The 10 Best James Bond Gadgets Ranked

Ba-dah, bummm, ba-dah, bummmm, ba-dah, ba-dah-dah! Cue a silhouette of a man adorned in a trilby walking across the screen, outlined by the barrel of a gun. Suddenly, he turns, pointing a Walther PPK directly at the audience, and fires. The frame turns red, and the barrel drops out of sight. Monty Norman's iconic theme suddenly blares, signaling the rival of cinema's most enduring hero: James Bond. 

Initially portrayed by Sean Connery in classic capers like "Dr. No," "From Russia with Love" and "Goldfinger," Bond eventually fell into the lap of several different actors, namely George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig, resulting in 25 motion pictures — 27 if you include 1967's "Casino Royale" and 1983's "Never Say Never Again" — a flurry of iconic James Bond movie theme songs sang by everyone from Shirley Bassey to Billie Eilish, TV shows, spoofs, knockoffs, and popular video games like Nintendo 64's "Goldeneye."

As the films evolved, so did the character. In "Dr. No," Bond dazzled moviegoers merely by strutting across the floor, smoking cigarettes, sleeping with gorgeous women, and playing cards alongside dangerous villains. By 1965's "Thunderball," the super spy dubbed 007 was suddenly strapping into rocket packs and leaping off rooftops or evading baddies utilizing machine guns tucked inside his stylish Aston Martin DBS. It's fair to say Bond's gadgets are almost as iconic as the man himself. But which of Bond's toys stands as the most iconic? Let's take a look at the 10 best James Bond gadgets, ranked.  

Roger Moore's reign as Bond leans hard on the camp, gifting audiences a plethora of goofy action, silly punch lines, and ridiculous contraptions. The best of the bunch, 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me," features a hefty batch of cooky gadgets, including a deadly motorcycle sidecar missile attached to a Kawasaki Z900, a watch capable of transmitting messages, and a cigarette containing potent gas designed to knock out a room full of henchman.

Still, Bond's incredible ski pole gun remains the best of the bunch — and yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. During the famed ski chase sequence, Bond is surrounded by Soviet agents who pursue our boy down an Austrian mountain pass. After evading a volley of gunfire, Bond, adorned in a yellow jumpsuit, lifts and cocks his ski poles, turns, and fires at an oncoming bad guy. The gunshot leaves a giant hole in the attacker, and he collapses to the ground. The weapon gives 007 enough time to do a backflip followed by a nosedive over a cliff, naturally supported by a British-themed parachute. Folks, that's just the opening scene to this wild ride.

While the ski pole gun only appears this one time, it's such a bonkers twist in what looked like a precarious situation for our boy. We all knew Bond would escape, but it's doubtful anyone knew he would emerge victorious by blasting the bejesus out of someone with a ski pole.

In the late 90s, Pierce Brosnan took over as 007, delivering a series of films that offer a nice mix between Sean Connery's grittier adventures and Roger Moore's lighthearted escapades, even if they didn't follow Ian Fleming's novels. His final outing, 2002's "Die Another Day," pairs him with Halle Berry for an action-packed romp that goes hard on absurdity and light on brains. 

Often seen as the worst Bond flick, this Lee Tamahori-directed entry still contains a few clever moments, including a terrific cameo by John Cleese as Q (taking over for the deceased Desmond Llewelyn). In the sequence, our beleaguered quartermaster equips Bond with a powerful "Single Digit Sonic Agitator," disguised as a standard ring. The small but powerful device is notable for its clever guise. The villains never attempt to take it from Bond because, well, it's only a ring, right?

Capable of shattering thick panes of glass, the device comes in quite handy late in the picture when Bond is cornered by his enemies inside a building lined with — what else? — thick panes of glass, including the floor. With a gun pointed at his head, Bond leans over, places his hand on the floor, and instantly shatters the glass to pieces, sending everyone in the room to the level below. It's not the most dazzling of Bond's arsenal, but it's certainly the most practical.   

Sean Connery's fifth go as James Bond, "You Only Live Twice," lacks the ingenuity of its predecessors and feels rather hollow and bloated, despite novelties such as a volcano base, a thrilling aerial battle, the appearance of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence), and a supporting cast mainly consisting of Japanese actors.

