''Quantum of Solace'' is a 2008
spy film
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...
and the twenty-second in the
''James Bond'' series produced by
Eon Productions
Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK.
''Bond'' films
Eon was started ...
. It is the sequel to
''Casino Royale'' (2006). Directed by
Marc Forster
Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films '' Monster's Ball'', '' Finding Neverland'', '' Stranger than Fiction'', ''The Kite Runner'', '' Quantum of Solace'', ''World War Z'', and ...
and written by
Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, and
Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...
, it stars
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
as Bond, alongside
Olga Kurylenko
Olga Kostyantynivna Kurylenko ( uk, Ольга Костянтинівна Куриленко; born 14 November 1979) is a Ukrainian and French actress and model. She started her acting career in 2005, and first found success as an actress for ...
,
Mathieu Amalric
Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich'', Wes An ...
,
Giancarlo Giannini
Giancarlo Giannini (born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for '' Seven Beauties ...
,
Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Belize in the Broadway production of ''Angels in America'', for which he would win a Tony Award, and its HBO miniseries adaptation, for which he woul ...
, and
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
. In the film, Bond teams with
Camille Montes
Camille Montes Rivero is a fictional character in the 2008 James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'' portrayed by actress Olga Kurylenko.
In film
Camille is a Bolivian national. She first meets James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Haiti, where she intend ...
(Kurylenko) to stop
Dominic Greene
The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series.
Novel villains by author
Ian Fleming
Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham)
Christopher Wood
John Gardner
Raymond Benson
...
(Amalric) from staging a ''
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'' in
Bolivia to access the country's natural reserves.
A second Bond film starring Craig was planned before production began on ''Casino Royale'' in October 2005. In July 2006,
Roger Michell was announced to direct with a planned release for May 2008, but he left the project that October after there were delays with the screenplay. Purvis, Wade, and Haggis completed the screenplay by June 2007, after which, Forster was announced as Michell's replacement. Craig and Forster also contributed uncredited rewrites to the film's screenplay.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
began in August 2007 and lasted until May 2008, with filming locations including
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, while interior sets were built and filmed at
Pinewood Studios. The film's title is borrowed from a 1959 short story by Fleming. In contrast to its predecessor, ''Quantum of Solace'' is notable for citing inspiration from early Bond film sets designed by
Ken Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam (born Klaus Hugo George Fritz Adam; 5 February 1921 – 10 March 2016) was a German-British movie production designer, best known for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for ''Dr. Stran ...
, while it features a departure from tropes associated with
Bond villains
The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series.
Novel villains by author
Ian Fleming
Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham)
Christopher Wood
John Gardner
Raymond Benson
...
.
''Quantum of Solace'' premiered at the
Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
on 29 October 2008, and was theatrically released first in the United Kingdom two days later and in the United States on 14 November. The film received generally mixed reviews, with praise for Craig's performance and the action sequences but was deemed inferior to its predecessor. It grossed $589 million worldwide, becoming the
seventh highest-grossing film of 2008 and the fourth-highest-grossing ''James Bond'' film, unadjusted for inflation. The next film in the series, ''
Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...
'', was released in 2012.
Plot
Immediately following the events of ''
Casino Royale'', James Bond is driving from
Lake Garda
Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy.
It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
to
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
, Italy, with the captured
Mr. White in the trunk of his
Aston Martin DBS V12
The Aston Martin DBS is a high-performance grand tourer based on the DB9 and manufactured by the British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin.
Aston Martin has used the DBS name once before on their 1967–72 grand tourer coupé. The ...
. After evading pursuers, Bond delivers White to
M, who interrogates White regarding the mysterious organisation
Quantum. When White responds that their operatives are everywhere, M's
bodyguard Craig Mitchell suddenly shoots one of the guards and attacks M. Bond chases Mitchell and eventually kills him; White escapes in the confusion. Searching Mitchell's flat in London, Bond and M discover Mitchell had a contact in
Haiti named Edmund Slate. Bond learns Slate is a hitman sent to kill
Camille Montes
Camille Montes Rivero is a fictional character in the 2008 James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'' portrayed by actress Olga Kurylenko.
In film
Camille is a Bolivian national. She first meets James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Haiti, where she intend ...
at the behest of her lover, environmentalist entrepreneur
Dominic Greene
The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series.
Novel villains by author
Ian Fleming
Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham)
Christopher Wood
John Gardner
Raymond Benson
...
. Observing her subsequent meeting with Greene, Bond learns Greene is helping exiled Bolivian General Medrano, who murdered Camille's family, to overthrow the government and become the new president, in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of desert.
After foiling Camille's assassination attempt on Medrano by "rescuing" her, Bond follows Greene to a performance of ''
Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...
'' in
Bregenz
Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...
, Austria. Meanwhile, the head of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
's South American section, Gregg Beam, along with agent
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing a leg and his hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the ...
, strike a
noninterference deal with Greene for access to putative stocks of Bolivian oil, which the CIA believes to be the reason for Greene's interest in the land. Bond infiltrates Quantum's meeting at the opera, identifying members of Quantum's executive board, and a gunfight ensues. A
Special Branch bodyguard working for Quantum member Guy Haines, an advisor to the British PM, is thrown off a roof by Bond after refusing to answer his questions. He lands on Greene's car and is shot dead by one of his men. Assuming Bond killed the bodyguard, M orders him back to MI6 for debriefing. When he disobeys, she revokes his passports and credit cards. Bond heads to
Talamone
Talamone is a town in Tuscany, on the west coast of central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Orbetello, province of Grosseto, in the Tuscan Maremma.
Talamone is easily reached from Via Aurelia, and is about from Grosseto and ...
and convinces his old ally
René Mathis to accompany him to
Bolivia. They are greeted by Fields, a consular employee who demands Bond return to the UK immediately. Bond seduces her, and they attend a fundraising party Greene holds that night. At the party, Bond again rescues Camille from Greene and they leave. The Bolivian police pull Bond and Camille over but discover Mathis unconscious in the car's boot. One of the policemen shoots Mathis before Bond kills both of them. Mathis dies in Bond's arms, urging him to forgive Vesper and himself.
The following day, Bond and Camille survey Quantum's intended land acquisition by air; their plane is damaged by a Bolivian fighter plane. They trick the plane into destroying itself, skydive into a sinkhole and discover that Quantum has been secretly damming Bolivia's supply of fresh water to create a
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
. Back in La Paz, Bond meets M and learns Quantum killed Fields by drowning her in
crude oil. Bond meets Leiter, who discloses Greene and Medrano will meet at a hotel, ''La Perla de las Dunas'', in the
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in th ...
to finalize their agreement, and warns him to escape as the CIA's
Special Activities Division
The Special Activities Center (SAC) is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency responsible for covert and paramilitary operations. The unit was named Special Activities Division (SAD) prior to 2015. Within SAC there are two ...
arrives.
