25 best movie gadgets

Nokia 8110 (The Matrix, 1999)

Okay, it may not be the most impressive gadget on this list, with a feature set including, er, SMS and five hours of talk time. But when Neo activated its spring-loaded cover, everyone suddenly needed a phone that snapped open with a ca-chik! sound. Unfortunately, this wasn't it – the spring-loaded mechanism was added to the 8110 by the props department, and eager buyers had to wait until the release of the Nokia 7110 before they could mimic Keanu Reeves.

Three seashells (Demolition Man, 1993)

Sly Stallone's cryogenically-preserved cop may have to tangle with Wesley Snipes' psychopathic criminal in this sci-fi action comedy – but first he has to learn to cope with life in the year 2032. Specifically, how to use the three seashells that have replaced loo roll in the toilets of the future.

If you're still puzzling over the mechanics all these years later, Stallone himself answered the question in an interview with Ain't it Cool News: "The way it was explained to me by the writer is you hold two seashells like chopsticks, pull gently and scrape what’s left with the third. You asked for it…"

Mapping drones (Prometheus, 2012)

Who needs GPS? Just chuck one of these handy little drones in the air and it'll use lasers to plot a map of your location. Mind you, they didn't do explorers Fifield and Millburn much good – the hapless pair still managed to get lost, despite being in constant radio contact with the Prometheus and having a map.

Jet pack (The Rocketeer, 1991)

Designed by Howard Hughes himself, this Art Deco engineering marvel is perfect for dodging the rush-hour traffic, battling Nazis and retrieving cats from trees. You might want to invest in a pair of flame-retardant trousers, though.
Read our Movie Classics – The Rocketeer

Make-up gun (The Fifth Element, 1997)

Luc Besson's future world is packed with handy gadgets, from the microwave that conjures up a full roast chicken from a pill to the multipass ("muuuuuultipass"). But none is more convenient or time-saving than the (Chanel-branded!) make-up gun, which zaps Milla Jovovich's Leeloo with full warpaint in half a second flat.

For fashion-forward gadgeteers, the film also features a device that applies fingernail polish in an instant – which you can actually buy in the real world, in the form of the Tat'z Nail'z fingernail printer.