The 15 Best Movie Weapons Of All Time

There's nothing quite like watching a movie for the first time and discovering that some kind of incredibly cool weaponry is at the heart of the climactic battle sequence, chase scene, or even just the central plot as a whole. Movies are fertile, imaginative ground, where anything can be dreamt up and made real within the confines of the world of the story — and that notion alone leaves a lot of room for cool movie weapons.

History has definitely stepped up to the plate to prove that notion wholly correct, with an uncountable number of fun, exciting, and uniquely deadly movie weapons littering the cinematic zeitgeist over the years. In fact, there are so many incredible movie weapons that deserve to be highlighted, and thus way more than we could ever even hope to fit on this list. But the fact remains that films have given us some of the most inventive weapons in the public consciousness, ones that will endure far longer than most real-life weapons.

Without further ado, here's the 15 best movie weapons of all time, ranked.

The iconic proton packs from Ivan Reitman's 1984 classic "Ghostbusters" are easily one of cinema's most intricate weapons. They have tons of buttons and controls, but at the end of the day, their function is simple: to control and lasso in ghosts. In the film, a group of parapsychologists in New York City join forces to start a ghost-catching business, and this weapon allows them to stand a chance against the various crazy specters that inhabit the city and take them down once and for all. You heard the song. They're not afraid of no ghosts. 

The pack is worn like a backpack and even features a neutron wand, which shoots charged particle beams at the ghosts that need busting. The thing is, these things are powerful. The scientific device really transforms Venkman, Stantz, Spengler, and Zeddemore — played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson respectively — into forces to be reckoned with by the end of the film. By the way, if you're into this one, you can totally get your own Proton Pack and bust your own ghosts.

The One Ring from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy might be one of the most elusive weapons on this list, one that simply doesn't function like a conventional weapon, but that doesn't make it any less menacing and powerful. In fact, one could argue this is also the most powerful weapon on this list. Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy focuses entirely on this ring and the quest to destroy it in the same place it was made to stop its immense power from getting into the wrong hands. Right off the bat, that sounds like one serious weapon.

Furthermore, as we follow that story, we learn more and more about how the ring can be used by the bearer, but the twist here is that the ring becomes a weapon when it's used by the bearer, but it is not a weapon for the bearer. No, in fact, the ring itself is a darkly beautiful object controlled by the story's central antagonist, Sauron, and it gives him the ability to locate the ring and its current bearer so he can do whatever necessary to reclaim the piece of jewelry. That's no joke. 

Captain America's shield is a classic when it comes to movie weapons, but like with all classics, it's a classic for a reason. The shield is, of course, an American emblem and there's some symbolism there, just like there is with Cap's character and his original identity, Steve Rogers, as well. There's a sense of honor and duty in being a steward of one's country — but it's an even greater gift to serve its people, as evidenced by Captain America's dedication

That said, even when you get down to the basic facts, this shield is one hell of a weapon. It's lightweight, huge, and made of an indestructible Wakandan metal called vibranium, so you know it's strong and powerful right from its design. In fact, throughout every "Captain America" and "Avengers" movie Cap shows up in, this weapon — which has its origins in 1940s Marvel comics — proves to be invaluable to both offense and defense (even when damaged), as it effortlessly launches itself around to attack any threats before ending up back in Cap's hands like a boomerang.  

There's something about how Indiana Jones employs his trusty whip that reminds us all that crafty thinking is half the battle when it comes to weaponry. The legendary hero's iconic right-hand weapon is probably the least all-powerful item on this list, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its advantages. Here's the catch, though: it's all about who is handling the weapon here.

Indy's whip is particularly memorable and iconic because of his handiwork using it. He has an innate sense of comfort and ease with it, and it almost feels like an actual extension of his arm. More so, it functions that way, especially when he's employing it to get him out of a bind. Because of that, the whip ends up feeling almost larger than life, and in that way, the most famous adventurer of all time wouldn't be the same with any other weapon. Interestingly enough, though, Ford's past as a carpenter almost made the now iconic weapon a bad fit for him because of an old injury. Imagine if we'd never seen him crack that whip. 

The gun Sigourney Weaver's Ripley uses in "Aliens" is no joke. The combat rifle is a short to mid-range gun, making it perfect for blasting Xenomorphs left and right, especially in tight quarters like a spaceship. Plus. it's a fully automatic machine, so it's not a weapon that's going to hold back. Naturally, that makes it the perfect accessory for such a badass sci-fi final girl.