Bond and Camille infiltrate the hotel, where Greene blackmails Medrano into signing a contract that will make Medrano the leader of Bolivia in exchange for the land rights, making Greene Bolivia's sole water provider at significantly higher rates. Bond kills the police chief for betraying Mathis, and after killing the security detail, he confronts Greene. Meanwhile, Camille kills Medrano, avenging the rapes and murders of her family. The struggle leaves the hotel destroyed by fire. Bond captures Greene and interrogates him about Quantum. Bond leaves him stranded in the desert with only a can of engine oil. Bond and Camille share a kiss, and she wishes him luck in conquering his demons.
Bond travels to
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, where he finds
Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's 1953 James Bond novel '' Casino Royale''. She was portrayed by Ursula Andress in the 1967 James Bond parody, which is only slightly based on the novel, and by Eva Green in the 20 ...
's former lover, Yusef Kabira, a member of Quantum who
seduces female agents with valuable connections and is indirectly responsible for her death. After saving Kabira's latest target, Corrine, who works in
Canadian intelligence, Bond allows MI6 to arrest Kabira, unharmed. Outside, M tells Bond that Greene was found dead in the middle of the desert, shot twice in the head and some engine oil found in his stomach. Bond admits that M was right about Vesper. M tells Bond she needs him back; he responds that he never left. As he walks away, Bond drops Vesper's necklace behind him in the snow.
Cast
*
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
as
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
. Craig's physical training for his reprise of the role placed extra effort into running and boxing, to spare him the injuries he sustained on his stunts in the first film. Craig felt he was fitter, being less bulky than in the first film.
[ He also practised speedboating and stunt driving. Craig felt ''Casino Royale'' was hysically"a walk in the park" compared to ''Quantum of Solace'', which required a different performance from him because ''Quantum of Solace'' is a revenge film, not a love story like ''Casino Royale''.][ While filming in Pinewood, he suffered a gash when kicked in his face,] which required eight stitches, and a fingertip was sliced off. He laughed these off, noting they did not delay filming, and joked his finger would enable him to have a criminal career (though it had grown back when he made this comment). He also had minor plastic surgery on his face. The actor advised Paul Haggis on the script and helped choose Marc Forster
Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films '' Monster's Ball'', '' Finding Neverland'', '' Stranger than Fiction'', ''The Kite Runner'', '' Quantum of Solace'', ''World War Z'', and ...
as the director.
* Olga Kurylenko
Olga Kostyantynivna Kurylenko ( uk, Ольга Костянтинівна Куриленко; born 14 November 1979) is a Ukrainian and French actress and model. She started her acting career in 2005, and first found success as an actress for ...
as Camille Montes
Camille Montes Rivero is a fictional character in the 2008 James Bond film ''Quantum of Solace'' portrayed by actress Olga Kurylenko.
In film
Camille is a Bolivian national. She first meets James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Haiti, where she intend ...
, a Bolivian agent with her own vendetta regarding Greene and Medrano. Forster chose her because out of the 400 women who auditioned, she seemed the least nervous. When she read the script, she was glad she had no love scene with Craig; she felt it would have distracted viewers from her performance. Kurylenko spent three weeks training to fight with weapons, and she learnt a form of indoor skydiving known as body flying.[ Kurylenko said she had to do "training non-stop from the morning to the evening" for the action scenes, overcoming her fears with the help of Craig and the stunt team.][ She was given a DVD box set of Bond films, since the franchise was not easily available to watch in her native Ukraine.][ Kurylenko found ]Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...
in ''Tomorrow Never Dies
''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...
'' inspiring "because she did the fight scenes by herself."[ The producers had intended to cast a South American actress in the role,][ thus, Kurylenko trained with a ]dialect coach A dialect coach is an acting coach who helps an actor design the voice and speech of a character in the context of an on-camera (film, television or commercial), stage (theatre, musical theatre, opera, etc.), radio or animation voiceover production. ...
to perform with a Spanish accent. She said that the accent was easy for her because she has "a lot of Hispanic friends, from Latin America and Spain, and it's an accent I've always heard". When reflecting on her experience as a Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, o ...
, she stated she was proudest of overcoming her fears in performing stunts.
* Mathieu Amalric
Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he played the lead villain, Steven Spielberg's ''Munich'', Wes An ...
as Dominic Greene
The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series.
Novel villains by author
Ian Fleming
Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham)
Christopher Wood
John Gardner
Raymond Benson
...
, the main villain. He is a leading member of Quantum posing as a businessman working in reforestation
Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting.
Management
A debat ...
and charity funding for environmental science. In the 2015 Bond film ''Spectre
Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to:
Religion and spirituality
* Vision (spirituality)
* Apparitional experience
* Ghost
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...
'', he is revealed to have been a member of the titular crime syndicate, of which Quantum is a subsidiary. Amalric acknowledged taking the role was an easy decision because, "It's impossible to say to your kids that 'I could have been in a Bond film but I refused.'"[ Amalric wanted to wear make-up for the role, but Forster explained that he wanted Greene not to look grotesque, but to symbolise the hidden evils in society.][ Amalric modelled his performance on "the smile of ]Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
ndthe craziness of Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Sei ...
", the latter of whom he called "the worst villain we he French
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
have ever had … he walks around thinking he's in a Bond film." He later claimed this was not criticism of either politician, but rather an example of how a politician relies on performance instead of a genuine policy to win power. "Sarkozy, is just a better actor than is presidential opponentSégolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal (; born 22 September 1953) is a French politician who was the Socialist Party candidate for the Presidency of France in the 2007 election.
Royal was president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council from 2004 to 201 ...
—that's all," he explained.[ Amalric and Forster reconceived the character, who was supposed to have a "special skill" in the script, to someone who uses pure animal instinct when fighting Bond in the climax.] Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...
was also considered for the part, but Forster decided Amalric gave the character a 'pitiful' quality.[
* ]Giancarlo Giannini
Giancarlo Giannini (born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for '' Seven Beauties ...
as René Mathis, Bond's ally who was mistakenly believed to be a traitor in ''Casino Royale''. Having been acquitted, he chooses to help Bond again in his quest to find out who betrayed him.
* Gemma Arterton
Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is an English actress and producer. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' ...
as MI6 agent Strawberry Fields, who works at the British consulate in Bolivia. Fields, who is merely an office worker as described by M, takes herself seriously and tries to overpower Bond when the pair meet. She is later seduced by Bond, infiltrates Greene's fund raiser party with him and ends up paying the ultimate price. Forster found Arterton a witty actress and selected her from a reported 1,500 candidates. One of the casting directors asked her to audition for the role, having seen her portray Rosaline in '' Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre. Arterton said Fields was "not so frolicsome" as other Bond girls, but is instead "fresh and young, not ... a femme fatale".[ Arterton described Fields as a homage to the 1960s Bond girls, comparing her red wig to that of ]Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On H ...
, who played Tracy Bond
Teresa "Tracy" Bond (born Teresa "Tracy" Draco, and also known as the Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo) is a fictional character and the main Bond girl in the 1963 James Bond novel ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', and its 1969 film adaptation. ...
in '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service''. Rigg, alongside Honor Blackman
Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...
, is one of her favourite Bond girls.[ Arterton had to film her character's death scene first day on the set, where she was completely covered head to toe in non-toxic black paint. The character's full name, which is a reference to ]the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
song "Strawberry Fields Forever
"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on 13 February 1967 as a double A-side single with " Penny Lane". It represented a departu ...
