--- title: "Quantum of Solace" year: 2008 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/quantum-of-solace" fi1m_score: 58 critics_score: 50 critics_reviews: 18 published: "2026-09-18T07:27:23.889175+00:00" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:47.148704+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Quantum of Solace (2008) Directed by Marc Forster · 1h 46m · MPA PG-13 · Adventure, Action, Thriller **Fi1m score: 58** · Critics 50 from 18 reviews *In a sentence:* Bond is in mourning and the editors are in a hurry; neither will let the other finish > Marc Forster’s sequel gets Bond’s grief right and the rest wrong: a villain with a small plan, a plot about water, and action cut so fast you cannot tell who is in which car. Craig and a night at the opera keep it watchable. ## Synopsis *Quantum of Solace* picks up directly from *Casino Royale*. James Bond (Daniel Craig) has Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) as a prisoner and gunmen on his tail. He delivers him to M (Judi Dench) for questioning, where the interrogation goes badly wrong and shows that a shadowy organisation has people inside British intelligence. A single lead takes Bond abroad, where he meets Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a woman with a score of her own to settle, and Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), an environmentalist whose charity is a front for something else. Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) is there for the CIA and keeps his own counsel. Bond is grieving for a woman he has lost and denies it to anyone who asks, M included. ## Review *Quantum of Solace* picks up where [*Casino Royale*](https://film.one/film/casino-royale) stopped, and Marc Forster runs at it as if the two were a single evening. Bond (Daniel Craig) has Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) as a prisoner and gunmen on his tail before the titles, and the film does not sit down for the next 106 minutes. Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis have a good idea under all this: a man who has just lost someone, telling M (Judi Dench) he is fine, killing his way towards the people responsible. The trouble is that the film has decided grief looks like speed, and it does not. The opening chase is where it lost us. Matt Chessé and Richard Pearson cut the cars into fragments of a second, a wing mirror, a wheel, a gun, a slice of Craig’s face, and within thirty seconds we could not have said which black car was his or which side of the road anyone was on. Josh Bleibtreu and Roberto Schaefer shoot close and handheld in the manner of the Bourne films, but those films let you see a punch land. A rooftop chase goes by as a smear of tiles. We were confused, then irritated, and by the titles we had felt nothing. Craig survives it. He plays Bond as a tired man who will not say so, a face that has stopped moving unless it has to, and the film is at its best when it leaves him in a room with someone not trying to kill him. His scenes with Dench have a real edge; she speaks to him like a headmistress who has decided to expel him and is waiting on the paperwork. Giancarlo Giannini’s Mathis, back from *Casino Royale*, gives him the one friendship the film allows, and their few scenes are the nearest thing here to warmth. The one set piece that works is the one where Forster slows down. Bond follows Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) to a performance of *Tosca* and listens on an earpiece to the villains conferring from their seats. Dennis Gassner’s staging of the opera gives the sequence its shape, and when the shooting starts Forster drops the sound of the guns and lets Puccini carry on over the top. We sat forward for the first time. It is the only passage in the film with an idea about how to show violence rather than a hurry to get through it, and David Arnold’s score has the sense to stay out of the way. Amalric is a fine choice for a villain and is given almost nothing villainous to do. Greene runs an environmental charity as a front and wants to control a country’s water supply, which plays on screen like a planning dispute. His henchman, Anatole Taubman’s Elvis, is a haircut. Camille (Olga Kurylenko) is chasing a revenge of her own, and the script runs it beside Bond’s without letting the two stories touch, so she spends much of the film in the passenger seat. Gemma Arterton’s Strawberry Fields is funny for ten minutes and then used in a way we will not describe, except that the film thinks it is a tribute and is in fact unkind. Jeffrey Wright’s Felix Leiter gets a bar and two lines of American cynicism. Against the series’ own standards it is a strange object: no gadgets, hardly a joke, a plot that would fit on a napkin. Louise Frogley’s narrow grey suits are the one concession to the old glamour. *Casino Royale* was dour for long stretches and better for it; what we mind is a dour Bond that will not hold a shot. The film’s own point, that this man keeps moving because standing still hurts, needed a director willing to stand still and show us, and Forster manages it once, at the opera. Most critics landed close to where we have, split