Transformers: Dark of the Moon is surprisingly good, and the whole Radio Free Cybertron crew agrees in this spoiler-filled 2011 review. Brian Kilby, John DeLuna, JD Church, Chris Triplett and Tony walk through the film from its 1960s space race opening to the battle of Chicago. They praise Sentinel Prime’s betrayal, the Wreckers, Laserbeak and the natural 3D. Their nitpicks include a few slow stretches, a blunt Spock reference and an abrupt ending.
Dark of the Moon Review
The crew calls Dark of the Moon easily the best of the three films and thoroughly enjoyable, if no Citizen Kane. One host notes nobody peed on anybody this time. All five agree listeners should see it. The episode is all spoilers, so there is no regular news this week.
The Space Race Opening
The film opens with a monologue from Optimus Prime and the Ark fleeing Cybertron, then the 1960s space race. Archival footage of Kennedy, Nixon and Walter Cronkite ties the moon landing to the Ark’s crash. Tony calls the sequence his favorite part, and John says it grounds the Transformers in real history. The crew says it does what Revenge of the Fallen tried with ancient Egypt, only relatably.
Sam, Carly and the Human Cast
Mikaela is gone, and Sam already has a new girlfriend, Carly, which the crew likes. One host, a near-native Brit, finds Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s accent fake, then learns she is English. The crew praises John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Simmons’ assistant, and Patrick Dempsey as the human working with the Decepticons. They see the film’s theme as Sam proving he matters beyond being a lucky kid.
Megatron, Laserbeak and the Critters
Megatron returns as a battered truck under a tarp, crawling with tiny Decepticon critters. The crew likes his look and finds him more relatable, now Sentinel Prime’s subordinate. Laserbeak’s assassinations are a hit with the crew and the chat. Wheelie and Brains work far better as a pair than Skids and Mudflap did, and the crew is glad the twins are absent.
Sentinel Prime’s Betrayal
Sentinel Prime, revived with the Matrix of Leadership, turns on the Autobots and kills Ironhide. The crew calls Sentinel a true believer doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, with more depth than they expected. They praise how the script ties pieces of the first two films together, including the Matrix and Megatron’s plan to meet Sentinel on Earth.
The Wreckers and the Battle of Chicago
The crew loves the Wreckers, rednecks with a beer belly and a mullet, who are as abrasive as fans hoped. Starscream appears to destroy the exiled Autobots’ shuttle before they return to Chicago. The crew calls Chicago the most violent sequence in the series, with humans vaporized, and debates whether it is too scary for kids. The tilting building sequence is a highlight. The natural 3D, especially the drifting dust and sparks, wins over even 3D skeptics.
The Ending
Carly goads Megatron by calling him Sentinel’s subordinate, and he attacks Sentinel. One-armed Optimus then rips off Megatron’s head and executes Sentinel. The crew finds the ending abrupt with no epilogue and cringes at Sentinel’s needs-of-the-many Spock line. They credit a coherent script, guessing the departure of writers Orci and Kurtzman helped. One host calls it his second-favorite movie of the year.
What the Chat Thought
John DeLuna reports that the chat loved the movie too, especially Laserbeak. Viewers wondered how Optimus got his trailer back and where the Wreckers went at the end.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.
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