But what really makes this weapon special is how it evens the playing field for the humans of the "Alien" franchise, allowing them to hold their own in a square up against pure evil in alien form. Without a killer weapon like this, Ripley and her team would be rats in a maze with cats on the loose. It's truly a powerful piece of metal, one that even the most alpha Xenomorph should be scared of, almost as much as the woman behind the trigger).

Other than the One Ring, there isn't a weapon on this list with the level of power imbued within Marvel's Infinity Stones. The six Infinity Stones — which show up in several MCU movies and become the "bedrock" of "Avengers: Infinity War" — end up being controlled by Thanos, the central antagonist of the "Avengers" franchise, which is pretty bad news overall. For those of you who don't know, the six stones represent and control six crucial aspects of life: space, mind, reality, power, time, and soul.

Needless to say, it's pretty obvious why these have a place on our list. They are major pillars of existence and could be fatal not to one person but the entire human race if they end up in the wrong hands, especially if they're beefy and purple like Thanos. In fact, the villain uses the stones once he gets hold of them to wipe out half the universe's population in order to save it from extinction, even though Tony Stark undoes that using the same power. So it's pretty clear that these six seemingly simple stones hold a shocking magnitude of power, more so than most of the coolest weapons in film.

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" is one of the most inventive and creative modern films ever made, not to mention establishing the modern blockbuster performance, and its ingenuity really does live around every corner of every frame. Each character and plot point is crafted so expertly with both comedic and dramatic expertise and each directorial choice is so tightly tied to classic noir sensibilities in the best possible way — and we haven't even begun to talk about the animated elements of the film, which are arguably what makes it the classic it is today.

To that end, the animated greatness extends all the way down to small side characters that nonetheless stand out, like the toon gun employed by Detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) in a high-stakes chase scene. What's cool about this gun is that it's a different take on a very typical weapon. Not only is it a very cartoon-style visual of a gun on screen, it also has sentient bullets, each with their own unique character designs and personalities... and proficiency levels at their job to boot. It's visually striking, utterly charming, and ultimately, an unforgettable movie weapon.

There's nothing quite like the "Star Wars" lightsabers out there in the vast halls of legendary movie weaponry. They are wholly unique, even an incredible 48 years after they first hit screens in "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope," and they really need no introduction. Not only are lightsabers intense weapons — after all, they are essentially concentrated fire sticks so hot they'll slice you to ribbons — but their straightforward yet elegant design proves how much power can come from simplicity.

Lightsabers are ultimately swords, and their design is pretty similar, aside from the fact that their unsheathing process is accompanied by glowing light and one of the coolest movie sound effects ever. But they're several steps beyond swords when it comes to lethality and intimidation factor. Lightstabers are fast and fierce movie weapons that never get boring, even as the central weapon in a franchise spanning nearly half a century. They're so iconic that one of our writers saw a "real" lightsaber in person and it blew his mind. That's the level of legendary we're talking about here. 

For a movie with the title "Kill Bill," the central weapon just has to be exceptionally badass. Thankfully, the story features exactly that in the Bride's Hatori Hanzo sword, with which she slays her way to doing the titular deed. Yes, it could be said that this movie weapon is, in fact, just a sword, but it's the symbolism that places this sword high above the rest, and it has plenty of movies from the past that inspired it.

Hatori Hanzo swords represent deadliness. They are only bestowed upon the best fighters, those who show they can dominate in battle while upholding the sense of honor that comes from killing with this caliber of steel. Not everyone can reach the level of mastery required to handle and fight — let alone succeed in battle — with a Hatori Hanzo sword. This level of reverence makes the Bride's Hatori Hanzo sword that much more special, knowing her skills and the work she has put in to hone them over many years. How could her sword not make this list?

Another unconventional movie weapon, Freddy Krueger's bizarre knife glove is as unconventional as it is unsettling. Knives makeshift fastened to a glove, it really highlights the mad ingenuity of evil — and it's part of what makes Krueger one of the most iconic horror villains of all time.

Freddy's glove is a unique weapon, one that has maybe only ever been matched, literally, by Wolverine's claws, which are obviously used for good rather than evil. Because it's attached to his hand, it allows him to be in full control of his killings and to inflict the exact level of wretched horror upon his victims that he likes. See, for example, the first brutal slaying in 1984's "Nightmare on Elm Street." Seeing what he can do with this makeshift glove is enough to make anyone have nightmares, so it's a shoe-in on this list.