", is never actually uttered on screen; when she introduces herself to Bond, she says "Mr Bond, my name is Fields, I'm from the Consulate.". Robert A. Caplen suggests that this is a conscious effort to portray a woman 'whose character attributes are neither undermined nor compromised' by her name, even though her name may have sexual overtones reminiscent of earlier Bond girls
A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, or ...
. In August 2018, Arterton wrote a short story titled Woke Woman based on the character.
* Anatole Taubman as Elvis, Greene's second-in-command. Taubman wanted to make Elvis "as colourful, as edgy and as interesting as possible", with one of his suggestions being the bowl cut
A bowl cut or mushroom cut is a simple haircut where the front hair is cut with a straight fringe (see bangs) and the rest of the hair is left longer, the same length all the way around, or else the sides and back are cut to the same short lengt ...
. Amalric and Taubman improvised a backstory for Elvis: he is Dominic's cousin and once lived on the streets before being inducted into Quantum. He called Elvis "a bit of a goofball. He thinks he's all that but he's not really. … He's not a comic guy. He definitely takes himself very serious, but maybe by his taking himself too serious he may become friendly".
* Jesper Christensen
Jesper Christensen (; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including '' The Interpreter'' and '' Revelations''. He has also appeared as the my ...
as Mr. White, whom Bond captured after he stole the money won at ''Casino Royale'' in Montenegro.
* David Harbour
David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in films such as '' Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (2009), '' The Green Hornet'' (2011), ''End o ...
as Gregg Beam, the CIA section chief for South America and a contact of Felix Leiter.
* Rory Kinnear
Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor and playwright who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. In 2014, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of William Sha ...
as Bill Tanner, M's chief of staff.
* Tim Pigott-Smith
Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he wo ...
as the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
.
* Joaquín Cosío
Joaquín Cosío Osuna (born 6 October 1962) is a Mexican actor and poet. He is best known for roles such as Rubén "Mascarita" in ''Matando Cabos'' (2004), General Medrano in ''Quantum of Solace'' (2008), Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo in '' Narco ...
as General Medrano, the exiled general whom Greene is helping to get back into power, in return for support of his organisation. He murdered Camille's entire family when she was a young girl.
* Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Belize in the Broadway production of ''Angels in America'', for which he would win a Tony Award, and its HBO miniseries adaptation, for which he woul ...
as Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing a leg and his hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the ...
, Bond's ally at the CIA. Early script drafts gave Leiter a larger role, but his screentime was restricted by on-set rewrites.
* Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
as M. Forster felt Dench was underused in the previous films and wanted to make her part bigger, having her interact with Bond more because she is "the only woman Bond doesn't see in a sexual context", which Forster finds interesting.
* Fernando Guillén Cuervo
Fernando Guillén Cuervo (born March 11, 1963) is a Spanish actor, film director and scriptwriter.
Biography
Born on March 11, 1963 in Barcelona in a family of thespians to father Fernando Guillén and mother Gemma Cuervo. Cayetana (also an a ...
as Carlos, the Colonel of Bolivian Police, the chief of all police forces, and the contact of René Mathis in Bolivia.
* Paul Ritter
Simon Paul Adams (20 December 1966 – 5 April 2021), known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including ''Son of Rambow'' (2007), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' ...
as Guy Haines, special envoy
Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...
to the Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
and a member of Quantum.
* Neil Jackson
Neil Jackson (born 5 March 1976) is an English actor, singer, musician and writer who has appeared in several television series and films, but is probably best known for his role as Marcus on '' Blade: The Series'' and Sasha on ''Make It or Brea ...
as Edmund Slate, a henchman who fights Bond in Haiti.
* Simon Kassianides
Simon Mario Kassianides is an English actor, film director, producer and screenwriter.
Early life
Kassianides was born in London, of Greek Cypriot origin, the son of Helen and Mario Kassianides, both business owners. Kassianides has an older b ...
as Yusef Kabira, a member of Quantum who seduces female agents and manipulates them into giving away classified information. He is indirectly responsible for Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's 1953 James Bond novel '' Casino Royale''. She was portrayed by Ursula Andress in the 1967 James Bond parody, which is only slightly based on the novel, and by Eva Green in the 20 ...
's death.
* Stana Katic as Corrine Veneau, a Canadian agent and Yusef's latest target.
* Glenn Foster as Craig Mitchell, M's bodyguard and a double agent.
* Oona Chaplin
Oona Castilla Chaplin (; born 4 June 1986) is a Spanish-Swiss actress. Her roles include Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series ''Game of Thrones'', Kitty Trevelyan in the BBC drama '' The Crimson Field'', and Zilpha Geary in the series ''Taboo' ...
as Perla de las Dunas's receptionist, a woman saved by Camille Montes in one of the last sequences.
* Lucrezia Lante della Rovere
Lucrezia Lante della Rovere (; born 19 July 1966) is an Italian actress in film, television and theatre, who made her debut in Mario Monicelli's '' Speriamo che sia femmina'' (1986), where she acted along with Catherine Deneuve, Stefania Sandr ...
as Gemma, Mathis's girlfriend.
* Jesús Ochoa as Lieutenant Orso, a bodyguard of the exiled General Medrano
Marc Forster asked his friends and fellow directors Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón to appear in cameos. Cuarón appears as a Bolivian helicopter pilot, while del Toro provides several other voices.
Production
Development
In October 2005, before the beginning of production of ''Casino Royale'', Michael G. Wilson
Michael Gregg Wilson, (born January 21, 1942) is an American-British screenwriter and film producer, best known for his association with the ''James Bond'' film series.
Background
Wilson was born in New York City, the son of Dana (née Na ...
announced that Neal Purvis and Robert Wade
Neal Purvis (born 9 September 1961) and Robert Wade (born 1962) are screenwriters who co-wrote the seven ''James Bond'' films from 1999's ''The World Is Not Enough'' to 2021's ''No Time to Die'', as well as other works.
Early lives
Purvis's ...
were working on a screenplay for the next film. They deliberately wrote ''Casino Royale'' to tie in to the next film so they could exploit Bond's emotions following Vesper's death in the previous film. Purvis and Wade's first storyline followed Bond releasing Mr. White in Siena so that he could follow him and find his employers. Bond would later infiltrate the mysterious organisation, which is being led by the villain, Dante, who is aligned with Yusuf Kabira, Vesper's boyfriend. In July 2006, as '' Casino Royale'' entered post-production, Eon Productions announced Roger Michell, who directed Craig in ''Enduring Love
''Enduring Love'' (1997) is a novel by British writer Ian McEwan. The plot concerns two strangers who become perilously entangled after witnessing a deadly accident.
Summary
On a beautiful and cloudless day, a middle-aged couple celebrate thei ...
'' and '' The Mother'', had entered negotiations to direct, and the next film would be based on an original idea by Wilson. The film was confirmed for a 2 May 2008 release date, with Craig reprising the lead role. Months later, in October 2006, Michell stepped down as director citing the slow progress on the script. Upon Michell's departure, Sony Entertainment vice chairman Jeff Blake admitted a production schedule of 18 months was a very short window, and the release date was pushed back to late 2008. Purvis and Wade completed their draft of the script by April 2007, and Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...
