The best James Bond gadgets

With Skyfall’s recent release, we take a look at some of Bond’s best gadgets over the years.

Last month, the 23rd James Bond movie hit Canadian movie theatres and also marks the franchise’s 50th anniversary (the first Bond movie, Dr. No, was released in 1962). It enjoyed the biggest opening weekend ever for a Bond film, raking in $87.8 million in North America alone.

Over the years, James Bond has been all over the world, foiled countless diabolical plots, and seen a bevy of explosions, cars, women, and of course, gadgets. MI6′s trusty Quartermaster, or “Q”, has ensured that the agent with the license to kill always has the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos to get him out of any situation. These have ranged from the mundane, such as a belt with a built-in high-tension line (seen in GoldenEye, 1995) to the complex, such as the cellphone with fingerprint scanner, 20,000V taser, and remote-control for his BMW 750iL (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997). Last, but not least, are the devices that don’t get as much glory but have ensured 007 lives to fight another day: things like the portable defibrillator (Casino Royale, 2006), underwater re-breather, and radioactive tracker pill (both from Thunderball, 1965).

Many of the devices seen in Bond movies are now staples in any espionage/spy thriller, albeit somewhat less fantastical and more practical.

Below is a gallery of some of Bond’s great gadgets. (There are also cars, speedboats, and the one rocket belt (Thunderball, 1965), but for this list, I kept to things that were portable and/or handheld.)

[Images from MGM's various James Bond Blu-rays.]

Do you have a favourite Bond movie, actor, or gadget? Let us know in the comments!