James Bond: Every Mistake in Quantum of Solace

BY QUINTEN KEVIN

     MOVIE:JAMES BOND 

Why did James Bond's Quantum of Solace fail? Daniel Craig's debut in Casino Royale featured pretty much everything a new Bond needs in an introduction. Craig's entry marked a welcome change in direction for 007 after the tone-deaf failure of Die Another Day—a darker Bond, a more contemporary look, and a more realistic plot. Fans eagerly anticipated Craig's continuing saga as Bond, who was both financially and critically successful, sped into the new millennium in the wheels of his Aston Martin.

However, it wasn't worth the wait to see where Bond headed next. Quantum of Solace introduces Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, and Gemma Arterton along with the usual Bond suspects, Judi Dench as M, and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. It was written by the same team as Casino Royale but was directed by Marc Forster rather than Martin Campbell. The initial enthusiasm and hype around Daniel Craig's new Bond were significantly diminished by Quantum of Solace, despite the 2008 film's respectable box office performance (albeit not quite as well as Casino Royale). A few years later, Skyfall would rekindle that momentum, but Craig's second 007 outing continues to reflect poorly on his record.

The issues with Quantum of Solace were a combination of uncontrollable external factors and alterations in the franchise's course that didn't exactly work out as expected. Here's why the follow-up to Casino Royale is frequently referred to as Daniel Craig's "tough second album" as James Bond.