, who polished the ''Casino Royale'' script, began his rewrite the next month. Work on script was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Haggis's draft was originally titled ''Sleep of the Dead''.
Following Michell's departure, Tony Scott
Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...
, Jonathan Mostow
Jonathan Mostow (born November 28, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed films such as ''Breakdown'', '' U-571'', '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', and '' Surrogates''.
Early life
Mostow was born ...
, Marc Forster
Marc Forster (born 30 November 1969) is a Swiss filmmaker. He is best known for directing the feature films '' Monster's Ball'', '' Finding Neverland'', '' Stranger than Fiction'', ''The Kite Runner'', '' Quantum of Solace'', ''World War Z'', and ...
, and Alex Proyas
Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films '' The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ...
were under consideration to replace him. In June 2007, Forster was confirmed as director. He was surprised that he was approached for the job, stating he was not a big Bond film fan, and that he would not have accepted had he not seen ''Casino Royale'' which he felt had humanised Bond; since travelling the world had become less exotic since the series's advent, it made sense to focus more on Bond as a character. Born in Germany and raised in Switzerland, Forster was the first Bond director not to come from the British Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
, although he noted that Bond's mother is Swiss, making him somewhat appropriate to handle the British icon. The director collaborated strongly with Barbara Broccoli
Barbara Dana Broccoli (born June 18, 1960) is an American film and stage producer, best known internationally for her work on the ''James Bond'' film series. With her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, Broccoli controls the ''James Bond'' film fr ...
and Michael G. Wilson, noting they only blocked two very expensive ideas he had.[ The director found ''Casino Royale''s 144-minute running time too long, and wanted his follow-up to be "tight and fast … like a bullet".]
Haggis, Forster and Wilson rewrote the story.[ Haggis said he completed his script two hours before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike officially began.][ Forster noted a running theme in his films was emotionally repressed protagonists, and the theme of the picture would be Bond learning to trust after feeling betrayed by Vesper.][ Forster said he created the Camille character as a strong female counterpart to Bond rather than a casual love interest; she openly shows emotions similar to those which Bond experiences but is unable to express.] Haggis located his draft's climax in the Swiss Alps, but Forster wanted the action sequences to be based around the four classical elements of earth, water, air and fire. The decision to homage Oddjob
Oddjob (often written as "Odd Job") is a fictional character in the espionage novels and films featuring James Bond. He is a henchman to the villain Auric Goldfinger in the 1959 James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and its 1964 film adaptation, mak ...
's murder of Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton
Shirley Jean Eaton (born 12 January 1937) is an English actress, author and singer. Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and gained her highest profile for her iconic appearance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in ...
) in '' Goldfinger'' in Fields's death came about as Forster wanted to show oil had replaced gold as the most precious material. The producers rejected Haggis's idea that Vesper Lynd had a child, because "Bond was an orphan ... Once he finds the kid, Bond can't just leave the kid". The water supply issue in Bolivia was the main theme, with a story based on the Cochabamba
Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...
Water Revolt.
Wilson decided on the title ''Quantum of Solace'' only "a few days" before its announcement on 24 January 2008. It was the name of a short story in Ian Fleming's anthology '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1960).[ The film is related to the title in one of its thematic elements: "when the ''Quantum of Solace'' drops to zero, humanity and consideration of one human for another is gone". Daniel Craig admitted, "I was unsure at first. Bond is looking for his quantum of solace and that's what he wants, he wants his closure. Ian Fleming says that if you don't have a quantum of solace in your relationship then the relationship is over. It's that spark of niceness in a relationship that if you don't have you might as well give up."][ He said that "Bond doesn't have that because his girlfriend esper Lyndhas been killed",] and therefore, " ond islooking for revenge … to make himself happy with the world again".[ Afterwards, Quantum was made the name of the organisation introduced in ''Casino Royale''.][ Craig noted the letter Q itself looks rather odd.][ Near the end of the film, the Camille Montes character and Bond have a discussion about their individual quests to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. Montes asks Bond to "let me know what it feels like" when he succeeds, the implication of the title being that it will be a small amount of solace compared to his despair. Bond's lack of emotion when he does exact revenge shows this to be the case.
In a December 2011 interview, Craig stated: "We had the bare bones of a script and then there was a writers' strike and there was nothing we could do. We couldn't employ a writer to finish it. I say to myself, 'Never again', but who knows? There was me trying to rewrite scenes—and a writer I am not".] He said that he and Forster "were the ones allowed to do it. The rules were that you couldn't employ anyone as a writer, but the actor and director could work on scenes together. We were stuffed. We got away with it, but only just. It was never meant to be as much of a sequel as it was, but it ended up being a sequel, starting where the last one finished".[
During filming, after the strike ended, Forster liked a ]spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...
by Joshua Zetumer, and hired him to reshape scenes for the later parts of the shoot, with which the director was still unsatisfied. Forster had the actors rehearse their scenes, as he liked to film scenes continually. Zetumer rewrote dialogue depending on the actors' ideas each day.[
]
Filming
''Quantum of Solace'' was shot in six countries. Second unit filming began in Italy at the Palio di Siena
The Palio di Siena (; known locally simply as ''Il Palio''), from Latin pallium,
plural form: Palii, is a horse race that is held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the ...
horse race on 16 August 2007, although at that point Forster was unsure how it would fit into the film.[ Some scenes were filmed also in ]Maratea
Maratea (; nap, Marathia, label= Marateota ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of Basilicata, in the province of Potenza. It is the only ''comune'' of the region on the Tyrrhenian coast, and is known as "the Pearl of the Tyrrhenian". Owing to t ...
and Craco
Craco is a ghost town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. It was abandoned towards the end of the 20th century, due to faulty pipe work that was thought to have failed, causing the town to be ab ...
, two small distinctive towns in Basilicata in southern Italy. Other places used for location shooting were Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
in August 2007; Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, Mexico in early 2008, for shots of the aerial battle; Malcesine
Malcesine is a ''comune'' (municipality) on the eastern shore of Lake Garda in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about northwest of Verona.
Geography and divisions
The comune of Malcesine ...
, Limone sul Garda
Limone sul Garda ( Gardesano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy (northern Italy), at the western bank of Lake Garda.
History
Despite the presence of famous cultivations of lemons (the meaning of in Italian), the ...
and Tremosine
Tremosine sul Garda (Brescian: ) is a ''comune'' in the Italian province of Brescia, in Lombardy, near Lake Garda. It is divided into 18 ''frazioni''; Pieve is the frazione which has the town hall. Vesio is the biggest one. Campione is a frazio ...
in Italy during March, and at Talamone
Talamone is a town in Tuscany, on the west coast of central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Orbetello, province of Grosseto, in the Tuscan Maremma.
Talamone is easily reached from Via Aurelia, and is about from Grosseto and ...
during the end of April. The main unit began on 3 January 2008[ at Pinewood Studios. The ]007 Stage
The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest sound stages in the world. It is located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and named after James Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.
