History YMMV / TransformersDarkOfTheMoon

*** Another line from the ending speech is “[there will be] days where our allies turn against us.” Cue the fourth film and…

* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Sentinel Prime being the real BigBad of the film]]. Later figures like his ''Toys/TransformersStudioSeries'' Voyager treat this as a LateArrivalSpoiler.

* ReplacementScrappy:
** This was anticipated with Creator/MeganFox/Mikaela's departure and Creator/RosieHuntingtonWhiteley brought in as a new character, as a lot of fans appreciated that Mikaela wasn't a useless screaming love interest and disliked that Rosie was a Victoria's Secret model with no prior acting experience. The potential anger was ebbed slightly when Rosie's character was named Carly after the [[Franchise/TransformersGenerationOne G1 character]] and Rosie herself commented on being proud of being a part of the franchise. But to a lot of people's surprise, both [[HeReallyCanAct Rosie's acting]] and Carly herself turned out better than expected, as Rosie wasn't a rehash of Mikaela as a blonde and she was [[NiceGirl consistently cheerful and friendly]] even through Sam's moody moments in the movie. On the other hand, one ''hilariously'' vicious review said that ''Dark of the Moon'' is the only movie that could possibly make you miss the acting talents of Creator/MeganFox.
** It's also clear at times that the script was written as though Mikaela was still in it, such as Sam having Mikaela's dog from the previous movie, and Wheelie, and the fact that the government is comfortable with Sam bringing Carly into their secret Autobot command base without any prior approval is rather forcefully handwaved, whereas Mikaela would have had the same protection that Sam enjoys, since she was there for all of the events that Sam was present for.

** When Megatron is sitting on Abe Lincoln’s chair after blasting the statue to pieces, part of his leg clips through the chair.

** Megatron himself veers sharply into this territory. While his BadassDecay is generally agreed to be at its worst here, the fact that it's very much an InvokedTrope that fleshes out his character more redeems him in the eyes of some. In addition, being forced to sit out of direct combat allows him the opportunity to mastermind the impressive BatmanGambit that makes up the first half of the film. That said, the fact that [[spoiler:Optimus takes him down with the absolute greatest of ease]] is generally seen as a slap in the face to the character, especially considering that the alternate ending is seen as a far more redeeming and rewarding one for him that reestablishes him as a badass. Despite this, ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'' shows why ''DOTM'' has the ending that it does--[[spoiler: it's so Megs can stay the badass conqueror he always was and [[JokerImmunity return as Galvatron]]]]--which, while not as "clean" as the alternate ending, at least allows him to persist as the franchise's flagship villain.

** '''Shockwave'''. While it is understandable that him being the film's BigBad was a part of a misinformation campaign, surely there was more that could have been done with him. He gets less than 10 minutes of screentime, ''one'' line of dialogue, and serves virtually no purpose in the story besides controlling The Driller. The film also includes none of his classic StrawVulcan or MadScientist personality traits, or even an original personality for that matter (at least if you're going only by the films), basically relegating him to the already plentiful role of "Decepticon who gets killed by Optimus in the third act battle".

** [[spoiler: Ironhide’s]] death is also well known amongst audiences and fans, mostly thanks to [[ViewersInMourning many people spreading the news of his demise.

** The writers might be prepared to kill off [[spoiler:Wheeljack]] and [[spoiler:Ironhide]], but ''Bumblebee?'' Get real!

* HilariousInHindsight: Alan Tudyk plays a minor role in this film as Dutch, Simmons's assistant. A decade and one year later Alan would return to the franchise in WesternAnimation/TransformersEarthSpark... this time playing the role of [[BigGood Optimus Prime]] himself.

** Creator/LeonardNimoy's performance as Sentinel Prime manages to make him one of the most complex characters in any of the films. Nimoy manages to give a great performance as both the wise mentor of Optimus, as well as [[spoiler:the true villain of the story]].

** Megatron gets overpowered and decapitated by Optimus in less than 10 seconds. Justified by his gaping head wound, [[BadassDecay necessitating]] him ambushing Sentinel moments earlier to stand any chance against him. He had no such advantage over Optimus.

** Sentinel Prime tends to divide moviegoers into two camps, of which the first sees him as a surprisingly complex character with a really cool design and one of the biggest badasses of the entire franchise, while the other hates him for [[spoiler:brutally executing [[EnsembleDarkhorse Ironhide]] and [[SpotlightStealingSquad sidelining Megatron]] as the BigBad.]]

** [[spoiler:[[FallenHero Sentinel Prime]] is an interesting and entertaining villain that's rife for AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, thanks in no small part to the late Leonard Nimoy's performance.]]

* NarmCharm: [[spoiler:Starscream's death is pathetic and hilarious, but given how it's [[DirtyCoward Star]][[SmallNameBigEgo scream]], it comes off as fitting.]]

** This was anticipated with Creator/MeganFox/Mikaela's departure and Creator/RosieHuntingtonWhiteley brought in as a new character, as a lot of fans appreciated that Mikaela wasn't a useless screaming love interest and disliked that Rosie was a Victoria's Secret model with no prior acting experience. The potential anger was ebbed slightly when Rosie's character was named Carly after the [[Franchise/TransformersGenerationOne G1 character]] and Rosie herself commented on being proud of being a part of the franchise. But to a lot of people's surprise, both [[HeReallyCanAct Rosie's acting]] and Carly herself turned out better than expected, as Rosie wasn't a rehash of Mikaela as a blonde and she was [[NiceGirl consistently cheerful and friendly]] even through Sam's moody moments in the movie. On the other hand, one ''hilariously'' vicious review said that ''Dark of the Moon'' is the only movie that could possibly make you miss the acting talents of Creator/MeganFox.\\\
It's also clear at times that the script was written as though Mikaela was still in it, such as Sam having Mikaela's dog from the previous movie, and Wheelie, and the fact that the government is comfortable with Sam bringing Carly into their secret Autobot command base without any prior approval is rather forcefully handwaved, whereas Mikaela would have had the same protection that Sam enjoys, since she was there for all of the events that Sam was present for.