25 best movie gadgets

Magnetic watch (Live and Let Die, 1973)

James Bond’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner couldn’t just be a normal watch, could it? Q Branch fitted this timepiece with a fast-spinning bezel (able to cut through ropes and cable with ease), as well as a powerful magnet. Roger Moore’s 007, in typical style, eschewed the magnet’s intended use as a bullet-deflector to instead unzip a lady’s dress hands-free. Oh James…

Transporter (Star Trek, 2009)

The crew of the USS Enterprise has used the transporter in almost every version of Star Trek – it was orignally a work-around to avoid having to shoot expensive landing sequences with model shuttlecraft every time the Enterprise crew visited a planet. For the 2009 cinematic reboot, the venerable transporter effect was given a CGI spit and polish. Interestingly, the famous phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" was never uttered in the original Star Trek TV show or films.

Neuralizer (Men in Black, 1997)

The standard issue MIB Neuralizer looks like someone crammed HAL into an oversized metal cigar. But it's definitely not for smoking. Agents use the neuraliser to replace the memories of alien witnesses with safe cover-ups. Also useful for forgetting movie spoilers leaked by annoying friends.

PASIV dream machine (Inception, 2010)

We're not entirely sure how the Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous Device works in detail, but it's used in Inception to upload a dream scenario into users' minds using a drug called somacin, with a countdown timer to help kick people out of their dream worlds. That shared dream of a raid on a mountain stronghold looks like much more fun than a Call of Duty deathmatch…

Power Loader (Aliens, 1986)

The Power Loader is essentially a wearable forklift truck used for moving heavy crates and large weapons. When it's not wearing its work hat, its hydraulic claws come in handy for ripping alien queens in half. Useful, eh?