The stage was ori ...
was used for the fight in the art gallery, and an MI6 safehouse hidden within the city's cisterns, while other stages housed Bond's Bolivian hotel suite,[ and the MI6 headquarters.][ Interior and exterior airport scenes were filmed at ]Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport covers about 8% of Rush ...
and the snowy closing scenes were filmed at the Bruneval Barracks in Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...
.
Shooting in Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
began on 7 February 2008 at Howard Air Force Base
Howard Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in Panama. It discontinued military operations on 1 November 1999 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which specified that US military facilities in the former ...
. The country doubled for Haiti and Bolivia, with the National Institute of Culture of Panama standing in for a hotel in the latter country. A sequence requiring several hundred extras was also shot at nearby Colón. Shooting in Panama was also carried out at Fort Sherman
Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base in Panama, located on Toro Point at the Caribbean (northern) end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón, Panama, Colón (which is on the eastern bank). It wa ...
, a former US military base on the Colón coast. Forster was disappointed he could only shoot the boat chase in that harbour, as he had a more spectacular vision for the scene. Officials in the country worked with the locals to "minimise inconvenience" for the cast and crew, and in return hoped the city's exposure in the film would increase tourism. The crew was going to move to Cusco, Peru for ten days of filming on 2 March,[ but the location was cancelled for budget reasons.][ Twelve days of filming in Chile began on 24 March at ]Antofagasta
Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669.
After the Spanish American wars ...
. There was shooting in Cobija
Cobija is a city in Bolivia, capital of the department of Pando, is located about 600 km (373 mi.) north of La Paz in the Amazon Basin on the border with Brazil. Cobija lies on the banks of the Rio Acre across from the Brazilian ci ...
, the Paranal Observatory
Paranal Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is located in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile on Cerro Paranal at altitude, south of Antofagasta. By total light-collecting area, it ...
, and other locations in the Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in th ...
. Forster chose the desert and the observatory's ESO Hotel to represent Bond's rigid emotions, and being on the verge of committing a vengeful act as he confronts Greene in the film's climax.[
]
During filming in Sierra Gorda, Chile, the local mayor, Carlos Lopez, staged a protest because he was angry at the filmmakers' portrayal of the Antofagasta Region
The Antofagasta Region ( es, Región de Antofagasta, ) is one of Chile's sixteen first-order administrative divisions. The second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla. It is bordered t ...
as part of Bolivia. He was arrested, detained briefly, and put on trial two days later. Eon dismissed his claim that they needed his permission to film in the area. Michael G. Wilson explained that Bolivia was appropriate to the plot, because of the country's history of water problems, and was surprised the two countries disliked each other a century after the War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...
. In a poll by Chilean daily newspaper ''La Segunda
''La Segunda'' ( es, The second one) is a Chilean afternoon daily newspaper, owned by El Mercurio SAP.
Their tendency is conservative, is the first Chilean newspaper to disclose information that occurred in the morning because it is evening. Its ...
'', 75 percent of its readers disagreed with Lopez's actions, due to the negative image of Chile they felt it presented, and the controversy's potential to put off productions looking to film in the country in the future.
From 4–12 April, the main unit shot on Sienese rooftops.[ Shooting on the real rooftops turned out to be less expensive than building them at Pinewood.][ The next four weeks were scheduled for filming the car chase at ]Lake Garda
Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy.
It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
and Carrara
Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mot ...
.[ On 14 April, a closing scene featuring ]Jesper Christensen
Jesper Christensen (; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including '' The Interpreter'' and '' Revelations''. He has also appeared as the my ...
's Mr. White and Paul Ritter
Simon Paul Adams (20 December 1966 – 5 April 2021), known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including ''Son of Rambow'' (2007), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' ...
's Guy Haines getting killed by Bond after Bond said his iconic "Bond, James Bond" line was reportedly filmed, but the filmmakers removed it during post-production in case they decided to bring back Mr. White and/or continue the Quantum story arc in future sequels. The scene's deletion later enabled Mr. White's return in ''Spectre
Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to:
Religion and spirituality
* Vision (spirituality)
* Apparitional experience
* Ghost
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...
''. On 19 April, an Aston Martin employee driving a DBS to the set crashed into the lake. He survived, and was fined £400 for reckless driving. Another accident occurred on 21 April, and two days later, two stuntmen were seriously injured, with one, Greek stuntman Aris Comninos, having to be put in intensive care. Filming of the scenes was temporarily halted so that Italian police could investigate the causes of the accidents. Stunt co-ordinator Gary Powell said the accidents were a testament to the realism of the action.[ Rumours of a "curse" spread among tabloid media, something which deeply offended Craig, who disliked that they compared Comninos's accident to something like his minor finger injury later on the shoot (also part of the "curse"). Comninos recovered safely from his injury.][
For the role Craig trained to be less bulky than in ''Casino Royale'' and told '']Men's Fitness
''Men's Fitness'' was a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series '' The Greatest American Hero''.
The magazine's slogan was "How ...
'' magazine "In fact, I was much fitter for this film compared to ''Casino Royale'' – I really had to be – and I was running a hell of a lot more in training, just so I could do these scenes, whereas last time I spent far more time pumping heavy weights to bulk up so I could look big."
Filming took place at the floating opera stage at Bregenz
Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...
, Austria, from 28 April – 9 May 2008. The sequence in which Bond stalks the villains during a performance of ''Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...
'' required 1,500 extras. The production used a large model of an eye, which Forster felt fitted in the Bond style, and the opera itself has parallels to the film. A short driving sequence was filmed at the nearby Feldkirch, Vorarlberg. The crew returned to Italy from 13 to 17 May to shoot a (planned) car crash at the marble quarry in Carrara, and a recreation of the Palio di Siena at the Piazza del Campo in Siena. 1,000 extras were hired for a scene where Bond emerges from the ''Fonte Gaia
The Fonte Gaia is a monumental fountain located in the Piazza del Campo in the center of Siena, Italy.
The first fountain in the Piazza del Campo was completed in 1342, after hydraulic construction had led water to the site. Underground pipes bro ...
''. Originally, he would have emerged from the city's cisterns at Siena Cathedral
Siena Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and ...
, but this was thought disrespectful.[ By June the crew returned to Pinewood for four weeks,][ where new sets (including the interior of the hotel in the climax) were built.][ The ]wrap
Wrap, WRAP or Wrapped may refer to:
Storage and preservation
* Gift wrap or wrap paper, used to enclose a present
* Overwrap, a wrapping of items in a package or a wrapping over packages
* Plastic wrap, a thin, clear, flexible plastic used to co ...
party was held on 21 June.
Design
Production designer Peter Lamont
Peter Curtis Lamont (12 November 1929 – 18 December 2020) was a British set decorator, art director, and production designer most noted for his collaborations with filmmaker James Cameron, and for working on eighteen ''James Bond'' films, fr ...
, a crew member on 18 previous Bond films, retired after ''Casino Royale''. Forster hired Dennis Gassner
Dennis Gassner (born October 22, 1948) is an American/Canadian production designer. He is notable for his work on ''Bugsy'', ''Road to Perdition'', ''Big Fish'', ''Blade Runner 2049'', and '' 1917'', his collaborations with the Coen brothers, as ...
in his stead, having admired his work on ''The Truman Show
''The Truman Show'' is a 1998 American psychological satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir, produced by Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman, and Adam Schroeder, and written by Niccol. The film stars Jim Carrey as Tr ...
