Now that the films are starting to one by one hit the 50 mark, it got me thinking to how well or otherwise particular ones have aged, how they're "holding up":
- GOLDFINGER (now 50) long since became more of a monument than an actual movie, but I think it still snaps, crackles, and pops.
- THUNDERBALL has lost none of its lusture or cool.
- DR. NO is looking a touch creeky in spots, but overall its still pretty slick. Biggest problem is the music, which, the spidery Bond theme aside, sounds old-fashioned even for 1962, and at odds with the actual film itself.
- ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE has aged like wine.
- THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN has aged like cheese.
- FOR YOUR EYES ONLY has aged like unrefrigerated peeled fruit.
- DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, it pains me to admit, is beginning to look a little ratty and tatty and natty and batty.
- The mid-to-late-90s films now look like ho-hum mid-to-late-90s in-flight movies. Sorry, mid-to-late 90s fans.
- OCTOPUSSY feels like something that has always existed. Like that old children's book your dad had when he was young.
- I know there's a feeling that the Craig films have exposed it, but THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS still has a certain freshness and vitality, even if it's now clear that it's all down to Dalton.
- LIVE AND LET DIE is "dated" to be sure, but is it really "old"? I think the New York portion kind of has that early-70s urban gritty detective film vibe.
Of course, there's the matter of the impact and influence that the early ones in particular would have, and that what at the time was innovative might now look a touch cliched. But I think the ones that were most impactful are still impactful.