In his 1979 autobiography, science writer and science fiction novelist Isaac Asimov called the Pal film “the first intelligent science-fiction movie made”.^[31]

“Today it seems dated and slow-moving with flat characters”. —John Brosnan in The Science Fiction Encyclopedia (1979)^[32]

Science fiction film scholar Bill Warren in Keep Watching the Skies! (first edition 1982, pages 1—6) found the film “dully conventional” beyond its special effects, noting that, given Heinlein’s role, “it’s surprising that Destination Moon was not more sophisticated in terms of drama and characterization”. The “wisecracking electronics technician played by Dick Wesson” was meant to provide comic relief, “but today he’s highly noticeable, seeming painfully forced and unbelievable”.^[5]

Peter Nicholls in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1993) said, “Destination Moon is a film with considerable dignity and, in a quiet way, a genuine sense of wonder”.^[33]

“The Destination Moon script seems colorless and wooden”. —Phil Hardy in The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction(1994)^[34]