Quantum of Solace’s 5th anniversary: 007’s Rorschach test

Quantum of Solace’s soundtrack

Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond film that debuted five years ago this month, is like a 007 Rorschach test. Fans have expressed wide-ranging views of the film from a well-acted drama to a mishmash heavily influenced by the Jason Bourne films. Even Star Daniel Craig, in 2011, expressed disappointment in how Quantum turned out.

Quantum may be the most expensive 007 film, with an estimated budget of $230 million and location shooting in several countries. 2012’s Skyfall had an estimated budget of $200 million, obviously still a lot, but the first unit didn’t travel to Shanghai and Macau, with a second unit getting enough footage to make sequences set in those locations work.

During 2012 activities for the 50th anniversary of the Bond film series produced by Eon Productions. But Quantum wasn’t mentioned as much as other films. The Everything Or Nothing documentary included a few clips but Quantum wasn’t examined in detail.

Quantum was billed as a “direct” sequel: publicity stressed the story began moments after the end of 2006’s Casino Royale. Meanwhile, director Marc Forster, IN A 2008 INTERVIEW WITH NEW YORK MAGAZINE talked about how he sneaked political content into the movie past producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

“I had to subversively inject my ideas to make the movie my own,” Forster said in the interview. There was also this passage:

In fact, the director—never a Bond fanatic—is surprised that 007 has survived this long, “especially as a colonialist or imperialistic character. That’s why you have to put a dent in him, because those powers can’t survive. It’s the end of the American world power in the next few decades.”

Paul Rowlands, writing in the Money Into Light Web site, called Quantum one of the most underrated of the series” while also saying the 2008 movie “took the crown of the most controversial Bond film from LICENCE TO KILL (1989).”

A writer’s strike occurred a few months before Quantum was scheduled to go into production. That is usually blamed for problems with the film. However, various accounts later surfaced indicating script problems occurred earlier, including time wasted on a rejected script about Bond’s search for the child of Vesper Lynd.

Quantum’s box office was almost identical to Casino, each having worldwide ticket sales exceeding $590 million. It would be the last 007 films for four years until after Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer completed a trip through bankruptcy, leading to 2012’s release of Skyfall.

It remains to be seen whether elements of Quantum, including the villainous organization by that name, will be taken up in future 007 film adventures.

Earlier posts:

MAY 2011: QUANTUM OF SOLACE, A REAPPRAISAL

DECEMBER 2011: DANIEL CRAIG, 2008 AND 2011 VERSIONS

DECEMBER 2011: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH THE SCRIPT OF QUANTUM OF SOLACE?