The QUANTUM OF SOLACE That Might Have Been!

[@D3lorean85]

The opening sequence with the Aston is one of the best ever!

[@twds01]

True but I've owned a couple of Alfa 159's and they'd be left standing by an Aston!

[@brianjetton3962]

Great opening.

[@ntso77]

Yes, we needed a scene like this after the one in "Goldeneye" - long overdue!!

[@thebrowns1054]

I would love to see Marc Forster's directors cut of QoS, give him the time he should have had to edit it and see what it could have been 🍸👍

[@JamesSnell-rc5xt]

I still like what we got in Quantum of Solace. Yes, it's missing 15 to 20 minutes of much-needed character development and story cohesion. But what made it onto the screen is damned good.

[@davidnorris3131]

The last film where his suits still fitted!

[@ThePixelExpedition]

Honestly - I love this movie.

[@Daltonis007]

Great video, thanks! David Arnold’s score here is incredible - especially Tosca. I’m with you. It doesn’t deserve the hate it’s received. Every time the movie takes a breath (scenes with M and Mathis) it really resonates. And I love the villain’s plot, re water in Bolivia - it’s very Fleming like and localized. But the quick cut editing does really hurt it, although I appreciate the explanation. Six weeks of editing is insane.

[@AnalyzeThisMisterBond]

Some Kind of Hero is an incredible book, and the chapters on the Craig films in particular are so rich with detail. I really love some of the ideas that didn't make it to the screen.

[@dennisjames6753]

Quantum might be my favorite Craig film now. I love that it's just tight and compact with a lot of energy. I loved it as much as CR back in 2008 and saw it multiple times on the big screen.

[@KlingKlangMachine]

I like Quantum. The overall look of the film still holds up well, and the wardrobe is great. I would wear everything that Daniel wears in this movie, today. David Arnold is at the top of this game with tracks like "Night at the Opera". Although the editing is choppy, it could be corrected with a director's cut in the future, surely Marc Foster has been thinking about this over the years.

[@GhostWolf141]

Don’t think Quantum is as bad as a lot of people make it.

[@seanjoness9311]

It isn’t. I have issue with it but I’d never dismiss it and the film does get better every time I watch it

[@stephenreed2093]

It’s a lot better if you watch it immediately after Casino Royale

[@Aceimus1066]

A rough diamond

[@robfong5298]

QoS is more rewatchable than Spectre IMO.

[@HOTD108_]

Quantum of Solace murdered my entire family and sneezed in my mouth.

[@jsadowski5]

This was excellent! I was always a fan of QOS and this insight was fantastic!

[@Plally06]

This is great! Fantastic detail. So many what ifs and possibilities here. We did lose something but what we have is by no means bad. I hold this film dear to my heart.

[@wesjackson7437]

This is a great video, David. Thank you for the great content.

[@BritishCulture]

Great video, and this is the film that made me a fan of the cinematic 007!

[@ChilianaJones]

Damn fine suits and ties in that film. Love the brown Tom Ford suit with the (champagne) tie.

[@danielscott8180]

Agreed. Having haunting memories of Vesper throughout the film, would add so much to Craig's tormented Bond.

[@jamesbondguy6718]

I have always enjoyed Quantum of Solace. I remember leaving the theatre loving the film. I did not realize until the night I saw the movie, that Quantum was going to pick up right where Casino Royale left off. I was catching up on Casino Royale on TV where they were promoting Quantum in between commercials. I like how the film focuses on Bond's mission, (which could have been explained better) and the revenge for vesper is always there driving 007 in the movie and they save that story for last. For me, it was not a disappointment. I definitely liked it.

[@thetalentof]

There's definitely a great Bond movie in there somewhere - if you got Stuart Baird who edited Casino Royale to go through all the original footage to pace out the action and make it more digestible (especially as the stunts are fantastic and deserve more screen-time between cuts), add more of the establishing shots, cutaways and inserts that were shot to help pad out scenes and set atmosphere, add the deleted scene that was shot of Mr White confronting Guy Haines towards the end before Craig apprehends Vesper's boyfriend (more Mr White in general = instant win) and put in Eva Almér's theme 'Forever I Am All Yours' that was ditched (I think it's aged much better than the one they used) then you would have a pretty solid Bond film that would make a lot of fans' top 10 lists!

[@waltppk]

Marc's editor Matt was my roommate for a bit in the late 80's. At the time one of the other roommates in the house and I were going through a never ending VHS pause button deep dive with our worn out copy of Octopussy. Maybe some of it wore off on him? Little did we know he'd go on to a very big editing career.