'' and the films of the Coen brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
. Craig said the film would have "a touch of Ken Adam
Sir Kenneth Adam (born Klaus Hugo George Fritz Adam; 5 February 1921 – 10 March 2016) was a German-British movie production designer, best known for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for ''Dr. Stran ...
", while Michael G. Wilson also called Gassner's designs "a postmodern look at modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
". Forster said he felt the early Bond films' design "were ahead of their time",[ and enjoyed the clashing of an older style with his own because it created a unique look unto itself.][ Gassner wanted his sets to emphasise Craig's "great angular, textured face and wonderful blue eyes", and totally redesigned the MI6 headquarters because he felt Judi Dench "was a bit tired in the last film, so I thought, let's bring her into a new world".
Louise Frogley replaced ]Lindy Hemming
Lindy Hemming (born 21 August 1948) is a Welsh costume designer, who won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the 1999 film ''Topsy-Turvy''.
Hemming's name is an example of an aptronym.
Career
After she studied at the Royal Academy of ...
as costume design
Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...
er, though Hemming remained as supervisor. Hemming hired Brioni for Bond's suits since her tenure on the series began with 1995's ''GoldenEye
''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...
'', but Lindsay Pugh, another supervisor, explained their suits were "too relaxed". Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...
was hired to tailor "sharper" suits for Craig. Pugh said the costumes aimed towards the 1960s feel, especially for Bond and Fields. Prada provided the dresses for both Bond girls. Jasper Conran
Jasper Alexander Thirlby Conran (born 12 December 1959) is an English designer. He has worked on collections of womenswear and for the home, as well as productions for the stage in ballet, opera and theatre.
Early life
He is the second son of ...
designed Camille's ginger bandeau, bronze skirt and gold fish necklace, while Chrome Hearts
Chrome Hearts is a luxury brand from Hollywood, founded in 1988 by Richard Stark, Leonard Kamhout and John Bowman. It is currently co-owned by Richard Stark and his wife Laurie Lynn Stark. Its logo contains a cross with the brand name around it ...
designed gothic jewelry for Amalric's character, which the actor liked enough to keep. Sophie Harley, who created Vesper Lynd
Vesper Lynd is a fictional character featured in Ian Fleming's 1953 James Bond novel '' Casino Royale''. She was portrayed by Ursula Andress in the 1967 James Bond parody, which is only slightly based on the novel, and by Eva Green in the 20 ...
's earrings and Algerian loveknot necklace in ''Casino Royale'', was asked to create another version of the necklace.
The film returns to the traditional gun barrel opening shot, which was altered into part of the story for ''Casino Royale'' where it was moved to the beginning of the title sequence. In this film, the gun barrel sequence was moved to the end, which Wilson explained was done for a surprise, and to signify that the conclusion of the story had begun in the previous film. The opening credits were created by MK12
MK12 is a graphic design company best known for creating the title sequences for the films of Marc Forster, such as ''Stranger than Fiction (2006 film), Stranger than Fiction'' and ''Quantum of Solace'', as well as the interstitial videos in ''Th ...
. Having worked on Forster's '' Stranger than Fiction'' and ''The Kite Runner
''The Kite Runner'' is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. The story is set against a backdrop of ...
'', MK12 spontaneously began developing the sequence early on, and had a good idea of its appearance which meant it did not have to be redone when the title singer was changed. MK12 selected various twilight colours to represent Bond's mood and focused on a dot motif based on the gun barrel shot. MK12 also worked on scenes with graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...
s, including the electronic table MI6 uses, and the Port-au-Prince, Haiti title cards.
Effects
''Quantum of Solace'' was the last in Ford Motor
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobile ...
's three-film deal that began with 2002's ''Die Another Day
''Die Another Day'' is a 2002 spy film and the twentieth film in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It was produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Lee Tamahori. The fourth and final film st ...
''. Although Ford sold over 90% of the Aston Martin company in 2007, the Aston Martin DBS V12
The Aston Martin DBS is a high-performance grand tourer based on the DB9 and manufactured by the British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin.
Aston Martin has used the DBS name once before on their 1967–72 grand tourer coupé. The ...
returned for the film's car chase around Lake Garda
Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label= Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy.
It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...
; Dan Bradley was hired as second unit director because of his work on the second and third ''Bourne'' films, so the film would continue the gritty action style begun in ''Casino Royale''. He had intended to use Ford GT
The Ford GT is a mid-engine two-seater sports car manufactured and marketed by American automobile manufacturer Ford for the 2005 model year in conjunction with the company's 2003 centenary. The second generation Ford GT became available for ...
s for the opening chase, but it was replaced by the Alfa Romeo 159
The Alfa Romeo 159 (Type 939) is a compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Alfa Romeo between 2004 and 2011. Introduced at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, as a replacement for the 156, the 159 used the GM/Fiat Premium platform, sha ...
. After location filming in Italy, further close-ups of Craig, the cars and the truck were shot at Pinewood against a blue screen. Originally, three Alfa Romeos were in the sequence, but Forster felt the scene was too long and re-edited it so there would be two Alfas were chasing Bond.[ Ten cars were supplied by Aston Martin. Six 'hero' cars, needed for close-ups and promotional work, all survived filming unharmed with four more cars used for special effects and stunts.
Fourteen cameras were used to film the ]Palio di Siena
The Palio di Siena (; known locally simply as ''Il Palio''), from Latin pallium,
plural form: Palii, is a horse race that is held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the ...
footage, which was later edited into the main sequence. Aerial shots using helicopters were banned, and the crew were also forbidden from showing any violence "involving either people or animals."[ To shoot the foot chase in ]Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
in April 2008 four camera cranes were built in the town, and a cable camera was also used.[ ]Framestore
Framestore is a British animation, visual effects company and creative studio based on Chancery Lane in London. Formed in 1986, it acquired (and subsequently merged with) the Computer Film Company in 1997. It works on feature films and telev ...
worked on the Siena chase, duplicating the 1,000 extras during principal photography to match shots of the 40,000-strong audience at the real Palio, removing wires that held Craig and the stuntmen in the rooftop segment of the chase, and digital expansion of the floor and skylight in the art gallery Bond and Mitchell fall into.[ The art gallery fight was intended to be simple, but during filming Craig's stunt double accidentally fell from the construction scaffolding. Forster preferred the idea of Bond hanging from ropes reaching for his gun to kill Mitchell, rather than having both men run out of the building to continue their chase as specified in the script, and the number of effects shots increased.][
To film the aerial dogfight, a "Snakehead" camera was built and placed on the nose and tail of a ]Piper Aerostar
The Piper Aerostar (formerly Ted Smith Aerostar) is an American twin-engined propeller-driven executive or light transport aircraft, designed by Ted R. Smith. It was originally built by Ted Smith Aircraft Company, which after 1978 became part o ...
700. SolidWorks
SolidWorks is a solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) application published by Dassault Systèmes.
