YMMV / Project Moonbase

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • It could be said that it's actually the General's fault that the moon mission gets muffed. Consider: Briteis already has an established ego problem, but the General responds to her borderline insubordination by telling her outright that she got her rank purely for political reasons rather than any genuine merit on her part. Therefore, for the entire middle of the film Briteis is carrying a huge chip on her shoulder thinking she has to prove she really does have it, which leads her to ignore helpful advice from her more-experienced underling until it's too late.
  • Major Moore's promotion to General at the end. Was this done just so that the man could outrank his new wife? Or, since it's implied that this was actually Col. Briteis' idea, was this actually her way of making up for the fact that she had usurped Moore's previous mission and promotion?
• Fridge Logic:
  • The spies have doppelgangers of every scientist likely to be chosen for the space flight; over 300 people who are under 24 hour surveillance. If their network is that extensive and well-organized, one wonders why they haven't been able to breach USSF security in two years (especially given how easily the infiltration goes down in the film, even if the mission itself is ultimately foiled). Or why the FBI haven't penetrated the network long ago, if it's that large.
  • One also has to wonder why they didn't train the dopplegangers on the skills and interests of the people they were supposed to replace instead of just their appearances — the fake Dr Wernher didn't know how to do his double's job, which gave Moore a clue that he was fake. He also hasn't been briefed on basic American culture.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The United States Space Force became an official branch of the U.S. armed forces in 2019.
• Special Effects Failure: The telescreen is obviously just a hole in the wall. One year after riffing on the movie, Mystery Science Theater 3000 used the same "technology" to create the Hexfield Viewscreen.
• Values Dissonance: Although spirited yet competent women in authority are a mainstay of Heinlein's work, the movie seems to feel nobody will take the idea seriously and so actively subverts it.

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