[@CGilsonIII]

Awesome and wholesome.

[@andrewwarren3849]

Cool story! The alt take on QoS sounds like it would have been great!

[@brianjetton3962]

Best part of QoS is the scene from Strawberry Fields on the bed covered in oil (ala Goldfinger) to "I said get in." What puts it over the top for me is the music. It just drips with 007 cool.

[@deansmith2440]

I have always been a fan of QOS!

[@lightlegion_]

Hello! Your creativity is truly remarkable!

[@simonfirth2018]

A thoroughly fascinating video there sir. Beautifully delivered and lots and lots of information and thoughts, 99% of which was certainly new to me. As for what we have, I thoroughly love. Might even be my favourite Craig Bond.

[@RyanHeafner]

Quantum and Living Daylights are among my favorite Bond movies

[@gekko792003]

Meaningfully underrated film

[@inmediasres1177]

Casino Royal is powerful and full of beauty ... Quantum of Solance is heartbreaking and full of pain ... booth movies together are a well balanced and awesome package.

[@cjk5115]

This wasn't a bad movie per se, but the villain was forgettable and the ending was pretty directionless due largely to the writer's strike. The opening sequence with the chase in the tunnel in the side of the mountain is still one of the best ever, though.

[@09juliancarr]

I’ve got to say that I had the pleasure of meeting both Daniel Craig and David Arnold at the QoS wrap party and they were both great and charming….

[@tommy1138]

I've loved Quantum since I first saw it in the theater. Love the style, love the action and I really love the fact that Bond plays it like a vicious dog that's been unleashed. I HATE the editing. Just because you have 5 cameras covering the action scenes, doesn't mean the audience needs to SEE the coverage from all 5 cameras during every action scene. I still watch it quite often and I'm a fan that doesn't need to be sold on the charm and badassery of Quantum Of Solace.

[@gnb_2476]

Quantum of Solace is one of the Bond movies I watch the most. It is short and moves quickly, with good action scenes.

[@brucecrawford_17]

IMO, Quantum of Solace is The Last Jedi to Casino Royale. Meaning, it had different ideas than what was left at the end of the first film, like randomly letting go of Mr. White as a character in the story until Spectre. Casino Royale was all about Bond becoming Bond, as we know, but Quantum of Solace was like, “No, wait a minute, he’s not Bond yet.” TBH, I just like the ending when Bond confronts Vesper’s past "lover." That said, I’m glad that there’s Bond fans of Quantum of Solace. It was just a major disappointment for me.

[@bryanvangilder6179]

Great insight and background of QOS. I have sat in on video editing for ads in the past. It is a very difficult, time consuming tedious process.

[@crygreg8484]

Quite fascinating. QoS always kinda resonated with me, despite the editing and the cuts and the - sadly - short length of the film. Specifically Bond's portrayal. Getting to know more about the film and its potential "cut content" was quite amazing. The idea of Bond torturing was sort of played with in the opening with Mr. White but of course not taken much further. The idea of Bond working his way up the organization is VERY reminiscent of "License To Kill". Damn ... I also remember the rumors about a potential child of Vesper in the story, but I kinda forgot about it. That would have been quite interesting, maybe a first "lead up" to No Time To Die as we received it? I honestly would have loved some flashbacks to her. There's quite some time during Casino Royale between the hospital and them being in Venice to explore their relationship deeper. Such a shame, truly ... I do wonder if you could do similar research for the game "Blood Stone" which also had Daniel Craig's Bond starring in it and left people hanging on a cliffhanger - that was never resolved due to the 50th anniversary coming closer and the game's studio closing down, sadly. Yet they did start working on a sequel. I'm really curious how that would have turned out too. But also there is No Time To Die that also almost 100% received major rewrites in its production - not to mention the vision of the previous director being vastly different, possibly having Bond survive the whole thing too.

[@RS-xb5br]

Great movie. Only weakness is the aggressive cutting of the action at the beginning which could have been so much better.

[@epptri]

Amy Winehouse would have made for a great theme song.

[@StupidFaceRob]

“No good about goodbye” by Shirley Bassey is the best Bond theme we never got. They even use the melody in the score.

[@chrisperlaky8715]

A favorite scene is when Greene approaches the General and has him sign over the Utility Rights to Quantum. It's a great example of Corporatism and how in reality it's the politicians, generals, etc... that sell out their country. The corporation is just a lobbying agent petitioning government for favoritism when government representatives have no Constitutional Power (in the US) to authorize such favoritism and yet politicians leverage the power of government to fund their next campaign or acquire job security post "Serving their Country." As much as I despise the editing I would still prefer the song be changed to Christian Wolf's "Forever, I Am Yours."