According to the publisher, over two million engineers and designers at more than 165,000 companies w ...
, who provided the software used to design the camera, stated "pilots for the first time can fly as aggressively as they dare without sacrificing the drama of the shot." The camera could turn 360 degrees and was shaped like a periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
. The crew also mounted SpaceCams on helicopters, and placed cameras with 1600mm lenses underground, to cover the action.[ Forster wanted to film the plane fight as a homage to Alfred Hitchcock's '']North by Northwest
''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture ...
'', and chose planes like the Douglas DC-3 to suit that.
The free-fall
In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on i ...
scene involved its own set of challenges; director Marc Forster didn't want to shoot the scene against a green screen. The scene was shot in an air tunnel at Bodyflight, which offers the same effects as skydiving. Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko did their own stunts for this scene. While a great solution for the actors' performances, the technique presented enormous VFX challenges: relighting shots captured in a tall white tube to match the sky over the Bolivian desert; and the impossibility of filming medium to wide shots of the actors. An array of eight Dalsa Origin
The Dalsa Origin is the first camera designed and built by Dalsa Corporation to be used specifically for digital cinematography.
Overview
The Dalsa Origin is the first commercially available digital cinema camera to capture at 4K resolution ...
cameras (supported by seven HD cameras and a 35mm hand-held camera, all running in sync) was used to create a virtual camera
In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
with which to shoot the actors floating in the simulator. Ged Wright
Ged Wright is a visual effects artist. He was nominated at the 83rd Academy Awards for his work on the film ''Iron Man 2''. This was in the category of Best Visual Effects. For which his nomination was shared with Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow and Da ...
and his team at Double Negative[ developed a method to use the data from these cameras that allowed these real performances to be placed in a synthetic environment as seen by a synthetic camera.
During the shooting in the wind tunnel Craig and Kurylenko wore wind-resistant contact lenses that enabled them to open their eyes as they fell. For safety and comfort, they only shot for 30 seconds at a time.] Forster wished he had had more time to work on the free-fall scene.[
The ]Moving Picture Company
The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is a multinational company providing visual effects, CGI, animation, motion design and other services for the film, TV, brand experience and advertising industries.
Their artists have produced Academy Award W ...
created the climactic hotel sequence. The fire effects were supervised by Chris Corbould
Christopher Charles Corbould, (; born 1958) is a British special effects coordinator best known for his work on major blockbuster films and the action scenes on 15 ''James Bond'' films since The Spy Who Loved Me. He has also worked extensivel ...
, and post-production MPC had to enhance the sequence by making the smoke look closer to the actors, so it would look more dangerous.[ A full-scale replica of the building's exterior was used for the exploding part Bond and Camille escape from.
The boat chase was another scene that required very little CGI. Machine FX worked on replacing a few shots of visible stuntmen with a digital version of Craig's head,][ and recreated the boats Bond jumps over on his motorcycle to make it look more dangerous.][ Crowd creation was done for the '']Tosca
''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...
'' scene by Machine FX, to make the performance look like it had sold out. Forster edited the opera scene to resemble '' The Man Who Knew Too Much''.[ In total, there are 900+ visual effects shots in ''Quantum of Solace''.][
]
Music
David Arnold, who composed the scores for the previous four Bond films, returned for ''Quantum of Solace''. He said that Forster likes to work very closely with his composers and that, in comparison to the accelerated schedule he was tied to on ''Casino Royale'', the intention was to spend a long time scoring the film to "really work it out." He also said he would be "taking a different approach" with the score. Arnold composed the music based on impressions from reading the script, and Forster edited those into the film. As with ''Casino Royale'', Arnold kept use of the "James Bond Theme" to a minimum.[ Arnold collaborated with Kieran Hebden for "Crawl, End Crawl," a remix of the score played during the end credits.
Jack White (musician), Jack White of The White Stripes and Alicia Keys collaborated on "Another Way to Die," the first Bond music duet. They had wanted to work together for two years beforehand.][ The song was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee; White played the drums while Keys performed on the piano.] The Memphis Horns also contributed to the track. White's favourite Bond theme is John Barry (composer), John Barry's instrumental piece for ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service (soundtrack), On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', and he watched various opening credit sequences from the series for inspiration while mixing the track.[ Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse had recorded a demo (music), demo track for the film, but Ronson explained Winehouse's well-publicised legal issues in the preceding weeks made her "not ready to record any music" at that time.
]
Release
The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
on 29 October 2008. Princes Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, William and Prince Harry, Harry attended, and proceeds from the screening were donated to the charities Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion. The film was originally scheduled to be released in the UK and North America on 7 November; however, Eon pushed forward the British date to 31 October during filming, while the American date was pushed back in August to 14 November, after ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' had been moved to 2009, thereby allowing the distributors to market the film over the autumn blockbuster Thanksgiving holiday weekend. In Australia, the film was moved a week to 19 November, after 20th Century Fox chose to release ''Australia (2008 film), Australia'' on ''Quantum of Solace''s original date of 26 November.
Marketing
Returning product placement partners from ''Casino Royale'' included Ford Motor Company, Ford, Heineken, Smirnoff, Omega SA, Virgin Atlantic and Sony Mobile Communications, Sony Ericsson. A reported £50 million was earned in product placement, which tops the Bond films' record of £44 million for ''Die Another Day''. The 2009 Ford Ka is driven by Camille in the film. Avon Products, Avon created a fragrance called Bond Girl 007 with Gemma Arterton
Gemma Christina Arterton (born 2 February 1986) is an English actress and producer. After her stage debut in Shakespeare's ''Love's Labour's Lost'' at the Globe Theatre (2007), Arterton made her feature film debut in the comedy '' St Trinian's'' ...
as the "face" of the product. Coca-Cola became a promotional partner, rebranding Coke Zero as "Coke Zero Zero 7." A tie-in advert featured the orchestral element of "Another Way to Die." In the film, Coca-Cola was briefly seen being served at Dominic Greene's party. Sony held a competition, "Mission for a Million," enabling registered players to use their products to complete certain tasks. Each completed "mission" gave consumers a chance to win $1 million and a trip to a top-secret location.
Merchandise
Corgi International Limited made 5-inch action figures and gadgets (such as a voice-activated briefcase), as well as its traditional die-cast toy vehicles. It also created 7-inch figures of characters from the previous films. Scalextric released four racing sets to coincide with the film. Activision released its first James Bond game, also titled ''Quantum of Solace (video game), Quantum of Solace'', which is based on both ''Casino Royale'' and ''Quantum of Solace''. It is the first James Bond (games), Bond game to feature Craig's likeness and the first History of video game consoles (seventh generation), seventh-generation console game in the series. Swatch designed a series of wrist watches, each of them inspired by a Bond villain.
Though the screenplay was not Novelization, novelised despite its original storyline, Penguin Books published a compilation of Fleming's short stories entitled ''For Your Eyes Only (short story collection)#Quantum of Solace, Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories'', with a UK release date of 29 May 2008 and a North American release date of 26 August 2008. The book combines the contents of Fleming's two short story collections, '' For Your Eyes Only''—including the original "Quantum of Solace" short story—and ''Octopussy and The Living Daylights''.
