The sequel saga has caught up with James Bond too. Quantum of Solace is the first direct sequel in the history of the whole James Bond franchise. The movie picks up from within an hour of Casino Royale?s ending. Previous films have had glimmers of connection, but nothing as direct as this movie does. For example, the beginning of From Russia With Love shows Bond with a girl called ?Sylvia Trench?, who was there in the earlier movie, Dr No. This is the first ever direct continuation of the previous movie.
And then, the music in each Bond movie is unique, as is the theme song. The theme song for Quantum of Solace, Another Way To Die, has been rendered by Alicia Keys and Jack White. Quantum is also the first ever Bond film to clock under two hours in 11 years, 1997?s Tomorrow Never Dies being the previous one.
This is also one of the few Bond movies, (From Russia With Love, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice being the others) not to have the iconic ?The name?s Bond…James Bond? catch phrase.
Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are also the only Bond movies not to have the Q or Moneypenny. In earlier Bond movies, when they followed a set formula, the armourer Q would supply Bond with his gadgets and the boss, M?s secretary Miss Moneypenny would flirt with him.
For the first time in 42 years, James Bond returns to the roots, with the actor playing the James Bond the character, not the James Bond the stereotype.The band White Stripes is the first duet to be used as a title theme song in any Bond movie thus far. There have been music bands, (Duran Duran, A-Ha) and Solo Artists (Dame Shirley Bassey, Nancy Sinatra, Chris Cornell), performing in the earlier films, but never a duet, which is unique about Quantum. At 106 minutes, Quantum is the shortest Bond film ever. Coincidentally, it?s predecessor, Casino Royale, was the longest Bond film at 144 mins.