This cool movie weapon is one you don't see in every story: a plain old car. It's not a story we hear often if ever, both in fiction or within the realm of real-life killers. No historical heyday serial killers or even modern ones have been particularly fixated on killing via motor vehicle. But in "Death Proof" — the Quentin Tarantino classic we don't talk about enough —  Stuntman Mike, well, that's his whole thing... and the car he uses to do it is pretty sick. (Note: we didn't include other weaponized cars, because with vehicles like the Batmobile or a James Bond ride, the car itself isn't the weapon; they're merely equipped with weapons.

Aside from looking really cool with a black paint job and a white skull with crossed lightning bolts, the car is equipped with all manner of death-prevention mechanisms inside. After all, Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) is just that, a stuntman, and he has a lot of experience in his career with controlled crashes. In fact, he makes a moment out of explaining how the boxed in passenger seat of his car is meant to house a camera, and how his seat has been manufactured to be "death proof." Needless to say, any car deemed "death proof" that's being used strictly for driving and killing's gotta go on this list.

Chris Hemsworth's rendition of "Thor" was full of laughs and charm, but it also introduced us to one of the best weapons in the MCU and certainly one of the most iconic weapons in greater film history: Mjolnir, Thor's trusty hammer. This thing is extra special, as it's sanctioned as a tool of the Norse Gods. Aside from its obvious usage as a weapon, it allows Thor to fly as well as to travel interdimensionally, which definitely comes in handy once he becomes exposed to the mortal world in the first film.

That said, only the worthy can lift Mjolnir and use it. That makes the weapon all the more special, especially when you consider Thor's quest to redeem himself and return to God status in the 2011 Marvel picture. There's no denying this tool is a knockout, pun intended, and the fact that it also gives the bearer flight and interdimensional travel? This is one of the best movie weapons by a long shot, especially when in the hands of its true master.

The cool thing about the central weapon in 2002's cyberpunk action classic "Minority Report" is that it takes the casings of a typical, everyday weapon and puts fantasy technology inside it, creating a chilling effect that forces the audience to imagine themselves in the story and what they would do if they were faced with such a device. The sonic pistol looks a lot like a basic sci-fi gun at first glance, and considering it is a standard issue weapon at the film's Department of PreCrime, it makes sense that it does.

But the catch here is that the gun actually contains sonic pulse technology that, when fired, sends its target flying back with a major level of speed and force, which tends to be an effective weapon that doesn't always kill. Plus, the weapon is charged for fire by cranking it in a cool way that makes the barrel spin around the handle. Sounds perfect for a corrupt government looking to turn the other cheek. The film, which follows a man accused of a crime he didn't commit who then becomes a fugitive, is an excellent tech noir thriller, and putting a weapon like this at the forefront of that kind of story entices audiences but also makes them think about the realities of such a tool.

When it comes to appearance and make up, the Zorg ZF-1 Pod weapon system from "The Fifth Element" might just take the cake for coolest on this list. It's an intricate firearm system designed and built by Jean-Baptiste Zorg, Gary Oldman's arms dealer character in the classic 1997 film. It's an energy-based weapon that houses energy for 3,000 shots and features a titanium recharger, which makes it incapable of being detected by x-rays.

Further, it has a whole host of awesome functions that gives the bearer a ton of options, including a classic self-destruct button. It also has a rocket launcher, an arrow launcher with poisonous and gas arrows, a net launcher to capture enemies instead of kill, a flame thrower, a freezing system, and a replay button, which redirects future shots toward the impact point of the first shot. It's a stacked piece of sci-fi weaponry, possibly more so than any other gun in movie history, and that's why it obviously deserves a place on this list.

We live in a world where a character in a movie has a chainsaw arm, and it would be crazy not to celebrate that on a list like this. In fact, we've even called it the "greatest chainsaw movie franchise," and we're sticking by that. Our favorite horror final boy, Ashley Williams of the "Evil Dead" franchise, ends up having to cut off part of his own arm to save the rest of his body from succumbing to the bite of a Kandarian demon — and from there, he ends up inadvertently making himself one of the best movie weapons of all time.

He later attaches a chainsaw to the bloody stump left of his arm and is able to wreak some serious havoc on various Kandarian demons he comes across throughout the franchise as a result. Honestly, though, if we have to convince you of why this is a badass movie weapon, you might be beyond help. Chainsaw. Attached to an arm. That's all there is to it, folks. It really doesn't get better than Ash sawing through demons like he was born with the skill, and the franchise's iconic chainsaw allows him to do just that in stellar — or shall we say, groovy — fashion.