Comedian Daniel Craig and the producers of “Quantum of Solace” explain why the film was a critical failure. Apparently, it was in part because of the writers’ strike.
Quantum of Solace : a minor James Bond
In 2008, Marc Forster is responsible for directing Quantum of Solace, the second license opus James bond worn by Daniel Craig. After the immense success of Casino Royale, the pressure was heavy, and fans were waiting for this new component at the turn. In addition to the return of Daniel Craig as 007, the film also brought together a cast including Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton, David Harbor, Jeffrey Wright and obviously Judi Dench as Mr. Unfortunately, Quantum of Solace has received mixed reviews, and remains, with Spectrum, the least popular opus of the Daniel Craig era. On the box office side, however, the feature film grossed more than $ 589 million in revenue. (For a budget of 200 million dollars).
The writers’ strike
One of the reasons for the critical failure of the footage concerns the writers’ strike. This occurred between the November 5, 2007 and February 12, 2008, battery during the production of Quantum of Solace. Paul Haggis, the film’s screenwriter, gave a draft of his story the day before the strike began. The rushed pre-production phase to meet the shooting start date didn’t help matters. In the recent documentary Becoming Bond on Apple TV, Daniel Craig and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson explained what was wrong with Quantum of Solace. Here are Daniel Craig’s comments on the matter:
We had a writers’ strike. We had a script that wasn’t finished. And then it wasn’t Casino Royale, there was the unsettling second album syndrome. In a way, we couldn’t beat Casino… It’s easy to say. Of course, we wanted to dominate Casino Royale, but, you know… it was an amazing movie.
Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson also returned to this writers’ strike that did not help their affairs:
We basically started shooting without a script, which is never a good idea. But the script has been returned. And I remember the writer who handed in the script picked up his check, then picked up his sign and stood outside the studio going on strike. We were kinda screwed up, and we all had to get confused and try to make the story work, and it wasn’t working very well. But I think back to the movie, and you know, it’s still a good movie.
Unlike previous films in the license, the era of Daniel Craig offers films connected to each other, to write a comprehensive story. Thus, inevitably, each film is a stone for a larger edifice. And even if Quantum of Solace is not the most successful of this saga, it remains indeed an endearing and effective blockbuster. To die can wait, the last part worn by Daniel Craig, is expected on October 6, and will thus serve as an overall conclusion to the saga.
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