One thing is for certain: glasses have come a long way from the heavy, wonky frames of their thick rimmed ancestors. You only have to look at the recent release of Google Glass as proof of this. This interactive set of slick looking eyewear is designed to give the wearer hands free access to apps and facilities that are usually only accessible through your computer or smartphone.

Consequently, the future of glasses is now very much set in the present. Having said that, Hollywood has a long history of trying to predict impressive technological advancements in the search for interesting ways to approach futuristic subject matter. And guess what? The humble eyeglass is no exception.

Here, we take a look at film for some of the most inventive approaches to visual aids from cinematic gems released over the past thirty years.

‘The World is Not Enough’

Bond is notorious for having the fanciest high-tech gizmos as just another one of his job perks, and this 2009 flick is no exception to the rule. As part of his standard spy kit, the trigger-happy protagonist is equipped with a pair of blue tinted X-ray specs, which enable him to see who might be carrying a concealed weapon. Unless, of course, the perpetrator happens to be a beautiful woman, in which case he’d probably give the glasses a miss and just get her to take her clothes off.

‘Watchmen’

Night Owl II is played by Patrick Wilson in this epic feature based on the colourful inhabitants of DC Comic pages. In the movie, he sports an impressively futuristic pair of night vision goggles which, surprisingly enough, are designed to enable him to see in the dark. Being colossally wealthy, he also has an enviable variety of gadgets and trinkets in his secret underground lair – including a huge airship complete with a fire thrower.

‘Back to The Future II’

1980s movies such as this cult classic had fun exploring the technological possibilities that the future might bring. Aside from hover boards and the obvious time-travel aspect, Marty is seen wearing a pair of blocky JVC video glasses at the dinner table, which provide the wearer with two whole channel’s worth of in-your-face entertainment. Such technology is already available in handheld smartphones and will be incorporated into the much sleeker Google Glass units. 

‘Star Trek – The Next Generation’

Geordi La Forge –the helmsman of the Starship Enterprise – was born blind. Therefore, to stop him crashing the ship into asteroids or bits of planet, some genius hooked him up with a Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement (a Visor to you and me), which also allowed him to see at infrared and microscopic levels.

‘Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol’

The Mission Impossible franchise has involved Tom Cruise spending most of his time messing about in super spy glasses, which have the ability to do things like explode and… well, that’s it really. The fourth flick in the series – subtitled Ghost Protocol – sees Cruise sporting a fetching pair of Oakley glasses. This pair of specially built sunglasses were designed with motorcycle riders in mind andblock the wind without requiring the attachment of a double glazed conservatory to the front of one’s face.

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