Quantum of Solace (2008)
Coming out of 2006's Casino Royale which lit a new fire underneath the James Bond franchise, audiences could not wait for the next edition in the franchise and only had to wait 2 short years for Quantum of Solace to find release with Marc Forster taking over in the role of director. Sadly though many viewed Quantum of Solace as an overall step down from Casino Royale and quite frankly its easy to see why at least in the context of being the follow-up to such a near perfect film.
The main issue that plagues Quantum of Solace is one that has been seen before in the franchise, with a lesser focus on a specific conflict trying to put Bond in a mystery setting historically hasn't worked well with his best outings being a more focused fight (Goldfinger, The Man With the Golden Gun, & Casino Royale to name a few). Especially with such a long runtime, without a clear focus the film just ends up feeling boring and messy. Even once we do get to the main conflict and the film is supposed to get going, the plot this movie creates is just not all that interesting. It doesn't help that the action also is a clear step down from that in Casino Royale. Similar to the previous film, Quantum of Solace tries to continue to have the complex and well-choreographed action sequences as the ones in Casino Royale but fails to create the same realism and unpredictability as those action scenes with the end product often feeling overly choreographed and contrived.
With that said, Quantum of Solace is far from the worst the Bond franchise has had to offer. Where sure both the story and action might be lesser than that in Casino Royale they still are competent and watchable. The acting also continues to be a big highlight. Daniel Craig brings such a natural and fresh charisma to the role which is able to bring this character into the modern world and modern social standards successfully without losing his coolness. Not only does Craig continue to have great charisma with Judi Dench but also works quite well with newcomer Olga Kurylenko.
Quantum of Solace might not reach the same highs as Casino Royale but in the context of the entire James Bond franchise, it is hard to say that the film is not one of the better editions simply considering it is overall competent. There is not a single element in the film that is a complete failure, instead the worst it really gets is being mediocre and forgettable especially when compared to the films to come directly before and after it.
Quantum of Solace might not reach the same highs as Casino Royale but in the context of the entire James Bond franchise, it is hard to say that the film is not one of the better editions simply considering it is overall competent. There is not a single element in the film that is a complete failure, instead the worst it really gets is being mediocre and forgettable especially when compared to the films to come directly before and after it.