[@freddierodriguez3036]

Great video David! Casino Royale is my favorite Bond movie and QOS is my second favorite. You can’t watch one without the other. Regardless of the turmoil behind the scenes it manages to close out the story from CR, its full of exciting action scenes, it features 2 stunningly beautiful Bond girls with one of them being ahead of the “woke” movement. Think about that for a sec, in 2008 a James Bond film featured a beautiful strong woman with a revenge agenda alongside Bond, even the movie poster features her alongside him. Lastly, the fashion designers hit it out the park from Haiti outfit to Harrington jacket. That said, I can happily watch Casino Royale then QOS and stop there over and over again. Nice shout out to Layer Cake, another great Craig movie. 🫶🏼

[@freddierodriguez3036]

One more thing, for having issues with writing there were a few very clever things in this movie that intertwined with CR. For example, in CR Bond joins Vesper in the shower as she deals with the trauma of death in contrast he joins Camille after she’s shot the General while the room up in flames. Vesper needed him while Camille stood on her own. Again, so much to love about this movie. 🫶🏼

[@jayhatfield8177]

I've gained an appreciation for The Quantum of Solace.

[@Aceimus1066]

You won me over with it a few years ago. QoS has shot up in my rankings.

[@roulernbleu4532]

Always liked QoS. I like even the song, most people dislike it. I think it's different, not typical Bond song, but they don't have to be all similar.

[@danielscott8180]

All the different layers that Bond has to go through to find Dante is actually based on Dante's Inferno, likening Quantum to the layers of Hell.

[@philhellmuth2771]

In NTTD they wanted to finish all the loose ends of the Craig arc and here I am still wondering what‘s the deal with Guy Haines

[@darnielarnold9298]

😂

[@arcoholic3]

Thank you for this interesting essay on my second favourite Daniel Craig Bond film. I never knew the full story with Roger Michel, but having worked with him on several of his dramas, I did have a conversation with him about Bond when he was still thinking of doing it. He loved the idea of working with Daniel Craig again, but was full of a kind of "I'm not worthy" enui about it. By the end of the conversation we both thought it would be fun and a bit of a dream to do it (both beings fans of the genre). So sad he never got to do it eventually, he was a brilliant director and would have turned out a fantastic film, but I guess the planets never aligned for him. He is sadly no longer with us.

[@neilmatthews5590]

One of my favourite Bond films , although I hardly ever watch it on its own , usually straight after watching Casino Royale, none the less a great epilogue to CR

[@JohnDoe-tm9wz]

I like QoS but "Sleep of the Dead" sounds like it could have been a classic! 🙌🏻

[@paulnewton1127]

Personally I liked the film from day one. But Casino Royale was always going to raise the critics expectations too high. If fact Craig's first 3 films are my personal favourite.

[@m.d.kenyon]

I was originally a bit confused by Quantum - as I had heard it was going to be more of a direct revenge story sequel - but I enjoyed it at the time (after I recovered from the editing migraine having sat too far forward in the cinema!) Enjoyed hearing about the other possibilities…Amy Winehouse could have been awesome - but essentially David - you are bringing me round, I’m pretty happy with what we ended up with.

[@walterblaque244]

I always watch QOS immediately after Casino Royale, it's a decent follow up, it's not perfect but sustainable. I would really love to see the deleted scenes especially the original ending with Mr. White and Guy Haines.

[@TheBondReport]

Having said this, and I think I know the answer based on your final point about changing the slide whistle. But if given the opportunity, would you prefer to see a “Special Edition” directors cut of QOS? Insert key scenes or moments back into the film that hit the cutting room floor, and bring the watch time up to around 2.5 hours?

[@jamesatkinsonja]

I certainly think they could do a directors cut

[@rickm8343]

In a sense, we do get a sort of detective story with Bond following the trail of breadcrumbs, from the safe-house in Sienna, to Slate's hotel in Haiti, to Quantum's meeting in the Bregenz opera, etc., all the way to the Bolivian desert, it just isn't really acknowledged as such. As for the dodgy editing, I believe that was done intentionally, at least in part, to obscure the violence in order to avoid a higher rating, ... was it a 15-rating in the UK? Coincidentally, I just rewatched Quantum Of Solace on Wednesday night and, good news, it's still awesome. It ranks at number three Bond film for me, behind only CASINO ROYALE, and SKYFALL [ my all time favourite film ]

[@fmor4133]

This movie has some undefendable stuff but is my guilty pleasure. And is the most re-watchable one of the Craig era.

