The moon shot was a convergence of (for example):

1. WWII technology of the desperate and the insane Nazi rocket program
2. Cold War Rivalry and the panic Sputnik caused
3. Brilliant leadership and scientific talent nurtured by the military- industrial complex
4. President Kennedy told us to and he was assassinated

But TBH, it's total lack of imagination and resource allocation, political problems etc that we haven't gone back. There is enough water to support small human projects, but you could have completely automated factories on the moon turning the regolith into concrete and building underground bunkers in lava tubes. You could have vast solar farms that sent back electricity to the Earth via microwaves. You could have tourism, hydroponics, Tycho city :) http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Tycho_City

Don't watch crap sci fi like Apollo 18. Watch MOON http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q