as Felix Leiter and Renee Mathis return for short appearances despite how likable and well written their characters were previously, especially Leiter. Jeffrey Wright proved to be a fantastic fit for Leiter and his neglected role in Quantum was a disappointment along with the rest of the movie.

The Bond franchise has been producing movies since 1962 and with dozens of movies under its belt, it is inevitable that mistakes are made along the way. In the case of Quantum of Solace, many of these mistakes come from poor writing and direction issues. However, Quantum of Solace remains as an example of what tight schedules, deadlines and the high demand for financial success can do to an anticipated sequel.