Home media
''Quantum of Solace'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray by MGM via 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in Australia, the UK and North America from 18 to 24 March 2009. On the DVD sales chart the film opened at No. 3, grossing $21,894,957 from 1.21m DVD units sold. , 2,643,250 DVD units were sold, generating $44,110,750 in sales revenue. These figures do not include Blu-ray sales or DVD rentals. The DVDs were released in both a standard one-disc set and a deluxe two-disc special edition. There are no audio commentaries or deleted scenes on these editions.
Reception
Box office
Upon its opening in the UK, the film grossed £4.9 million ($8 million), breaking the record for the largest Friday opening (31 October 2008) in the UK. The film then broke the UK opening-weekend record, taking £15.5 million ($25 million) in its first weekend, surpassing the previous record of £14.9 million held by ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. It earned a further £14 million in France and Sweden—where it opened on the same day. The weekend gross of the equivalent of $10.6 million in France was a record for the series, surpassing what ''Casino Royale'' made in five days by 16%. The $2.7 million gross in Sweden was the fourth-highest opening for a film there.
The following week, the film was playing in sixty countries. It grossed the equivalent of $39.3 million in the UK, $16.5 million in France and $7.7 million in Germany on 7 November 2008. The film broke records in Switzerland, Finland, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Romania and Slovenia. Its Chinese and Indian openings were the second-largest ever for foreign-language films.
The film grossed $27 million on its opening day in 3,451 cinemas in Canada and the United States, where it was the number one film for the weekend, with $67.5 million and $19,568 average per cinema. It was the highest-grossing opening weekend ''Bond'' film in the US, and tied with ''The Incredibles'' for the biggest November opening outside of the ''Harry Potter (film series), Harry Potter'' series. From the British opening on 31 October, through to the US opening weekend on 14 November, the film had grossed a total $319,128,882 worldwide. The film grossed $168.4 million in Canada and the US, and $421.2 million in other territories, for a total of $589.6 million.
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "Brutal and breathless, ''Quantum Of Solace'' delivers tender emotions along with frenetic action, but coming on the heels of ''Casino Royale'', it's still a bit of a disappointment." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 48 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Critics generally preferred ''Casino Royale'', but continued to praise Daniel Craig's depiction of Bond, and agree that the film is still an enjoyable addition to the series. The action sequences and pacing were praised, but criticism grew over the realism and serious but gritty feeling that the film carried over. The film earned an average grade of "B−" from CinemaScore's audience surveys, on an A+ to F scale, the lowest of the Craig's era as Bond.
Roger Moore, the third actor to play Bond in the films, said that Daniel Craig was a "damn good Bond but the film as a whole, there was a bit too much flash cutting ndit was just like a commercial of the action. There didn't seem to be any geography and you were wondering what the hell was going on." Kim Newman of ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' magazine gave it a 4/5 rating, remarking it was not "bigger and better than ''Casino Royale'', [which is] perhaps a smart move in that there's still a sense at the finish that Bond's mission has barely begun." However, he expressed nostalgia for the more humorous Bond films. ''The Sunday Times'' review noted that "following ''Casino Royale'' was never going to be easy, but the director Marc Forster has brought the brand's successful relaunch crashing back to earth—with a yawn"; the screenplay "is at times incomprehensible" and the casting "is a mess." The review concludes that "Bond has been stripped of his iconic status. He no longer represents anything particularly British, or even modern. In place of glamour, we get a spurious grit; instead of style, we get product placement; in place of fantasy, we get a redundant and silly realism." ''The Guardian'' gave the film 3 stars, and was particularly fond of Daniel Craig's performance, saying he "made the part his own, every inch the coolly ruthless agent-killer, nursing a broken heart and coldly suppressed rage" and calling the film "a crash-bang Bond, high on action, low on quips, long on location glamour, short on product placement"; it concludes "''Quantum of Solace'' isn't as good as ''Casino Royale'': the smart elegance of Daniel Craig's Bond debut has been toned down in favour of conventional action. But the man himself powers this movie; he carries the film: it's an indefinably difficult task for an actor. Craig measures up."
''Screen International, Screen Daily'' says, "Notices will focus—rightly—on Craig's magnetism as the steely, sexy, murderous MI6 agent, but two other factors weigh in and freshen up proceedings: Forster's new technical team, led by cinematographer Roberto Schaefer and production designer Dennis Gassner. And the ongoing shift of M, as played by Judi Dench, to front and centre: the Bond girls fade into insignificance as she becomes his moral counterpoint and theirs is the only real relationship on screen." The review continues, "Bond is, as has been previously noted, practically the Martin Scorsese of the BAFTAs: 22 films later, with grosses probably close to the Gross domestic product, GDP of one of the small nations it depicts, it's still waiting for that BAFTA Award for Best British Film, Alexander Korda award. The best ''Casino Royale'' could achieve was a gong for sound. Will this be the year that changes its fortunes?" Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', who praised the previous film, disliked ''Quantum of Solace''. He wrote that the plot was mediocre, characters weak, and that Bond lacked his usual personality, despite his praise for Daniel Craig's interpretation of the role. Throughout his review, he emphasised that "James Bond is not an action hero." Kate Muir wrote in ''The Times'' that "The ''Bond'' franchise is 50 years old this year, and the scriptless mess of ''Quantum of Solace'' may be considered its mid-life crisis", before she went on to praise the film's successor ''Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the vill ...
'' as a "resurrection". Some writers criticised the choice of ''Quantum of Solace'' as a title. "Yes, it's a bad title," wrote Marni Weisz, the editor of ''Famous'', a Canadian film publication distributed in cinemas in that country, in an editorial entitled "At least it's not ''Octopussy (film), Octopussy''."
Not all the reviews were as critical. Tim Robey of ''The Daily Telegraph'', in a reflective review of the film in 2013, was positive. He praised the film's shorter runtime, claiming that many other ''Bond'' films run out of steam before the end, and included ''Casino Royale'' in this category. Describing the film as having a "rock-solid dramatic idea and the intelligence to run with it", he gave the film four stars out of five.
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...
retrospectively stated that the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike negatively impacted on the production and end result of ''Quantum of Solace'', and in 2011 said "we had to cobble that one together because it was made in the midst of the writers' strike, and it had an effect on the finished product, no doubt." During a 2021 interview on '' The Empire Film Podcast'' Craig described the film as a "shit-show" and referred to it as one of his least favourite performances as Bond.
Accolades
The film was nominated for Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Visual Effects, Film and Sound Editing at the 2008 Satellite Awards, winning Best Song. It was nominated for Best Action Movie at the 2009 Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Critics' Choice Awards, and at the Empire Awards, which is voted for by the public, it was shortlisted for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Newcomer, Best Thriller and Best Soundtrack. It was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, while Kurylenko and Dench were both nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award. It was nominated by the 7th Visual Effects Society Awards, Visual Effects Society Awards for "Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture."
Movie critic Gilbert Cruz listed the film's pre-titles sequence as the eighth-greatest car chase in film history.
See also
* Eco-terrorism in fiction
* Outline of James Bond
References
Sources
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External links
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{{Authority control
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