James Bond may be a fictional character but for his millions of fans, 007 is probably as real as the big JC. One of the best aspects of the character and allure of James Bond is the array of gadgets that Her Majesty’s (fictional) secret service has provided its most worthy of all (fictional) sons. Here are the five most incredible James Bond gadgets that we have seen over the last 50 years of the franchise.
Flamethrower perfume bottle
Seen in the movie: Moonraker (1979)
When Bond was played by: Roger Moore
OK, so strictly speaking this gadget wasn’t used by Bond himself but it did appear in one of the more beloved Bond films and was used by his colleague Dr. Goodhead who had secretly been a spy as well. Bond (Moore) goes through her stuff and finds the perfume bottle which he discovers is also a handy flamethrower!
Ericsson Cell Phone Taser
Seen in the movie: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
When Bond was played by:
By far the best and most realistic Bond gadget ever, the Ericsson Cell phone basically appeared in the movie as a part of a not-so-subtle product placement deal. The gadget was fairly ordinary by Bond’s standard though it did work wonders in terms of rendering not-so-important bad guys (like real bad guys’ body guards) immobile with a single, er, tase (or is it ‘tasering’?)
X-Ray Glasses
Seen in the movie: A View to a Kill (1985)
When Bond was played by: Roger Moore
A popular male fantasy remains to be able to see others (mostly women) in their underwear with the aid of things like x-ray glasses. While the body scanning gadgets are in fact a reality and a daily fare for airport security employees, the average guy only has the image of Roger Moore using his MI6-issue X-Ray glasses to ogle at a woman and see what kind of underwear she is wearing underneath a pretty party dress. Of course, Bond does go onto to use the glasses for good but unfortunately, the perverted fantasy remains the biggest legacy of this brilliant gadget from the Bond universe.
The Jetpack
Seen in the movie: Thunderball (1965)
When Bond was played by: Sean Connery
Crazy nerds all around the world have been trying to perfect the jetpack for so long now and we all know it is because they saw Bond flee a mansion in on all the while wearing a rather sharp suit and looking like, well, a young Sean Connery!
The Invisible Car
Seen in the movie: Die Another Day (2002)
When Bond was played by: Pierce Brosnon
OK, so the invisible car feat has actually been achieved a few years ago with the help of HD cameras and HD displays strapped a regular car but back in when the stunt appeared in Die Another Day, it was a near unthinkable notion. While the CGI used to make the Aston Martin Vanquish appear invisible (oxymoron alert!), many hardcore 007 film series fans began to wonder if its makers had resorted to cheap thrills to mask how far the franchise had diluted in terms of quality.
