Top 10 Bond Gadgets

If you’re ever going to be a superspy, then you’re going to need some help along the way. Namely, some cool gadgets to assist you when things get a little rough. While James Bond has always had a cool arsenal of weapons to  chose from (like his gun of choice, the Walther PPK), his gadget guru Q often provided an assortment of other assistance in the form of unique, spy-ish stuff to aide Bond in his missions. Here’s our pick of the ten best.

In what must now surely be standard issue for every SWAT, SEAL and Special Forces member, Bond’s grappling launcher from GoldenEye allowed him to scale new heights of cool (see what I did there?) – the thing also comes  with a laser cutter. Because you always need a laser in everything. Even on sharks.

1 click to arm it, 2 clicks to disarm…. or something like that – whatever the case may be, the tense scene in GoldenEye in which the exploding pen makes its mark is certainly among the best of Brosnan’s Bond. Sold even better  by Alan Cumming’s magnificent performance as the sweaty, arrogant computer genius holding the deadly device.

Finally. Finally, after years of waiting, the comic-book inspired x-ray glasses, which every male teen fantasized about (hell, I still do to this day!) were finally realised by Q Branch and given to Bond so he could spy on…. well,  what exactly?

For causing cavities, not preventing them.

A day at the office will never be the same again (nor will the commute to work, really) with this handsome, decidedly lethal briefcase. It contains a rifle, tear gas, knives and an infrared telescope. Imagine the going rate on  Amazon for one of these…

Oh Q, you really know how to put the irony into your gadgets. This specialized weapon from the Q-labs but the BOOM back into your room.

Okay, so Bond made the humble wristwatch cool (before Knight Rider turned it into a psuedo Star Trek gadget) by having a television inside it. Sure, you could watch your enemies, you could use it to spy on dastardly doings  by devious delinquents – but hell, if you had one today it would be used to watch porn.

Well before mobile phone devices became the norm, or even digital technology for that matter, Bond was contactable anywhere on earth thanks to his trusty vehicluar mobile device. Although considering what Bond often  spent time doing in his cars, it’s a good thing he didn’t “put you on speaker”…..

Seriously, who wouldn’t want one of these? Tapping ito the concept that it’s possible for a man to fly, the jetpack represented (and in many ways still does) the potential for liberating oneself from the confines of gravity. Plus, it  looks soooo cool.

When you absolutely have to be able to cut through anything with a humble watch, the Rolex worn by Bond in Live And Let Die is the one you need. You’d think Rolex would have figured out the marketing potential of a watch  containing an electromagnet and some kind of saw, but alas, it was not to be. Any watch with a laser in it is still also pretty cool. Because when your life is in mortal danger, you need a Rolex. Writes itself, really.

Who wrote this?

Rodney Twelftree

“Some people say I like films. Those people are wrong. I *love* films.” – Me. I said this.

Rodney has been writing about films for well over two decades, appreciates a good wine, the love of his wife and kids, and the affection of his dog and cats. He has a fondness of cheesy 90’s action and classic Hollywood, hates that physical media is disappearing, and wishes somebody would make a high-budget series of The Neverending Story.

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