Moviemaking is an extremely complicated process no matter how the film turns out. The James Bond movies, with high budgets and impressive technical feats, are not immune. With such complex set pieces, it would be almost impossible for a mistake not to end up in the final cut.
From Connery's time in the role to Craig's, every Bond film has gaffes to at least some extent. However, these flubs or slip-ups can sometimes actually be quite charming. They never distract from the movie too much but are a fun little thing to catch and laugh about.
Red Vs. Blue: Dr. No (1962)
In the very first 007 film, Dr. No, there's a little mishap with some boat paint. Bond's temporary Jamaican sidekick Quarrell is on the shore painting his modestly-sized vessel. In his hand is a paintbrush dripping red.
The issue is that Quarrell's boat is two colors, and neither of them is red. No matter which side of the boat someone looks at, there's only yellow and blue. While the franchise was in its infancy, this still is a pretty big mistake to leave in the final cut. Regardless, it's easy to overlook considering the gaffe is surrounded by the sight of Kingston, Jamaica.
A Disappearing Act: Live And Let Die (1973)
Roger Moore's first adventure as the character, Live and Let Die, has a fairly interesting weapon not found in other installments. It's a fairly standard gun, but instead of lead bullets, it has compressed-gas pellets.
Whisper, the henchman of Live and Let Die's big bad, Kananga, is sitting on a fairly expensive-looking early 70s couch. When Kananga shoots the couch with the gun, it begins to rapidly inflate and Whisper falls back awkwardly. Then, when the couch explodes, Whisper is nowhere to be seen. This changes in the very next shot, when Whisper is back in his spot.
The 007 Camera: Moonraker (1979)
is almost nothing like Ian Fleming's book. This includes the characterization of Bond himself. For instance, in Fleming's books, Bond would never walk around with a camera that prominently displays the numbers 007.
He does so in the film, even though his entire point is to be a covert superspy. Moonraker may have been the film to have Bond jump the shark, but this is a gaffe that should have been caught during the scripting stage.
A Fall To A Cake: A View To A Kill (1985)
Roger Moore's Bond is chasing A View to a Kill's secondary villain, Mayday, through the streets of Paris. The chase ends with Bond jumping off a bridge onto a boat. Unlike Mayday, who landed gracefully, Bond plummets through the roof of the train and smashed into a birthday cake.
Once Bond is through the roof of the train, it's pretty obvious that a dummy was used for the stunt. Furthermore, when Moore rises from the crushed cake, he doesn't have a spot of icing on him.
A Weird Silencer: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Tomorrow Never Dies' antagonist, Elliot Carver, is certainly one of the best Pierce Brosnan Bond villains. His ludicrous plan to initiate WWIII for ratings requires extreme tact and, while Carver has a stealth ship, he himself is boisterous and just waiting to get caught.
The same could be said for Bond. When he boards the ship, he's wielding what is clearly a silenced weapon (Walther P99). So why it makes the standard loud bang sound when it's fired is a mystery. It also makes it a poor choice for a vessel specifically designed for stealth.
A Very Poorly-Written Newspaper: The World Is Not Enough (1999)
The World is Not Enough begins with the explosive murder of oil tycoon Sir Robert King. In addition to being a tycoon, he's also close with M (Judi Dench). When a report is released on his death and the inheritance due to his daughter, Elektra, there's one utterly illogical sentence.
It reads "Both companies will benefit from the takeover. It means few neither jobs nor profits will be lost." Even without the extra word of "few," it's an awkwardly written sentence.
Le Chiffre's Scar: Casino Royale (2006)
Casino Royale's primary villain, terrorist financier Le Chiffre, has a pretty distinctive feature. Over his left eye is a substantial scar.
However, this scar changes in size throughout the movie. It's subtle, but it's there. Somewhat more noticeable is how the scar every now and then moves an inch or two further up Le Chiffre's skull. Furthermore, the scar as a whole is more prominent during the third act of the film than it is the first. Even still, Casino Royale is a blockbuster masterpiece and easily stands as Martin Campbell's best movie.
David Harbour's Mustache: Quantum Of Solace (2008)
Stranger Things and Black Widow star David Harbour had a role as a secondary antagonist in Craig's sophomore Bond outing. He portrayed corrupt CIA section chief for South American Gregg Beam.
Beam is a man with a substantial mustache and it sometimes gets away from him. When Beam is handing out 007 details on a jet, the mustache begins to peel off one side of Harbour's face. While it's fixed in the next shot, there are a couple of lines of dialogue where it's flopping.
Chopper Control: Spectre (2015)
Spectre's Day of the Dead-themed opening is easily one of the best pre-title sequences of the Craig Bond films. It does however have an odd error in a couple of shots.
After Bond kicks his target out of the helicopter, he turns his attention to the pilot. While the two men are brawling, there are several shots showing the helicopter's control column. From one shot to the next it will change in complexity, then back again.
An Invisible Silencer: No Time To Die (2021)
Just as Tomorrow Never Dies included a silenced gun that was, apparently, not silenced, No Time to Die includes the inverse. It happens during No Time to Die's important flashback scene. The villainous Safin is approaching the Swan home which currently holds only young Madeleine.
Once he gets in the house and ascends the staircase, Madeleine puts a couple of bullets in his chest. However, the sound is almost muffled. It's in fact the sound of a suppressed weapon, even though the barrel of the gun clearly has no attachment.
