Just saw John Carter...

The Therns feed off the destruction of worlds. Their motivation is to manipulate events so as to bring about that destruction. They use the medallion as a way of moving between worlds. A magical/scientific device activated by sounds thus the phrase that Carter has to utter for it to activate.

ioticus wrote: I thought the movie was awesome but I really didn't understand the plot. Especially the medallion, the antogonists' goals (Therns?), and the body double connection and the ending. If someone could give me a short synopsis of the plot I would appreciate it. Shame the movie is losing a lot of money because I would like a sequel.

*SPOILERS*
The Therns are basically 'god-aliens' of the universe. They hide amongst worlds and guide their fate. They 'feed' off the destruction of worlds, but really their motivation isn't explained and falls under the 'beyond your comprehension' bucket, similar to the Old Ones in the Cthulu Mythos. Or perhaps it was going to be further explored in the sequels which will never happen (it was supposed to be a trilogy.)
The medallion was simply the device that lets you transport between worlds. It used Thern technology (ie "the ninth ray".) When you use it it sends a 'copy' with your conciousness to the other world, John thinks of it like a fax. Killing one body will destroy the others however.
The Thurns can look like anyone. They disguise themselves in plain site. I think that's what you mean by the body double connection?

Here is a very short synopsis from my bad memory.

Edgar rice is sent a message from his uncle John Carter and arrives just before after he dies of mysterious circumstances. He is given his memoirs and all of his estate. Edgar begins reading his memoirs, which is the basis of the film.
Jon Carter was a civil war hero who loses his family and so decides to abandon the war and live his life rich and selfish, having discovered rumors of a haunted cave of gold. While fleeing from conscription he stumbles upon the haunted cave, which is really a Thurn base station (the Thurns hide amongst earth as well). He kills the Thurn and is accidently sent to mars (it's a copy though).
On mars he finds he can jump high and has increased strength due to the different gravity and his bone structure (hey, its 18th century science fiction!) He encounters the Tharks(4 armed dudes) who amazed at his jumping powers take him captive. Thark society is based on stregth (which is why they kill their unhatched young.)
John is fed a mystical concoction by a thark who takes pity on him (sarkoja) which allows him to understand mars language. For this Sarkoja is punished and warned one more offence will lead to her death. John also rescues a dog thing (wallowa?) which becomes a loyal companion.

Meanwhile... another race on mars (the red men) consist of city states that are at war. The Thurns have decided they want them united under a brutes rule (sab Than- main red baddie) so they reveal themselves to him and give him some of their technology which he uses as a weapon to defeat the other city states. One state (Hellium - the blue dressed people) remains and a truce is drawn that Sab Than will spare Hellium and marry it's princes Dejah. The Thurns plan for Dejah to be killed at their wedding, to solidify Sab Than's rule and because Dejah is close to discovering their technology (the ninth ray).
Dejah doesn't like this plan so flees in a flying ship. Sab Than gives chase. They nearly capture her above the tharkcity, but John Cater decides to intervine and rescues her, and the red men are driven off. The Tharks are so impressed with John they make him a thark and decide he will fight for them, and give him Dejah as his trophy. Dejay wants John to help her free Helium. John just wants to get home. Sensing this, Dejah claims she can get john home so they break into a forbidden temple with Sarkoja. The temple is a temple to the goddess and her agents the Thurns, whom are considered a Myth to the mars people. Dejah discovers in the temple that there is a place where John may be able to get home. After being discovered in the temple they are nearly killed, but the leader of the Tharks allows them to escape as Sarkoja is his secret daughter.
*Phew!*
Eventually they get to the Thurn base and Dejah discovers how John can get home (the amulet and a phrase) but she pretends she can't understand it so they need to go to Hellium as the information is there. John is suspicious. Upon leaving they are nearly killed by another wild Thurn tribe and are rescued by the red men. Dejah after her father's plea agrees to marry Sab Than. She tells john the phrase to allow him to go home but he has a change of heart and decides to rescue hellium. The Thurns take him captive and reveal their plot, but john escapes and returns to the Thark city to enlist their aid.
*FUCKING HELL THERE IS A LOT OF PLOT TO THIS FILM!!!*
When he gets there the other Thark has taken over and john is sent to the arena to die. John instead kicks ass and the Tharks go apeshit for him. He challenges the leader of the tharks for rule and chops his head off. As there leader he sends the Tharks off to war to stop the wedding, but goes to the wrong city (he thought the wedding was in the moving city of the bad guys, but it was in hellium.) John grabs a flying ship and heads to hellium alone, since "Tharks don't fly!"
As soon as the ceremony was to finish the red guys were going to kill the blue guys to solidify their rule, but john crashes the wedding and warns em. Big fight ensures and just when the blue guys were getting beaten the Tharks rock up on stolen flying ships and kick ass. Bad guys die, Thuns escape and John marries Dejah instead.
After giving her a disney style screw he goes to the balcony and decides to stay in Mars (who wouldn't!) so chucks away the transport amulet. As he goes back to bed a Thurn reveals himself and bang, sends john back to earth. Since John threw his amulet away he can't get back.
*AND NOW TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ON THE ENDING*
John needs an amulet to get back to mars. He spends 10 years searching (he is now rich thanks to the cave of gold) but cannot locate one. He knows Thurns are also on earth and that they are watching him. So John gets an idea.
We go back to Edgar reading the memoirs, and it tells edgar that infact John didn't die but found a amulet and is back on Mars. Because the Mars body is a copy, Edgar must protect Johns earth body or the Thurns will destroy it. So Edgar runs down to the crypt (which could only be open from the inside) and figures out the clue to open it from the outside. Now it's opened the Thurn who was watching Edgar appears ready to destroy the body, but the crypt was empty. John was of course bullshiting and never found an amulet, he instead devised this trap to get a Thurn to come out of hiding. He shoots the Thurn and takes the thurns amulet, gives Edgar all of his money and locks himself in the crypt. Then he uses the amulet to return to Mars and lives happily ever after since we wont get a sequel to tell us otherwise because Barney wont go and see the film.

