The best Bond gadgets ever remembered and rated
By Dave Parrack
Quantum Of Solace, the latest James Bond movie, is about to hit theaters worldwide. Unfortunately, Daniel Craig and the current crew working on the movies have decided to scale back Bond’s reliance on gadgets. Which is a shame as there have been some brilliant innovations featured over the years.
Who can forget seeing James Bond going to see Q to receive the latest gadgets he can use on his secret missions? From high-powered, weapons-infested vehicles to deadly killing devices hidden in everyday objects, Bond’s arsenal of gadgets saved the day on many occasions.
The Best James Bond Gadgets (according to Computer Weekly):
Jet Pack - Thunderball
Once considered the future of personal transportation, jet packs have never taken off. But that didn’t stop Bond from using one to great effect in Thunderball in 1965.
Lotus Espirit - The Spy Who Loved Me
A crappy car by today’s super car standards but this Lotus Espirit came with a feature not found on your average family sedan: the ability to morph in to a fully working submarine.
BMW 750 IL - Tomorrow Never Dies
The car itself was as gadget-laden and feature-packed as any that have come before or since, but what made this BMW special was the chance to operate it via remote control.
Mobile Phone - Tomorrow Never Dies
Just a mobile phone? Yes, but this one was not only the first to be used by Bond, it also had a stun gun, fingerprint scanner, lock pick, and the remote control for that BMW detailed above.
Aston Martin D85 - Goldfinger
Pure, unadulterated coolness is personified in this car. It was first seen in Goldfinger but has been featured in four other Bond films, including Casino Royale.
Fingerprint Identification Device - Diamonds Are Forever
Fingerprint identification devices are ten a penny these days but were new technology back in 1971 when one was used against Bond in Diamonds Are Forever in 1971.
Aston Martin DBS - Casino Royale
The almost anti-technology Casino Royale was short on gadgets but Craig’s Aston Martin DBS is definitely a desirable object. It helps that the defibrillator in the car brought Bond back to life.
TV Wristwatch - Octopussy
Watching videos and television on mobile devices is as common as muck now, but being able to watch cable on your wristwatch is still as much a pipe dream as it was when Bond did it in Octopussy in 1983.
Oddjob’s Steel Rimmed Hat - Goldfinger
What more needs to be said when detailing a hat which has a rim made out of steel enabling it to cut through flesh and bone when thrown at enemies? Scary but awesome.
Pager - From Russia With Love
The pager was first invented in 1956 so wasn’t out of place when Bond owned one in From Russia With Love in 1963. Suffice to say, the technology has moved on a bit since then.
Killer Briefcase - From Russia with Love
With a license to kill, the only other thing required is the means to kill multiple enemies. This briefcase delivers that in spades, with an AR-7 sniper rifle, ammunition, tear gas, and a throwing knife.
The Crocodile Submarine - Octopussy
A submarine designed to look like a crocodile. What else do you need? Okay, so it’s ludicrous but a gadget nonetheless.
Mini Speedboat - The World Is Not Enough
This mini-speedboat appeared in one of the best opening sequences in a Bond film ever. And when Bond had finished driving around on the Thames, he packed the boat up and put it in his pocket.
Golden Gun - The Man With The Golden Gun
Best Bond gadget ever? A gun constructed out of a pen, a cigarette lighter and a cuff-link that only holds one bullet. Luckily, that bullet could kill a man from quite a distance.
Are there any other Bond gadgets that hold a place in your heart? Do you agree with the decision to lay off the technology and bring Bond back to reality in the latest batch of films? What gadget do you think Bond needs in the future? Let us know in the comments section.
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October 29th, 2008
IIRC we had 22 Bond movies working with the ‘old formula’.
I find Daniel Craig’s Bond a refreshing change.
If the quips and gadgets really are missed they can always come back but I really do think that after 22 or so running the same kind of themes the change had to come & is for me at least very welcome.
I think it makes the Bond movie interesting for all the right reasons again, he’s more real, edgy and watchable.
The movies have pace and are aimed at a more adult audience.
I’d far rather that then them relying on curiosity for what gizzmos they might come out with, what mildly amusing one-liners he might use or how glamorous the women in it are (no complaints about that one but some of the Roger Moore stuff particularly was so ridiculously cheesey).
Some of the gadgets were nice (if sometimes silly - the underwater Lotus springs to mind) but surely the big deal with the ‘classic’ Bonds was always the huge set-piece finale
(making the most of Pinewood’s famous vast stage)?