roughly down the middle, and we would not argue with them. Watch it at home straight after *Casino Royale*; it is that film’s last act rather than a film of its own. On a smaller screen the fights are, if anything, easier to follow, which is not what we expect from a Bond picture. *Fi1m score 58, published 18 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Critics split down the middle on Quantum of Solace, with more against than for. The one point of agreement is Daniel Craig: nearly every review, including the harshest, finds him a magnetic, physically committed Bond, ruthless and watchable. The stunt work and the pace draw praise too, along with a gun battle staged during a performance of Tosca, which several critics single out as the film’s best sequence. The reservations gather around what the film leaves out. Most critics miss the wit, charm and gadgets of earlier Bonds and find the tone grim and humourless; several call the plot thin and the villain underpowered. The action divides them: some find it relentless and exciting, others shaky and hard to follow, with more than one comparing it unfavourably to the Bourne films. The spread is wide. Screen Daily stands nearly alone in calling it a remarkable action film, while The Times dismisses it as the most boring Bond ever made. ### Reviews we read (18) - **Screen Daily** (80/100, inferred): Craig owns the role with steely magnetism, but the film's relentless pace, art direction and Forster's technical ambition make it one of the most remarkable action films ever made. The plot may be thin and reference-heavy, yet the streamlined execution and muscular reinvigoration of the franchise are strengths. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/quantum-of-solace/4041477.article) - **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (B): The review finds the film efficient and dark with strong performances but criticizes its lack of novelty, uneven action sequences, and failure to deepen themes or expand scale beyond being a solid but disappointing sequel. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/quantum-of-solace-1798205224) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (70/100, inferred): A pacy, visually imaginative follow-up to Casino Royale that keeps the story moving urgently as a true sequel. It is exciting but not particularly fun, with a sense that Bond's larger mission is only beginning. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/quantum-solace-review/) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (70/100, inferred): The review portrays the film as a grim, downcast evolution of Bond into a tragic, vengeful figure continuing directly from Casino Royale. It praises the strong supporting cast, especially Mathieu Amalric as the villain, while noting the intense but less brutal violence and overall somber mood. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/arts/14iht-14quan.17821848.html) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Ray Bennett (65/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's relentless high-speed action and technical efficiency but notes it lacks traditional Bond style, character flourishes, and redeeming qualities, risking a portrayal of Bond as a murderous thug. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/film-review-quantum-solace-125068/) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (60/100, inferred): The critic sees the film as a savage, masochistic decline into raw desperation and violence with a sketchy plot and stripped-down style. He singles out the strong performance by Daniel Craig for praise and notes a standout Tosca sequence as one of its better elements. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/11/17/soul-survivor) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (2/4): The critic finds the film a disappointing, soulless action exercise that strips Bond of wit and charm, reducing him to a grim, violent figure with little personality. He singles out the lack of humor, gadgets, and proper Bondian style for complaint, while noting Daniel Craig remains a strong physical presence. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/quantum-of-solace-2008) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (50/100, inferred): The critic admits the film did not excite as much as Casino Royale and finds the villain underpowered, but praises Daniel Craig's coolly ruthless performance as Bond. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/oct/18/jamesbond1) - **Evening Standard** (40/100, inferred): The film is a grey, not very sexy and rather humourless let-down that pursues a grimly downbeat realistic tone at the expense of Bond's traditional appeal and fun. Craig's physically committed performance cannot compensate for the lack of spark or memorable elements. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/bond-the-broken-man-7438843.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Bill Weber (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film uneven and disappointing, squandering the reboot's novelty on navel-gazing and pretentious elements while mishandling action sequences despite some credible human drama. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/quantum-of-solace/) - **Radio Times**, Jamie Healy (3 out of 5): Troubled production and a writer's strike explain why the film fails to match its predecessor, with a nonsensical paranoid storyline and title. Viewed purely as an action spectacle it delivers excitement through shaky-cam fights and an opera gun battle, and Craig remains watchable despite being ill-served by the material. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-woohlk/quantum-of-solace/) - **The Independent** (30/100, inferred): The film delivers mechanical, metronomic action thrills that quickly become fatiguing and leaves the viewer entertained to the point of boredom. Craig's Bond is reduced to one-note, humourless machismo with little wit, charm or fun. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/quantum-of-solace-12a-979856.html) - **Time Out**, Wally Hammond (3 out of 5 stars): The critic calls it a slightly disappointing, furiously-paced hi-tech sequel that throws the viewer immediately into frenetic globe-trotting action and revenge-driven plotting. While praising the impressive stunt work and new Bond woman, they note scant time for character, story, fun or wit, describing the result as cynical and brutal. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/quantum-of-solace-4) - **The Times**, Cosmo Landesman (10/100, inferred): The critic calls it the most boring Bond film ever, an action film on autopilot with bland crash-bang-wallop that produces instant amnesia and lacks the franchise's traditional appeal. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/quantum-of-solace-the-sunday-times-review-6lkx27b77v7) - **Digital Spy**, Stella Papamichael (70/100, inferred): The plot feels hazy and the film plays like a drawn-out finale, but it delivers gob-smacking stunts and Craig is magnetic as a fallible, rage-driven Bond, the best yet. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a133842/quantum-of-solace/) - **/Film**, David Chen (6.5/10): The critic finds the film a disappointing follow-up to Casino Royale, criticizing its messy plot, weak villain, and poorly shot action sequences that imitate the Bourne films without success. Craig's performance and a few intense moments are praised, but overall it fails to deliver emotional depth or coherent storytelling. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/501394/movie-review-quantum-of-solace/) - **Den of Geek** (3 out of 5): The film is dour and heartless without humor or wonder, terminally picaresque and lacking the predecessor's focus, but Craig delivers depth and Judi Dench is a powerhouse. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/quantum-of-solace-review/) - **The Playlist**, Rodrigo Perez (30/100, inferred): The review judges the film harshly as a step backward from Casino Royale, faulting its chaotic, incomprehensible action, thin plot about water rights, and lack of heart or inventiveness. It feels like a generic Bourne rip-off with little character development or memorable elements. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/quantum-of-solace-cant-hope-to-compete-20081113/) ## Details - **Director:** Marc Forster - **Director:** Marc Forster - **Screenplay:** Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade - **Novel:** Ian Fleming - **Cinematography:** Roberto Schaefer, Josh Bleibtreu - **Editor:** Matt Chessé, Richard Pearson - **Music:** David Arnold - **Production design:** Dennis Gassner - **Costume design:** Louise Frogley - **Producer:** Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson - **Cast:** Daniel Craig as James Bond; Olga Kurylenko as Camille; Mathieu Amalric as Dominic Greene; Judi Dench as M; Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis; Gemma Arterton as Strawberry Fields; Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter; David Harbour as Gregg Beam - **Runtime:** 1h 46m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 14 November 2008 - **Genres:** Adventure, Action, Thriller - **Budget:** $200 million - **Box office:** $590 million ## Where to watch in the US - Paramount+: add-on, hd - Hulu: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Apple TV: add-on, hd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-18.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Casino Royale* (2006), Fi1m 86: The film this one is finishing; slower, cleverer, and it lets Craig sit down. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/casino-royale.md) - *The Bourne Supremacy* (2004), Fi1m 81: The handheld model Forster was chasing, cut so you can still see who is hitting whom. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-bourne-supremacy.md) - *Point Blank* (1967): Lee Marvin’s revenge walked out in silence, the stripped-down thriller this wanted to be. - *Le Samouraï* (1967): Alain Delon in a raincoat, a killer who never hurries and never explains himself. - *Munich* (2005), Fi1m 80: Revenge as a job of work, with the doubts this film keeps trying to outrun. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/munich.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/quantum-of-solace