Thats the cliffnotes version of the film. Writing that made me realise how much better than Avatar it was.

About 10 minutes ago I just finished reading the novel Princess of Mars. I know the movie takes that and the next novel and mashes them together: though I think they could have kept to the first novel only and it would have been great.

However, I love that they used the Thurn's transport device (have no idea if that was in the second book) to transport John to Mars cause in the book he falls asleep due to some strange gas and wakes up on Mars. I don't think that device would work nowadays. And that's probably why they threw in the Thurns now.

But it was a good novel.

BTW, Skeltor, Sarkoja was the mean bitch Thark who kept ratting them out and wanted them dead. Sola was the friendlier one that was Tars's daughter. But good summation and yeah, lots happening and very epic.

I am this close to going to the theater and seeing it again even though for sure I'm picking it up on blu ray. It really was a fun flick.

That was a great summation. Thanks Mr Skeletor!

I'm weeping now thinking about the hundreds of millions going to that total travesty of a film "The Hunger Games" instead of going to John Carter. Goddamn teenage girls and bored housewives!

ZMan wrote: BTW, Skeltor, Sarkoja was the mean bitch Thark who kept ratting them out and wanted them dead. Sola was the friendlier one that was Tars's daughter. But good summation and yeah, lots happening and very epic.

My bad, I was working off IMDB but of course when it comes to Tharks it's hard to tell which acress is which. =)

I saw it again, enjoyed it even more the second time.

I'm weeping now thinking about the hundreds of millions going to that total travesty of a film "The Hunger Games" instead of going to John Carter. Goddamn teenage girls and bored housewives!

Oh come on, it wasn't a travesty. There was even some respect for violence for fucks sake. It even had some anticipation and tension.

The young lady in it has good screen presence, unlike the guy who played John Carter. Somebody pulled a lever and he rolled out on a conveyor belt. A mutant hybrid of Prince Caspian and the Prince of Persia. But he's sooo cute! And his doggy is too!

hey! What happened when this entire thread was only paying attention to me?! I miss the attention already

Hunger Games on Monday for me, instead of JC hehe

I do sort of want to see JC just so I can tell you guys was Avatar is a better film. That would be fun (Hopefully it's true)

Are you fucking kidding me? Hunger games was an abomination of a movie. Even excusing the plot, however watered down from the book, the film itself has horrible handshake camera work, schizophrenic editing that makes Michael Bay look like Kevin Smith in terms of shot length, the most atrocious set and costume design since a never aired 60's era Star Trek clone, and pacing so bad I frequently forgot the film was about PEOPLE DYING! Sure, the lead actress is cute and can emote on command, but she is a fairly curvy chick, totally in opposition to her supposed spartan, austere upbringing. I had a hard time believing this fleshy sexpot was cowering in the rain for a heel of moldy bread. The soundtrack was worse than a Clint Eastwood score and the "action" what little there was, was so cut and blurry I couldn't tell who was getting killed, not that I cared since no one other than the District 12 kids had any lines worth mentioning. District 1 kids are bad, m'kay, 'cause they are blonde and are OUT TO WIN THIS THING, which Duh, ought to be the goal of every kid in the nation.

Anyway, any Fattie ought to be watching Battle Royale on his smart phone instead of this flick. Sure, gotta put in time for the ladies sake, but don't actually watch this film!

Mr Skeletor wrote:
" Then he uses the amulet to return to Mars and lives happily ever after since we wont get a sequel to tell us otherwise because Barney wont go and see the film."
Black Barney - the bane of good movies everywhere.

Black Barney wrote:
" Hunger Games on Monday for me"
And I thought your film credibility couldn't plummet further. How could I have been so wrong?!!