‘Bond in Motion’ 007 Exhibition at Brussels Expo

On 9 December, the ‘Bond in Motion‘ exhibition opened at the Palais des Expositions at Heysel, Brussels Expo (Palais 1). The exhibition features vehicles from all (?) 25 James Bond films and runs until May 14, 2023. Dennis and I visited yesterday.

Vehicles include the Aston Martin DB5 from ‘Goldfinger’, Nomi’s ‘No Time To Die‘ Superleggera DBS, the Q Boat from ‘The World Is Not Enough‘ and ‘Little Nellie‘ from ‘You Only Live Twice‘.

The cars, helicopters, motorbikes, planes and submarines are surrounded by props, models, set photos and gadgets from the Bond Archive.

“Come relive the 007 movies at the first official exhibition in Belgium that features spectacular sets, movie props and over 45 original vehicles that were used in the James Bond movies, including cars, motorbikes, planes, helicopters, and more”, the website says, describing the exhibition “immersive“, “interactive” and “iconic”.

And…?

I’m not sure the claim of featuring vehicles from all the 007 films is right. I don’t remember seeing one from ‘Dr. No‘, for instance. But that’s okay. ‘Die Another Day‘ and ‘No Time To Die’ featured heavily. Two more controversial Bond films.

“Immersive“, “interactive” and “iconic” are mostly meaningless marketing words. I’m not sure I felt immersed and I don’t see what was interactive. And yes, some of the vehicles can truly be called iconic.

‘Bond in Motion’ is an interesting and fun reminder of what all the Bond films are about, how the franchise evolved and nothing is what it seems in film. Explanations can be read on digital panels or followed via an app.

Bond films of the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig eras dominate. It doesn’t surprise me as these vehicles are better preserved. Someone actually thought of preserving them.