Also on hand is a delectable gadget called the "Mini-rocket Cigarette." Yes, once again, the device is as outrageous as its name. Disguised as a cigarette, the powerful contraption shoots a tiny rocket that effectively blows unsuspecting foes to smithereens. Like the Sonic Ring in "Die Another Day," the villains overlook the danger. Everyone smokes, right? Why would anyone suspect a cigarette as anything more than a guilty pleasure? During a conversation with Blofeld, Bond politely asks if he can smoke, and our bald, deranged villain obliges. Bond lights the fuse, aims at a nearby henchman, and fires. A brief fight ensues, and while Bond's escape attempt is quickly thwarted, the Mini-rocket Cigarette at least provided a slight chance.   

Giving James Bond a pair of powerful "X-Ray Specs," or sunglasses, is basically like giving an alcoholic an unlimited supply of booze. While the nifty gadget only makes a brief appearance in "The World is Not Enough," despite being more practical and necessary than many of the gadgets on this list, particularly for someone like 007, they still leave quite the impression. Bond's mission, you see, leads to a Baku casino run by Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane), where he hopes to gather more intel. Before proceeding, he slips on his slick device, allowing him to see through the clothing of every guest in the room. 

Of course, Bond uses the glasses to scan for weapons, noting a burly man packing twin sidearms. Bond being Bond, he also takes the opportunity to, ah, investigate a pair of nearby women, drawing confused looks as he checks out their undergarments. Eventually, he confronts one of Zukovsky's men at the casino bar. A quick survey of his attire reveals a gun and knife. (Uniquely, the women surrounding the man also pack a lot of heat.) Bond springs to action and uses the man's knife to pin him to the bar, allowing him to sip his favorite martini while extracting the information he needs to proceed. 

"Thunderball" remains the most financially successful Bond film, likely due to the goodwill bestowed by its classic predecessor, "Goldfinger." Yet, by this point, the formula began to wear thin, and no amount of deadly sharks, impressive set pieces, or exotic women could detract from that fact. Regardless, this bloated epic is where the series' over-reliance upon clever gadgetry began, for better or worse, kicking off with a terrific prologue that sees Bond (Connery) kill an assassin in France. Following the encounter, 007, pursued by guards, races to a balcony, straps on a jetpack, and leaps off the roof like the Rocketeer. He lands beside his trusty Aston Martin DB5 and makes a clean getaway.    

Sure, the special effects are sorely dated, and the distinction between Connery standing in front of a blue screen versus a stunt double operating the dangerous device on location is apparent. Still, in 1965, Bond's jetpack escape likely left audiences grinning from ear to ear. The clunky device features prominently on the film's poster, replete with the cheeky tagline: "LOOK UP! James Bond does it everywhere." Seriously, "Thunderball" is a wild adventure. To think, the madness could have gone even further had EON Productions included Johnny Cash's rejected (and badass) theme song.

For all the glitz and glam of the later entries, the best Bond film remains 1964's "Goldfinger." Striking the perfect balance between camp — hello, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) — high-octane action and drama, this threequel features some of the most iconic moments in the franchise, including classic villain Oddjob (Harold Sakata), the infamous laser sequence — "Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" — and a small collection of believable gadgets. Chief among them being the ejector seat in Bond's Aston Martin DB5 — his best car, according to our staff.  

During a tense bit with a gun-packing baddie, Bond presses a red button atop the gear shift, causing the car's passenger seat to launch through an opening in the roof. Bye-bye, bad guy. It's a brief gag but memorable enough for later Bond films to pay homage to. During a chase scene in "Die Another Day," 007's car flips upside down atop a bed of ice. Thinking quickly, he deploys the ejector seat to right the vehicle, evading a missile in the process. Later, in "Skyfall," Bond (Daniel Craig) threatens to eject M (Judi Dench) from her seat after a snarky comment. "Oh go on then, eject me," she snarls. "See if I care."  

