It's true -- good science fiction movies are all about discussing and exploring the human condition and Big Philosophical Ideas. But make no mistake. We also love sci-fi because of the tech inherent to the genre, be it spaceships, robots, time travel machines or whatever else can be imagined. Sci-fi can be just plain cool because of these shiny (and sometimes "lived in") flourishes.

And certainly, the concept of the sci-fi weapon also has its allure. Whether it's a cyborg hero taking down villains with some kind of crazy blaster, or evil Dark Lords wiping out entire planets with their mechanical monstrosities, there is no doubt that the destructive capabilities of such futuristic weaponry appeal to a certain base instinct in us all.

But before we get started, let's lay out a few ground rules for this list. For the sake of clarity (and our sanity), we decided that we wouldn't include robots (sorry T-1000) or mecha suits or superhero weapons (sorry Iron Man on both counts). Additionally, to be included here the item has to have been designed to be a weapon (no Power Loader, for example) and it can't be a vehicle or something you can ride in (with one exception, which we will explore below).And lastly, a big shout-out to our faithful friends and followers on Facebook , who helped us come up with some of the more notable items on this list. Let's continue the discussion below!

25 The Alpha-Omega Bomb



Beneath the Planet of the Apes

The folks behind the original Planet of the Apes weren't satisfied with virtually wiping out mankind and civilization via nuclear war (as revealed at the end of the first film). So in the sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, they introduced this device, which as Charlton Heston's ever-lovable Taylor puts it, can "burn the planet to a cinder." And that's exactly what happens in the closing moments of the film! (We won't even talk about the face-peeling mutant freaks who spent millennia worshipping the thing as their god.)

24 "Hand" Grenade



Death Race 2000

Death Race 2000 stars David Carradine as a famed racer named Frankenstein whose ultimate plan is to win the Transcontinental Road Race, shake hands with the President, and kill him with the grenade that is built into his fake hand. Evil plans don't get much more brilliantly foolproof than that. Unfortunately for Frank, he was driving against Sylvester Stallone, necessitating early deployment of the Hand Grenade. On the plus side, it worked like a charm.

23 The SOL Satellite



Akira

When bad s#!t goes down in Neo-Tokyo and crazy kids like Tetsuo start to display intense psionic abilities, the government tries to gain the upper hand by firing this orbital weapon at the kids. Bad idea. And while the SOL satellite can't get the job done, it is nonetheless a massive display of power from the sky -- and a really wicked sequence in the film. Kaa-neee-daaaaa!

22 Gristle Gun



eXistenZ

Apparently director David Cronenberg has a thing for bizarre guns. Even weirder than James Woods' fleshy pistol in Videodrome is this kooky little weapon that Jude Law's character constructs out of discarded Chinese food. It may look silly, but this gun can take down an angry, knife-wielding waiter with two poorly aimed shots to the face. It's probably best that Cronenberg sticks to movies about virtual reality video games rather than designing video games himself.

21 Sonic Shotgun



Minority Report

There wasn't much of this piece in the Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg film, but we liked what we saw -- and heard. Yeah, the "sonic" part allows for some sweet sound effects, and the swivel motion of the hilt for reloading (we think) is pretty cool too.(Honorable mention goes to the Sick Stick, also from this film, which makes its targets all pukey. Yuck.)