[@slamtilt01]

Unfortunately in movie land things don’t always go as planned. Yes 6 weeks is not a lot of time to edit and possibly have to do reshoots for a Bond movie. I agree. Heck Bond movies are replete with similar issues with post production throughout their history. Forster knew the schedule was extremely tight when he took the job on. I think he pulled a lot of all-nighters editing on the fly and trusting his gut rather than measuring responses to daily’s.

[@mrhollywoodpresents]

Craig looked his best and was his most "Bondian" in this film

[@Phil-ci3bd]

I think the gritty texture of the film - like grainy news footage - serves the plot exactly. Definitely underrated and a very pleasing film far away from the decay of Moonraker and View to a kill back in the day…

[@rodbaker2141]

What was made was some of the best Bond movie made. It just needed more.

[@ChrisPatrick-n5f]

OK, as an ex-commercial indirect employ of the BA (not British Airways) QoS, hits the target, more than you may think. he script suffered.....but real life is an airplane ticket and hotel room...a timely escape.....you have to love Norway for this....Train to Oslo, work the underground then a vessel through the fjords and back again....job done.....

[@David-ft7xz]

Jack Black doing a Bond theme would have been worth a listen.

[@denniswhite1317]

QoS is probably the last James Bond movie I watch if I had to choose between all of them, but when I randomly catch it on tv and start watching, I like it. It’s weird.

[@agent00asmr]

I like the movie ok, but some of the editing makes it harder to watch, physically, not story wise, but actually physically harder, during the fast flashes of editing. The opera is a high point, and I agree about the bread crumbs, there is a great driving force to the story. If it was edited like a normal Bond film, it would have been so much better.

[@JayTemple]

They wanted a film for the following year. I wish the films we got had been a year sooner or a year later so that we would have had a Bond film coming out in 2-007!

[@CSwalmiusDato]

QOS has the same problem as DAF. The end of the previous film set a clear expectation for what should come next, instead the bulk of the movie is about something else that's much less interesting than the story we had expected. Still, the opening car chase is one of the best in the franchise.

[@eh_Canadian_bond_fan]

l would like to see the director's cut. l love all of the action scenes in the film

[@christopherreynolds9577]

Keys!

[@Максим-д2д9ъ]

Best version of Bond period

[@housequakeb6866]

I too defend QoS. I would happily watch it over something like Spectre.

[@andylikesstuffchannel]

Personally i think he's more Bond in Quantum than in any of his films

[@cameltrophy3]

I love QOS. It has issues, but I love it.

[@robertroberto2487]

The Film Went Through Writers Strike, Production Costs Problems.

[@ScarletSnake]

Quantum should've been sooo much better... But my real problem is with everyone's darling, Skyfall, which completely threw the Vesper storyline out the window, and returned Bond closer to the tone that the Craig reboot tried so hard to run from. Casino Royale is the absolute perfect Bond movie, everything kind of went downhill after that

[@TwoMoon71]

I've always liked "Quantum" - never understood all the hate.

[@johnsimmons831]

Granting myself God-like powers over time and space just for a minute...I would have Yusef as a shadowy character whose career develops in contrast to Bond's. Around the third or fourth film, he would have developed into a more modern version of Bloefeld.

[@alterdres]

When i heard people complane about Joker 2 iam curious or it wil be new QOS. There can have deside to release in 2009, but mabey stil hope to release Bond 23 in 2010.

[@arricammarques1955]

A great story and actors with proper direction make a movie.

[@christianrancourt712]

I believe the best James Bond in relation with his psychology and human side is OHMSS! For me Quantum is bad unfortunately. Even Craig hates it! But he puts all his energy in Skyfall because of it and this one is part of the best of the whole series.

[@jonathancohen7788]

Jack Black and Alicia White?? Ooops.

[@lordbyron9950]

Why didnt they just get Campbell back

[@jamesatkinsonja]

Campbell has said he only wants to do an actors first Bond and feels doing a second would just be repeating himself. They tried to get him back repeatedly in the Brosnan era and he always turned Eon down.

[@lordbyron9950]

@@jamesatkinsonja so maybe an opportunity i like his efforts

[@jamesatkinsonja]

@@lordbyron9950 I doubt he'll return for Bond 26 given he's 81 now and hasn't helmed a film of Bond's size in over a decade ['Green Lantern']

[@steveb4012]

I thought Quantum is really good. I'm not keen on the title track but the rest of the music is amongst my favourite Craig era soundtracks. I've also sat in the DBS, wish it had a door though....😂

[@billiondollarman3847]

Pity it could not continue the great first five minutes. After that it fell apart.🎬🎞📽

[@dtuk22]

The basis of the movie was/are sound. It's just Craig doesn't quite play it like Bond. This is my opinion he's portrait is almost just a generic spy character. I don't feel I'm watching Bond. I liken it to LTK... another out for revenge story , but in that movie I do feel Dalton IS Bond..... I'm watching James Bond.

