The Ten Coolest Movie and TV Spy Gadgets in History
Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 20, 2008
One of the coolest things about secret agent movies is the toys they have to do their jobs. The scary thing is that while some of these gadgets were figments of a writer’s imagination many years ago, some are becoming a reality.
Whether these really exist or not, here are the coolest gadgets that we’ve seen in the movies over the years. Sure, the films are loaded with cool trinkets, but these are the ones that make us want them for ourselves… for our own devious purposes.
Flame on!
10. The Dagger Shoe from From Russia With Love
Used by SPECTRE agent Rosa Klebb, this gadget is revered for its simplicity. A single poison-tipped blade from the tip of the shoe can kill in seconds. So much better than the Zohan’s bare foot.
9. The Jet Pack from Thunderball
What was so cool about this gadget is that it was a real contraption back in 1965. Sure, it just made James Bond into a sitting duck as he slowly hovered away from danger, but it was a personal flying machine that actually worked in real life.
8. The Masks from Mission: Impossible
Whether you’re talking about the original series or the Tom Cruise movies, the trademark M:I masks always managed to look like the real person (until a split-second before they were removed, when they actually looked like a mask). If only such a perfect mask existed, Scooby Doo villains around the world would rejoice.
7. Tracking Serum from Alias
All secret agents use tracking devices, and the television series Alias was famous for putting tracking devices in money, clothing, lipstick and just about anywhere else. The coolest tracking device they used was a serum, which they “installed” when they convinced their detainees to drink bottled water.
6. The Watches from Spy Kids
Carmen and Juni Cortez had a ton of cool gadgets as the littlest secret agents in the biz. But it was their multifunctional watch that was their coolest toy. If only it told time.
5. Mobile Phone from Tomorrow Never Dies
It was this James Bond film from 1997 that was conceived for the world’s most famous secret agent. We’ve seen cool phones in many other films, but this one really was ahead of it’s time. It included a stun gun, a fingerprint scanner and a remote control for Bond’s loaded BMW.
4. The Shoe Phone from Get Smart!
Okay, I know it’s a little odd to put a clunky shoe phone on the list ahead of James Bond’s super cool Ericsson mobile. However, the shoe phone was from the 60s, and it was actually pretty cool… as well as funny.
3. The Pontiac GTO from xXx
Xander Cage got a lot of cool, souped up gadgets that rivaled some of the most dangerous toys Bond got from Q Branch. His loaded GTO had more testosterone than was imaginable in a car. Not only was it an awesome muscle car, but it included stinger missiles, parachutes, a flame thrower, ejection seat and exploding hubcaps.
2. Jack Bauer’s PDA from 24
Like James Bond’s mobile phone from Tomorrow Never Dies, Jack Bauer’s PDA could do almost anything. Satellite photos or building schematics? No problem! Encrypted messages from terrorists? Piece of cake! As long as Chloe was feeding him the information, there wasn’t anything that his PDA couldn’t do.
1. James Bond’s Aston Martin
The Aston Martin was first introduced in Goldfinger with machine guns, a back shield, an oil slick, rotating license plates and tire slashers. Different models made appearances in Thunderball, The Living Daylights, Die Another Day and Casino Royale. Each model had cool add-ons like a cloaking shield, laser weapons and even a defibrillator. God, I want one of those cars.
Honorable Mentions:
Inspector Gadget – He was more of a detective than a secret agent, but his whole body was a gadget (with a convenient surname). And, he was voiced by Don Adams, which kind of made the shoe phone obsolete.
Swedish-Made Penis-Enlarger Pump – Was this a gadget? Who knows, but this sort of thing is my bag, baby!
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