Throughout James Bond’s career as a 007 agent, he’s had many different pieces of kit to help him get the job done, though some might have been a bit questionable; from the water sphere that allowed Bond to walk on water in Diamonds are Forever, to a fake nipple, in The Man With The Golden Gun. These gadgets often get Bond out of trouble, but how would he fare without them?
When Bond used technology in some of the past films, he tends to be in a sticky situation. Take 2006’s Casino Royal, for example, James is poisoned by Le Chiffre at a poker table, resulting in him having to use a portable defibrillator, which was neatly stored in his Aston Martin DBS. If he hadn’t used the technology available, he would have died – so on this occasion it’s safe to say that his tech was quite important. However we see a large chase scene at the beginning of the film where he is free running through a forest, up a crane and along some rooftops, all thanks to the physical skills her Royal Majesty’s service taught him.
In more recent films we see the Quartermaster, (Q) provide James with more down to earth and understandable pieces of tech than in previous eras. In the latest Bond film, Spectre 007 is kitted out with an exploding watch and a very sleek Aston Martin DB10, which was made exclusively for the film. Which, without spoiling the film, he uses both to progress his mission.
This raises the question: if there was no technology, would Mr. Bond be able to do his job, or would a world without tech make his life, as a spy, easier? In Spectre *plot spoiler* he spends two and a half hours fighting a cyber-villain, who has a vision to replace the double 0’s with cyber security. With CCTV, satellites and drones being clandestine has never been more difficult.
Could it be possible that future Bond films will feature him sitting behind a computer, using his coding skills to track down the bad guy, and then getting the girl through a dating site? Hopefully not. After all, the crazy gadgets and explosive action scenes are some of the best parts of the film.
So where would James be without his gadgets? There’s no doubt that, without Q, Bond would have been dead long before the credits rolled in almost every movie. No matter what situation Bond finds himself in, he can always find a use for his latest toys. Technology is updating quicker than ever and while we may not be quite at Bond’s level we’re increasingly gaining access to quicker and better tech. The only thing we need to make sure of, is that we’re using it as well as Bond does.
Joe Saxon, Intern, Technology
