Daniel Craig discusses `Quantum of Solace` to promote the upcoming DVD

Daniel Craig may have bought a new level of suave to the Bond franchise but he too, like so many other little boys, grew up watching (and dreaming of being) Bond.

What is Quantum of Solace about?
Quantum of Solace is a heart-stopping, action packed thriller, says Craig. “It’s fast as hell. It’s like a whack in the face and I think that’s what we needed. It takes the story on, it deals with all the unfinished business from Casino Royale plus we’ve booted it up – the stunts look amazing, the locations look fantastic and there’s not a lot of time to breathe. Next time we’ll do something more lyrical,” he laughs.

Quantum of Solace takes place immediately after Casino Royale finished and Bond is hell bent on revenge and is determined to discover who murdered the woman who captured his heart, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green).

As M – Dame Judi Dench – tries to reign him in, he discovers that a mysterious organisation called “Quantum”, run by the charismatic Dominic Greene (Matieu Amalric), is a corporate front for a group of eco terrorists, had been blackmailing Lynd.

“He’s a loose canon,” says Craig. “In fact, it could be called Closure because that’s what he’s looking for.”

The title has been the subject of much debate. It’s actually taken from an Ian Fleming short story although the film itself, number 22 in the first sequel in the Bond franchise.

“I can’t remember who first suggested it but I was intrigued by it. What do you call a Bond movie? You can’t call it Die 'Yet Another Day' or 'This Is The Dying We Do' or whatever because they don’t hold the attention. It certainly wasn’t a cynical attempt to go ‘you won’t forget this...”

“I read the short story and there’s a paragraph or two in it where Fleming talks about the moment a relationship is over, it’s just finished, and there’s nowhere to go and there’s no more quantum of solace. And that’s what this is about.”

Craig says it’s important that the new films honour the tradition. Back when he was a youngster and first watched Bond movies like From Russia With Love and Goldfinger, he loved the glamour and danger of 007 and being transported to exotic locations around the world.

“I think our films have to have what Bond films always had – a strong central character, to state the obvious, and they have to take you somewhere else. What defined those early movies was that they went on location as much as they did and they went to incredible places – Tokyo, the carnival at Rio. And that tradition carries on in our films. On 'Quantum' we were in Panama and Chile, and lots of other places and that’s important.”

“I remember being a kid and looking at the films and going ‘that’s why I want to be James Bond’ – plus the girls and the cars, of course.”

Craig has put his body on the line for the role and he has the scars to prove it – post filming he needed surgery on a labral tear in his right arm – a rip in the tissues around the shoulder joint.

The injury, he believes, was an old one exacerbated by the physical demands of working on two Bond movies – his debut in Casino Royale and now Quantum of Solace – in just under three years.

He first noticed the pain in his shoulder back on Casino Royale and put it down to over exertion. By the time he was working on 'Quantum', it was impossible to ignore.

“I couldn’t pinpoint when I actually did it and it could go back to playing cricket or rugby when I was a kid. Obviously making two Bond movies hasn’t helped and it was badly torn. It was serious - I don’t do anything by halves. But it’s fine now, thanks.”

You picked up a few injuries making Quantum of Solace. Does that sort put you off?
"No, not even slightly (laughs). Actually that sounds a bit macho but it doesn’t put me off. And the weird thing with these things – like the stitches I had in my face – were done mostly during fight sequences and fight sequences are the things we rehearse the most. We rehearse it thoroughly because we have to get the angles right.

But it’s always the silly things, like a stray bootstrap or something, that cause an injury and really, there’s no way you can plan for that. If you are doing a big stunt – like hanging from the top of a building or jumping from a rooftop – we are meticulous in planning it. You know, I’ve got a wire on, there are mats there and everybody is a bit nervous about it but, touch wood, it’s covered. So it’s the silly little things that catch you and suddenly you have a boot in your face because you stopped concentrating for a second."

What, in your view, makes a modern Bond? What do the films have to have these days?
"I think they have to have what they’ve always had – and that is a very strong central figure. That’s an obvious thing to say and I also think that they have to take you somewhere else, to transport the audience. I maintain that.

I was thinking about this earlier and what defined those early movies was the fact that they went on location as much as they did. They maybe faked a few places – as we still do and we have to – but those early ones they went to some incredible places. I can’t remember which one it is, but on one of those early ones they went to Tokyo. Imagine getting a film crew to Tokyo!

I mean, it’s hard enough now but doing it back then and the locations were so important – you looked at the film and you thought ‘he’s there, that’s Tokyo, that’s the Rio carnival..’ those were the things that really defined Bond. "

Do you remember that from watching the Bond films when you were young?
"Oh yes. Those were the things that I remember looking at as a kid, amongst other things, looking at it and going ‘that’s why I want to be James Bond’ you know - plus the girls and the cars.

They are taken as read now but really it was the way that Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman (the original Bond producers) decided to make them. They decided to spend the money getting the cast and crew out to those places and you saw that up there on the screen – and that tradition is still going on.

This time we were in Chile, we were in Panama and that was at Marc’s (director Marc Forster) instigation as much as anything – he insisted on it and he was right. We all talked about what we remembered from the earlier Bond films and that’s what stayed with us – the fact that you were transported to somewhere you wouldn’t normally see.

And the world is so well travelled now, it’s harder to do but I think we succeeded because we went to some extraordinary places."

How would you describe the style of Quantum of Solace?
"Well, I’d say it’s fast. It’s as fast as hell. It’s fast and it’s like a whack in the face and I think that’s what we needed because actually, where do you go from Casino Royale?

'Quantum' takes the story on and it deals with the unfinished business from Casino Royale. Plus we booted it up – the stunts look amazing, the locations looking fantastic and there’s not a lot of time to breathe. Next time we’ll do something a bit more lyrical."

Read the Complete Interview with the Herald Sun (Australia)

Discuss this news here...