Plot
After the sudden death of John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), a former American Civil War Confederate Army captain, his nephew Edgar Rice Burroughs (Daryl Sabara) attends the funeral. As per Carter's instructions, the body is put in a tomb that can be unlocked only from the inside. His attorney hands over Carter's personal journal for Burroughs to read, in the hope of finding clues explaining Carter's cause of death.
The anecdote recounts back to the Arizona Territory, where Union Colonel Powell (Bryan Cranston) arrests Carter. Powell, knowing about Carter's military background, seeks his help in fighting the Apache. However, Carter escapes with the marshals in pursuit. In an ensuing chase, both Carter and Powell find themselves in a cave in which Carter had been searching for gold. A Thern appears in the cave at that moment; Carter kills him and, with the help of his medallion, is unknowingly transported to ancient Barsoom (Mars). Because of his different bone density and the planet's low gravity, Carter is able to jump high and perform feats of incredible strength. He is captured by the Green Martian Tharks and their Jeddak emperor Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe).
Elsewhere on Barsoom, the red Martian cities of Helium and Zodanga have been at war for a thousand years. Sab Than (Dominic West), Jeddak of Zodanga, armed with a special weapon obtained from the Thern leader Matai Shang (Mark Strong), proposes a cease-fire and an end to the war by marrying the Princess of Helium, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). The Princess escapes and is rescued by Carter. Carter, Dejah, and Tarkas' daughter Sola (Samantha Morton), embark on a quest to get to the end of a sacred river to find a way for Carter to get back home. They obtain information about the ninth ray, a means of utilizing infinite energy and also the key to understanding how the medallion works. But they are later attacked by Shang and his minions, the Green Men of Warhoon. After the attack, Carter is captured and taken back with Dejah while Sola is able to escape. The demoralized Dejah grudgingly agrees to marry Sab Than, then gives Carter his medallion and tells him to go back to Earth. Carter decides to stay and is captured by Shang, who explains to him the purpose of Therns and how they manipulate the civilizations of different planets. Carter is able to make an escape as he and Sola go back to the Tharks requesting their help. There they discover Tarkas has been overthrown by Tal Hajus (Thomas Haden Church). Tarkas, Carter, and Sola are put on trial in a colosseum battle with two enormous vicious creatures. After defeating them and killing Hajus, Carter becomes the leader of the Tharks.
The Thark army charges on Helium and defeats the Zodangan army by killing Sab Than. Carter becomes prince of Helium by marrying Dejah. On their first night, Carter decides to stay forever on Mars and throws away his medallion. Seizing this opportunity, Shang banishes him back to Earth. Carter then embarks in a long quest, looking for clues of the Therns' presence on Earth and hoping to find one of their medallions; after several years he appears to die suddenly and asks for unusual funeral arrangements—consistent with his having found a medallion, since his return to Mars would leave his Earth body in a coma-like state. He makes Burroughs his protector, giving him clues about how to open the tomb. The story reverts to the present, where Burroughs runs back to Carter's tomb and opens it only to find it empty. Shang, in the form of a butler, suddenly appears, having followed Burroughs as well. But as he prepares to kill Burroughs, Carter appears and kills Shang. He then tells Burroughs that he never found a medallion; instead, he devised a scheme to lure Shang out of hiding. Carter takes his medallion, whispers the code, and is then transported back to Barsoom.
Read more about this topic: John Carter (film)
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