Nostalgia seems to be as important to audiences as the thrill of something 'new' with today's big film franchises. Whether it's revived classic comic book heroes (Superman, Iron Man, the Avengers), resurrected literary heroes (Sherlock Holmes), or even old toy lines (Transformers).
James Bond is perhaps the 'daddy' of this phenomenon. Agent '007' enthusiasts and collectors remain as excited about Sean Connery's 1960s Bond adventures as they are about the next Daniel Craig-starring film, Skyfall, which is due out later this year.
One event which currently demonstrates this 'mixture of nostalgia and anticipation' is Bond In Motion, an exhibition at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, England. It stars the world's largest official collection of original James Bond vehicles.
The event is marking the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise with more than 50 vehicles. The show's official opening, earlier this week, saw appearances by former Bond girls including Britt Ekland.
 This gadget-laden Goldfinger Aston Martin sold for £2.6m in 2010 |
Most of the classic Bond motors are here, including the classic Aston Martin driven by Sean Connery in 1964's Goldfinger, the "submarine" Lotus Esprit driven by Roger Moore in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, and other Astons previously revved-up by Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
No cars from Connery's original film outing in Dr No (1962) are appearing in the expo, however, because film producer Cubby Broccoli disposed of the automobiles to allow for studio storage space.
A gadget-laden Goldfinger Aston Martin (pictured above) was later sold to a private buyer for £2.6m in 2010.
The Bond In Motion exhibition continues at the National Motor Museum until December.
