Controversial Daniel Craig Bond film ranked higher than Sean Connery favourite on TV tonight

Daily Record

5 hours ago

The James Bond film, which sees Daniel Craig reprise his role as the fictional MI6 agent, will air on STV in Scotland and ITV in England this weekend - and it's ranked higher than a Sean Connery classic on Rotten Tomatoes
This weekend, catch Daniel Craig 's second performance as the iconic MI6 agent, James Bond, in Quantum of Solace on television.
Tune into STV 3 (ITV 1 in England) at 8pm on Saturday, June 21, to witness the thrilling follow-up to Casino Royale (2006), which is also the 22nd instalment in the esteemed James Bond series, originally released in 2008.
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Helmed by Marc Forster and penned by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade, the film features an impressive cast including Dame Judi Dench, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Olga Kurylenko, and Jeffrey Wright taking on pivotal roles.
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The globe-trotting production of Quantum of Solace took place across six countries: the UK, Italy, Austria, Chile, Panama, and Mexico. David Arnold makes his fifth consecutive return as the composer, enhancing the film's espionage vibe.
Making its grand debut at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on October 29, 2008, the premiere was graced by Royalty—with Princes William and Harry among the distinguished attendees—and ticket sales contributed to the noble causes of the Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes, reports the Express.
With a whopping $589.6 million amassed globally, Quantum of Solace stood tall against its hefty $230 million production budget.
Even though it surpassed Sean Connery's Diamonds Are Forever and Roger Moore's Moonraker on Rotten Tomatoes' ranking of Bond films, it holds a middling 63 per cent critics' approval rating on the site. A critic described it as "one of the most listless Bond films" they had ever watched.
A reviewer sarcastically remarked: "I'm so turned off by this, I don't even have the energy to trash it. Why should I think of something clever to write? The authors clearly didn't see that as a mandate."
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In a similar vein, another critic added: "Let's hope this is a one-off aberration, because though it's all very efficient it lacks heart and soul and substance."
In an episode of The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast in November 2024, Daniel Craig shared that his experience working on the film, which was his second appearance as Bond, was a "f-ng nightmare". This was largely due to the disruption caused by the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which halted production mid-way.
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Craig explained: "Paul Haggis did a pass on the script. Then, he went off and joined the picket line and we didn't have writers. So, we didn't have a script. We should never probably have started production, but we did. I ended up writing a lot of that film, which I probably shouldn't say. I do not want the credit. It's fine."
Reflecting on how the film was received, Craig observed: "There are some amazing stunt sequences in it. I'm still wearing the pins to prove it. In that sense, there's a lot of great stuff in it, but it just didn't quite work. The storytelling wasn't there. That's the abject lesson. Going to start a movie without a script is not a good idea."
His second Bond outing fared terribly with viewers, scoring a paltry 58 per cent audience approval rating from over 250,000 ratings.
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Furthermore, this Bond film's reception with viewers was even more unfavourable as it recorded a meagre audience approval score of just 58 per cent with more than 250,000 ratings. One viewer expressed disappointment, commenting: "This film just feels like an extended post credit scene for Casino Royale. It is fun to watch but not enough story to make it interesting."
Another viewer was less than impressed, labelling it as "Craig's worst movie as agent 007".
Dissatisfaction with the film's direction by Marc Forster was evident when a viewer remarked: "This Bond film is truly groundbreaking for multiple reasons: the most poorly edited action sequences ever, the worst opening title song ever, and the absence of the James Bond action music until, get this, the credits roll at the end of the film! Beyond shocking after the brilliance of Casino Royale. Don't ever let this director anywhere near another Bond film."
STV is set to air Quantum of Solace on Saturday, June 21, at 8pm.