Continuity mistake: When the train passes the signal box and the points get changed you can see the train in in the background and it is halfway past the station. When the Mercedes passes the train, it's still halfway past the station, and when the Mercedes catches it up again it's no further along. The train is moving at a constant speed the whole time.
Visible crew/equipment: When General Orloff first catches the train up, the reflection of the camara helicopter can be seen in the car's windows.
Revealing mistake: When Bond exits the carriage at the tunnel, it's an obvious stunt double.
Audio problem: When the circus train pulls out of the station just after Bond has the shoot out in the tunnel we hear the sound of a steam train pulling away with wheel slip, but the wheels are not slipping at all.
Continuity mistake: When Bond asks for the jet's tank to be filled, his cockpit swaps from closed to open between shots.
Continuity mistake: While with Q, Bond rolls-up his sleeve to show his watch. In the close-up the shirt is further down.
Continuity mistake: When Bond approaches a gas station with the jet, in the close-up of Bond's face the background changes (cars and buildings disappear).
Continuity mistake: When Bond is about to fly through the second door of the hangar there are no soldiers holding it. A shot later a bunch of them have suddenly appeared.
Continuity mistake: When Bond is about to fly through the hangar, the soldiers are running away. In the immediate next angle they're standing still and the colonel is commanding them to run.
Continuity mistake: When Bond is about to take-off, there's a brief shot of the plane speeding up. It is obviously a different runway because a) the trees on the side have disappeared, and b) the road swaps from clean to filled with skid marks.
Continuity mistake: When Bond places the bomb inside the radar he is slightly facing backwards and twisting his arm, but a shot later he is perfectly positioned in a much more comfortable position.
Continuity mistake: During the pre-credits Bond enters a military base, knocks down a soldier and places his suitcase on a table. The position of the suitcase changes between shots.
Factual error: Bond is given a tag in Spanish, but it shows the word Col., short for Colonel. It should read Coronel.
Visible crew/equipment: When the movie starts, Bond arrives at the horse show and steps down from the car. A set of 10 stage lights are reflected on it.
Revealing mistake: When Bond jumps out of Kamal's aeroplane with Octopussy, you can see that Bond is not Roger Moore but his stunt double.
Revealing mistake: When Bond sends an assassin crashing into the tank containing the octopus, you can see the assassin is a dummy.
Other mistake: When Bond jumps onto the coupling of the horse-trailer, you can see that the idler wheel is already on the ground. It would be crazy to drive around a rough surface like near the racetrack with the idler wheel down - the trailer could be overturned. (00:04:50)
Other mistake: When Bond starts up his plane during the pre-credit chase scene, the Cuban forces are visible at the horizon closing fast - they have to be to keep the tension up - but with the closing speed and the time it takes for Bond to roll out his plane, there would never be enough street left for him to get airborne.
Other mistake: Some of the shots of Kahn wrestling with the controls in the fight on the plane are reversed. The writing on the controls is backwards (eg RADAR JUNCTION BOX in the middle of the screen). (02:05:35)
Other mistake: When Bond kicks the curry onto the hot coals, the flames flare up very high over the length of the coals, and not just where the curry hits.
Answer: It wasn't meant to be related at all. It was just an action sequence to start off the film as Bond completes a previous assignment before a segue into the familiar 007 opening theme and a new song. I recall there were some other earlier Bond films that also used this formula. After the opening bit, the story starts as Bond meets with "M" for a new mission, then a briefing with "Q" about the latest spy gadgets. There was also the obligatory flirtatious banter between Bond and Miss Moneypenny.
raywest ★
I see what you mean. I'm thinking of those films where the opening scene has some link to the main plot (e.g. The Spy Who Loved Me), but Moonraker is like this one, it starts off (spectacularly) with Bond at the end of a previous assignment.