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Gadgets in the Movies

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7 Best Homemade Gadgets In Action Movies

Tuesday, October 30 by Penn Collins

At the end of a long month, there’s very little better than kicking back and indulging in a long article about movie gadgets. Good news! It’s happening RIGHT NOW. We’ve scoured some of the most iconic action films (and one drama with a crazy-ass gadget…see if you can spot it) and from them harvested some of the most bad-ass weaponized contraptions of all time. Sure, the gadgets listed aren’t always designed for destruction, but we feel that it’s always a device’s highest and best use. Enjoy.

Peter Parker’s Web Slingers – The Amazing Spider-Man

In the latest edition of Spider-Man, coming out on Blu-ray™ and DVD November 9, Parker takes the easy way out and builds mechanical web slingers, rather than develop them genetically, like a TRUE superhero. Just kidding. I actually find the mechanical web slingers much more impressive than the evolved ones, if only because this Peter Parker had to work to develop them, rather than just let it happen to him like another Spider-Man portrayer. Let’s just call him “Toby M.” for the sake of anonymity.

Batterang – The Batman Movies and TV Show

What’s remarkable about this homemade gadget is that it simply defies explanation. It explodes, it sometimes returns, sometimes it’s remote controlled, and it can travel incredible distances at ridiculous speeds. Why? Because Batman. That’s why.

The Tim Burton and Chris Nolan installments have done their best to distance themselves from the campy TV show, but no one can resist the subdued charm of the batterang. Not sure if I should capitalize “batterang…”

Ash’s Chainsaw Hand – Evil Dead 2

While it might not be the most ingenious weapon, it is the most hard-core and bad ass. In the series, Ash (played by Bruce Campbell) undergoes a series of unfortunate catastrophes that cause his hand to be possessed, then cause him to cut it off, replacing it with a chainsaw. It’s not exactly rocket science, but, coming from a guy that calls a shotgun his “boom stick,” it’s to be expected.

The Bolt Shooter – The Good Son

Sometimes bad people make great weapons, and nowhere is that more apparent than in The Good Son, a film that stars Macauley Culkin as the bad guy (boy). And oh, is he ever bad. He does lots of terrible things, like causing wrecks on the freeways by throwing dummies off of bridges, but the most heartless thing he can muster up is taking out a ferocious dog with a weird bolt-gun-crossbow hybrid. He’s a horrible, horrible boy, but his fabrication abilities are off the charts.

Charlie Kelly’s Rat-Bashing Stick – It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

(I am aware this isn’t his actual rat stick, but I figured an action sequence was more profound than gadget accuracy.)
When you kill as many rats as Charlie does, you get that thousand-yard stare in your eyes that comes hand-in-hand with the crushing pain of recognizing your own mortality. Fortunately for Charlie, killing rat families just got a whole lot easier with his rat-bashing stick, a modified baseball bat that features a whole slew of pointy nails and a chain or something. It’s probably the crudest device on this list, but when you see how it warms Charlie’s heart, it might also be the most endearing!

Data’s Telescoping Boxing Glove – The Goonies

I’ll be honest. This is the first device that came to mind, but I’m having a really hard time coming to terms with the efficacy of it. First of all, if you’re going to punch someone to cause them harm, using a padded glove to do it sort of defeats the purpose and mitigates the damage done. Sort of cartoon-y for a film that otherwise offers a sincere and real look at a, um, group of kids that are hunting for treasure and who accidentally stumble upon a pirate armada.

Ok. So the boxing glove is probably in keeping with the premise of the movie.

The Proton Pack – Ghostbusters

Please don’t tell me how a Proton Pack works. Not interested. All I know is that they suck ghosts into a backpack, where they are held until it’s time to more or less incinerate them in a big ghost oven. Or something like that. You know how I know these Proton Packs are homemade? Well, for one, they look like crap. And two, they’re not foolproof. In fact, they’re downright dangerous.

Never ever cross the streams of two Proton Packs. You won’t like the result.

Man of Steel (2013)

Release Date: June 14, 2013 (3D/2D theaters and IMAX 3D) 
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures 
Director: Zack Snyder 
Screenwriter: David S. Goyer 
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, Russell Crowe 
Genre: Action, Adventure 
MPAA Rating: Not Available 
Official Website: ManofSteel.WarnerBros.com 
Review: Not Available 
DVD Review: Not Available 
DVD: Not Available 
Movie Poster: Comic-Con Art 
Production Stills: View here 

Plot Summary: Henry Cavill plays Superman in director Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel." The film also stars Amy Adams as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Laurence Fishburne as her editor-in-chief, Perry White. Starring as Clark Kent's adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, are Diane Lane and Kevin Costner. 

Squaring off against the superhero are two other surviving Kryptonians, the villainous General Zod, played by Michael Shannon, and Faora, Zod's evil partner, played by Antje Traue. Also from Superman's native Krypton are Lara Lor-Van, Superman's mother, played by Ayelet Zurer, and Superman's father, Jor-El, portrayed by Russell Crowe. Rounding out the cast are Harry Lennix as U.S. military man General Swanwick, as well as Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Release Date: May 17, 2013 (3D/2D theaters and IMAX 3D)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: J.J. Abrams
Screenwriter: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof
Starring: John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Simon Pegg, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alice Eve, Peter Weller
Genre: Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: StarTrekmovie.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: View here
Production Stills: View here

Plot Summary: In Summer 2013, director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes "Star Trek Into Darkness."

In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice.  

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Not Just Emotionless

Breaking news from The Straits Times ...
Published on December 20, 2012

S'poreans not only emotionless but unhappy as well
By Hoe Pei Shan

As if being least emotional nation in the world was not enough, Singapore has claimed yet another title - we are the most unhappy one as well.

That's according to international pollster Gallup, at least.

Based on a poll of nearly 150,000 people worldwide conducted in 2011 - the same one that branded Singapore as emotionless - Gallup's reading into the results put Singapore at the top of the list of countries where the fewest adults experienced positive emotions.

Singaporeans were apparently less upbeat than the people in places like Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Haiti.