[@FroMarty]

It definitely could have had its gun barrel at the start though

[@chobson8602]

go to bat for QOS requires manliness!

[@Chris-kn4vf]

I loved QOS never understood the hate. Great follow up. I prefer that director over mendes or fukanaga. Mendes comedy almost ruined the films. Also the qos music is my favourite of all the movies followed by sky fall .

[@simonpayne8252]

Quantum is a sequel to Casino Royale.. it has a slightly confusing edit but it's an ok movie. The only shame is the Craig's bond career didnt end there with 2 movies.

[@Eddthompson]

I would have preferred more of a chase down of Yussuf and going up the chain even a little more. But it is a good movie otherwise.

[@secretsymphony]

I never hated it. Actually, I might prefer it to Spectre and No Time To Die. I can't get past the stepbrother and Bond's demise in those later movies...

[@Aceimus1066]

Agreed

[@gordoncutter9241]

Everything about the film holds up except the choreography and editing of the action scenes. For a film of that type and scope, everything with the action is just plain indefensible; it manages to encapsulate all the worst trends of that era; all the Greengrass style shaky cam/rapid cutting was shit then and it's not aged well now - nor will it ever. But everything else is very good. It's one of the more Flemingesque of the series, even though it's not based on any of his books. The story, attitude, tone - all on point. It's the last good Craig entry for sure.

[@SharkWhosFondOfBond]

This Bond film's never been lower than 20th place in my ranking!

[@daviddatz5689]

Ranks #2 for me! Fight me!

[@freddierodriguez3036]

Same here, 🥊🥊 Ready! 😂

[@garybryant5946]

If you want a quick Bond fix under two hours this and Goldfinger are perfect and strangely they both have women killed by being coveted in a toxic but precious substance

[@yestoadventure007]

I always loved QoS! Preaching to the choir. All totally on point David. May I add another element, QoS to me is also a type of French New Wave Bond film. As a film student I was always enamored of the Nouvelle Vague. These films were not so concerned with story or plot but rather they created interesting real world characters and followed them in different situations, observing their reactions to gain a deeper understanding of their psychology and inner world. Mood and character were focus rather than story or plot. In this way QoS is following the in the vain of the Nouvelle Vague, making it a more complex textured film. Not what Bond fans are used for sure to but why not have one film that is more about Bond's inner world instead a surface plot driven story? Quantum of Solace is fine just as is.

[@richardweddle3408]

I liked the monochromatic color pallette. Blacks and whites in the production design and wardrobe. Even the oil on Gemma Atterton is black. Careful attention was given to the visual aesthetic. That's the only thing I liked about the film. If James Bond is broken he's not Bond, he's something else. If what you say about his character is true, it may be interesting as drama, but it's not Bond. I'm not a slide-whistle guy, but I don't think Quantum of Solace can be salvaged without a page-one rewrite and a different actor. And NO Judi Dench. She's enough to make anyone sick.

[@dararohan1209]

What is that flag in the background?

[@sigurd2873]

I call the last 5 the 'Freudian Bonds' -s-.

[@th7297]

Even the Bond girls are depressed. I like Craig as an actor, brilliant. The Craig Bond films are decent films from a cinematic standpoint. But as the main goal of this era is to cause major depression, I opt for other films for now.

[@darnielarnold9298]

Who of the Bond girls is depressed? Fields definitely not. Camille takes action on her own. Solange?? Vesper Lynd has a self-confident demeanor. Moneypenny in Skyfall is not depressed. Lucia Sciarra? The end of Spectre for sure isn't causing depression. Paloma and Nomi? I hardly see them as depressed. So it's up to Severine?

[@th7297]

@ Godspeed, Darniel.

[@davidgraham5148]

Quantum to me is waayyy better than anything that came after it.

[@russellj8331]

100% better that NTTD

[@EarlRoark]

I enjoyed Quantum of Solace!!!

[@colinhanna1640]

Directors cut anyone ?

[@capnjeremyjohn4231]

I’m a little bit of a heretic. I like QOS better than Skyfall, which I believe only succeeds because of Javier Bardem.

[@inmediasres1177]

Yes, for me also 🙂

[@johnhansen1501]

And me