Daniel Craig subverted and redefined James Bond for the present day with his first appearance as the charming MI6 agent in Casino Royale. A revolutionary film at the time, Craig’s Bond reworked all that was wrong with the franchise and then retained all that was good. This was welcomed with open arms by fans of the franchise, which had veered into campy territory with the Pierce Brosnan films.
With such a strong foundation, Craig’s next outing as Bond in Quantum of Solace was widely panned due to its terrible screenplay. The franchise would not get its footing again till Sam Mendes’ Skyfall. However, Quantum of Solace is still lauded for its interesting plot, which would make Bond even more topical, much like his American counterpart, Jason Bourne.
Reasons For The Failure Of Quantum Of Solace
The second film in Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond, Quantum of Solace, is widely considered to be an unworthy successor to the revolutionary Casino Royale. The actor himself admitted that his performance in the film was his weakest in all of the Bond films. The film earned less than Casino Royale, garnering $589 million against a $230 million budget.
Many attribute the failure of the film to its writing. Screenwriter Paul Haggis reportedly turned in his draft of the script two hours before the 2008 WGA strikes and hence no rewrites were made by a screenwriter during filming. Craig mentioned about the script they had in an interview with Collider,
“On Quantum, we were f*cked. 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.”
Despite the criticism, fans of the franchise still laude the film for its storyline, where James Bond is seemingly at odds with MI6. However, many have said that the screenplay does not do it justice.
How Could Daniel Craig’s Quantum of Solace Have Built On The Storyline?
One of the defining features of the James Bond films is that Bond never goes against his organization MI6. The intelligence agency always emerges as the hero who saves the day and has never been at the morally wrong end of the conflict. However, Quantum of Solace changed this narrative when it was revealed that MI6 was involved with the Bolivian oil companies. While this was a new territory for the Bond films, it was never built upon and the MI6 is still not an adversary for Daniel Craig’s Bond.
The film does not delve deeper into this direction, making key stakeholders of MI6 such as M unaware of the involvement. Quantum of Solace wastes an incredible opportunity to put James Bond in conflict with MI6 in a much more serious, much like Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne does against the CIA in his Bourne films.
Such a conflict would have been a welcome addition to the character who has grown darker with each film, starting with Casino Royale.
Also read:Not Pedro Pascal, A Major Fan-Favorite Game of Thrones Actor Could Have Been the Next James Bond
Matt Damon Said That He Would Never Play James Bond
While the James Bond films have steered clear of being anti-establishment, the spy’s American counterpart Jason Bourne has no qualms against putting the CIA as a villain. Matt Damon’s Bourne series puts him against a group of assassins sent by the CIA to eliminate him after Jason Bourne goes rogue.
Actor Matt Damon has played the American spy in four films and has gained international fame as an action star. While it is impossible for an American actor to play James Bond, when asked if he would be open to it, Damon refused. Citing that James Bond is a dated character with the values of the 60s while his own Jason Bourne is the spy of today, he said to GQ
“I like Bourne better than Bond…Daniel’s Bond has upgraded him and brought him more into the present, but, classically, that character is a misogynist who likes swilling martinis and killing people and not giving a s*it. Whereas Jason Bourne is a serial monogamist…And Bourne would obviously win in a fight.”
While Jason Bourne does seem to have a slight edge over James Bond in terms of to what depths the character might go, Bond still has decades of legacy. Whoever would be replacing Daniel Craig’s iteration, however, will have to update themselves to spare the humiliation.
Also read:“I want to do Daredevil”: Matt Damon Once Agreed to Become Marvel’s Matt Murdock Under 1 Condition