Pierce Brosnan's debut film as James Bond, 1995's "GoldenEye" — which was almost the end of the franchise — carries plenty of cultural significance. Not only is it an awesome Bond film, but this Martin Campbell-directed epic also inspired the extremely popular 1997 Nintendo 64 video game of the same name. Ultimately, "GoldenEye" is a fantastic reboot of the 007 saga that successfully ushered the aged spy into the modern era, coating his barrage of troupes and cliches with a much-needed shiny new coat of paint.   

Rather than return to the basics as the Daniel Craig era would do a little over a decade later, Campbell presented a more polished version of the old formula. He ups the action, limits the camp, and ensures Bond doesn't exit the office without a trusty gadget or two. "GoldenEye" is jam-packed with terrific doodads, including a grappling belt, a do-everything wristwatch (more on that later), and high-tech digital binoculars. 

Still, perhaps the most memorable of the bunch is the Parker Jotter Ballpoint Pen Grenade, a powerful little device disguised as a typical office pen. As explained by Q (Desmond Llewelyn), Bond need only click the pen three times to arm the device, and another three to disarm it. Once armed, however, our hero needs to skedaddle within four seconds because this sucker packs quite the punch, as dopey computer programmer Boris Grishenko (Alan Cumming) discovers late in the picture.   

Following the success of "GoldenEye," Pierce Brosnan returned for 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" and once again delivered the goods (with a bit of help from Michelle Yeoh), even if the results were a little messier due to some behind the scenes issues. Director Roger Spottiswoode gamely ups the gadget quota, giving Bond plenty of toys to mess around with during his bid to take down Jonathan Pryce's maniacal media mogul before he starts World War III. In one of the picture's most memorable bits, Bond battles a group of henchmen in a parking garage while driving his BMW 750iL via a remote control hidden inside his cellphone. More impressively, our boy sits in the backseat throughout the sequence, navigating down each action-packed level like a kid playing on his iPad.

Thankfully, his vehicle also contains a wicked arsenal of tricks, including guns, re-inflatable tires, tear gas, and missiles. The Ericsson JB988 mobile phone used to control the car includes a stun gun and a fingerprint scanner, all of which are put to good use by 007. This powerful combination of technology and weaponry is very cool, but it's the remote control feature that stands out as the best.

At face value, this entry might seem less sexy than the previous items on this list. However, the famed briefcase in "From Russia with Love" was truly the first 007 gadget that turned heads. Who doesn't want a suitcase containing an AR-7 rifle, ammunition, money, a knife, and the ability to unload tear gas if opened incorrectly? 

Bond doesn't get to use all his toys, but he uses tear gas to stun the villain Red Grant (Robert Shaw) during an intense encounter aboard the Orient Express. After getting the jump on Bond, the blond SPECTRE assassin lays out his plan in a lengthy exchange, during which 007 tries to wiggle out of his predicament. At one point, he offers to pay for a final cigarette and tricks Grant into opening the case. Gas erupts inside the train car, and the two engage in ferocious hand-to-hand combat.

Grant begins choking our hero, who desperately retrieves the hidden knife from the briefcase and uses it to stab his foe in the arm, allowing him to win the contest eventually. Again, it may not seem as clever as X-ray glasses or a remote-controlled car, but Bond's briefcase remains an OG gadget that paved the way for many others. 

Finally, for the number one pick, we're selecting the Wristwatch Laser from "GoldenEye." Aside from being the coolest watch Bond ever owned, the Omega Seamaster Diver Professional contains a laser cutter and a detonator, each of which is put to good use in the film. However, fans likely remember the device more for its prominence in the Nintendo 64 video game, where it served as the pause/selection menu, effectively allowing players to cut through locks and detonate mines. It also displayed Bond's health and armor, allowing players to view his arsenal, select essential gadgets, and view their mission status.

In the film, Bond uses the watch's laser to cut through the floor of a train before it explodes, allowing him to escape with Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco). Visually, it's a fun callback to "Goldfinger," but the device also felt incredibly futuristic and high-tech in 1995. Since then, the series has produced everything from a bagpipe flamethrower to an invisible car and jumped the shark on numerous occasions. That makes the Wristwatch Laser all the more endearing, as its simplicity and effectiveness make it feel right at home with James Bond. 

Now, can we please get that HD Nintendo 64 "GoldenEye" remake?