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  • Shaken, not Stirred: Coolest James Bond Gadgets

    Shaken, not Stirred: Coolest James Bond Gadgets

    If there’s anything people remember about Bond, it’s the gadgets. While the titular hero of the James Bond series is suave and charismatic, it’s his awesome gadgets that set him apart. If you’ve ever wished you had an oil-slick in your car, this list is for you. Today, we’re talking about the coolest James Bond gadgets! It’s time to save the world!

    Mini Scuba Tank

    Photo Credit: Duke Limited

    First appearing in 1965’s Thunderball, this tiny device is quintessential Bond. The small scuba tank often enters the conversation of coolest James Bond gadgets. Small enough to fit in his suit pocket, Bond uses this gadget to slip aboard many aquatic vessels in the film series. Given its early appearance, it’s easy to see why this gadget is so strongly associated with the character. It’s essentially just two small tanks of compressed air, and while it looks awesome, real-world examples of this tech would likely just use filters instead of compressed air.

    Grenade-Launching Pen

    Photo Credit: BondMovies.com

    Seen in Never Say Never Again, this gadget is firmly in the “what the heck” school of Bond gadgets. The pen has an explosive tip and launches it with a pneumatic hiss. The film’s femme fatale Fatima is ultimately defeated by Bond thanks to this gadget. After all her awesome action sequences, it’s almost a shame to see her laid low by a ballpoint pen. At least it was a ridiculously cool explosive pen, but still.

    Rocket Cigarette

    Photo Credit: Time

    Proving that the film was made in 1967, You Only Live Twice features a scene where Bond gets out of a dire situation by asking to smoke a cigarette. Blofeld, the film’s antagonist and one of Bond’s nemeses, has captured Bond and plans to kill him. Before his execution, Bond asks if he can smoke one last cigarette. Blofeld’s men acquiesce and are shocked to find Bond has a rocket-launching cigarette. Q seems to have a taste for making explosive-launching gadgets out of mundane objects.

    Flamethrower Bagpipe

    Photo Credit: Daily Record

    1999’s The World is Not Enough featured this absurd gadget. Bond is presented with a bagpipe that not only houses a flamethrower, but also has a machine gun functionality. Proving that the Brosnan Era had some of the most over-the-top gadgets, this one didn’t see any actual combat in the film. It did, however, elicit an awful joke from Bond. “I suppose we’ve all got to pay the piper sometime, right Q?”

    X-Ray Shades

    Photo Credit: YouTube

    Also seen in The World is Not Enough, these X-Ray Shades are actually pretty cool. As CGI had caught up to the Bond films, more advanced gadgets like this were easier to portray on-screen. Brosnan’s Bond is able to keep tabs on the guns being toted by henchmen thanks to these stylish, high-tech glasses.

    Detonite Toothpaste

    Photo Credit: James Bond Wiki

    License to Kill, released in 1989, features some downright cheesy gadgets, but they’re all still awesome. One such gadget is the Detonite-brand explosive toothpaste used by Timothy Dalton’s Bond. While the name is hardly subtle, and the gag is a bit silly, it’s still a cool idea. It makes sense that a plastic explosive could be stored in this form, and it makes for a good laugh. It’s hard to ask for more than that from a Bond gadget!

    Laser Camera

    Photo Credit: Pinterest

    Speaking of goofy gadgets from License to Kill, here’s the laser-firing Polaroid that nearly kills Bond on accident. In this scene, Pam Bouvier grabs what she thinks is a normal camera to snap a picture of Bond and Q. Thankfully Q identifies the deadly gadget in time and warns bond, and they avoid a painful death. You know, you’d think they’d know better than to just leave dangerous tech like this just laying around!

    Fingerprint-Reading Walther P99

    Photo Credit: BAMF Style

    Daniel Craig’s Bond has relatively few gadgets, as his films are grittier and more realistic. One of the few gadgets he does carry makes the list because of its col implementation. In the film, Bond is equipped with a Walther P99 that reads his palm and fingerprints. It remains locked in safety mode until it reads Bond’s hand, thus making it impossible for baddies to use his signature gun against him. This one is subtle, but it nods to Bond’s gadget-heavy past.

    Tazer Phone

    Photo Credit: Moviefone

    When Tomorrow Never Dies was released in 1997, smartphones were still a decade from becoming a reality. However, the high-tech gadget seen in this bond film nearly fits the bill. In the movie, its main function is as an electricity-slinging tazer. However, Bond uses it to summon his BMW, pick locks and it even reads his fingerprint. Some of the functionality the phone sports has even become a reality now!

    Which is our Favorite of the Coolest James Bond Gadgets? The Briefcase

    Photo Credit: Pinterest

    The trick briefcase seen in 1963’s From Russia With Love is easily our favorite of all Bond’s gadgets. It’s a spy’s best friend, loaded to the gills with neat tricks. Sporting everything from guns to knives to tear gas, the briefcase was indispensable to Bond. And to think he nearly dismissed it before Q urged him to bring it along! This gadget was one of the first to solidify Bond’s reliance on tech given to him by Q. It’s a good thing too, as that would go on to become one of his most memorable traits!

  • James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Might Have Been Discovered

    James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Might Have Been Discovered

    The Aston Martin DB5 used during the filming of the 1964 film Goldfinger may have been found. The car was stolen from a collector in 1997 and has been missing ever since. The car in question is one of two that was used during the filming of the Bond movie. The stolen Aston Martin was the “effects” car, the one outfitted with all the gadgets and other fun technology. The “road car,” the one used for all the driving scenes, is still accounted for and in a museum.

    The Aston Martin DB5 Effects Car

    The effects car was originally purchased directly from Aston Martin by collector Richard D. Losee in the 1960’s. It was purchased for $12,000, a number that sounds quaint now. After Losee, it changed hands several times before ending up in the collection of Anthony Pugliese III in the late 1980’s. Then, about a decade later, the car was stolen from the hangar Pugliese stored it in in the Florida Keys.

    The theft was noteworthy as none of the guards noticed anything suspicious, few signs of breaking and entering were found. What’s more, the only nearby vehicle to the scene turned out to belong to a local who was innocent. The high-profile, unsolved crime was almost poetically fitting for a major Bond prop, but tragic for art collectors.

    Potential Resurfacing

    The organization Art Recover International has recently received a tip that the effects car may be in the Middle East. Christopher A. Marinello, the organizations chief executive, stated the following. “I have been given a specific tip, but we are working on it. We want to reach out to the collector car community and a vast array of mechanics to let them know we are very serious about recovering it.”

    Pugliese has also helped the potential investigation by telling the recovery team what to look for. Specifically, the real effects car will have a very particular serial number on the chassis. That number, DP/216/1, is unique to that specific vehicle and would set it apart from a fake. If this tip is true, a piece of film history could be returning from obscurity.