Terminator Salvation (2009): Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

Terminator Salvation is about the human Resistance's war against Skynet in 2018, and about a man who wakes up in that ruined world without knowing what he has become. The story begins in 2003, when a death row inmate named Marcus Wright agrees to donate his body to research run by a Cyberdyne scientist, Serena Kogan (credited as Serena).

Later, the Skynet defense network turns on humanity and starts a nuclear war. By 2018, John Connor is a leading figure in the Resistance and raids a Skynet base. There he learns that Skynet is using captured people to build a new kind of Terminator. Marcus, meanwhile, wakes up in the devastated landscape with no memory of the years in between.

The film, directed by McG and released in 2009, is the fourth entry in both the release order and the chronological order of the series. If you are working through the saga for the first time, it follows Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and comes before Terminator Genisys.

The full plot of Terminator Salvation follows Marcus Wright and John Connor from their first contact to the destruction of a Skynet base, and it ends with Marcus giving up his life for John. Spoilers follow.

In 2003, condemned prisoner Marcus Wright signs his body over to Cyberdyne researcher Serena Kogan. Skynet later becomes self aware and wipes out much of humanity in a nuclear war. By 2018, John Connor is a Resistance officer who raids a Skynet facility and finds that humans are being used to develop a new Terminator model.

The Resistance then prepares an attack on Skynet's San Francisco headquarters. John also learns that Skynet has a kill list that includes him and a young Kyle Reese, which gives the attack a personal edge for the man who leads it.

In Los Angeles, Marcus meets Kyle Reese and a mute girl named Star, and Skynet machines capture them. Marcus is wounded and turns out to be a cyborg, so John's soldiers distrust him. Marcus makes a deal with John: he will help get the prisoners out in return for his life.

Marcus then learns that Skynet rebuilt him to lure John into a trap. He breaks free of Skynet's control and fights on the Resistance's side. A T-800 stabs John through the chest, and Marcus tears off the machine's head.

John blows up the base and the group escapes. John's heart is too badly damaged to survive, so Marcus gives his own heart for the transplant and dies.

Terminator Salvation premiered on May 14, 2009 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, one week before its US theatrical release.

The US release followed on May 21, 2009, then the UK on June 3, 2009 and Australia on June 4, 2009, according to Box Office Mojo. The film was first announced for May 22, 2009, the same day as Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, before it opened a day earlier than that original slot.

Certifications differ by market: PG-13 in the US, 12A in the UK and M in Australia.

The ending of Terminator Salvation is a heart transplant: John Connor survives only because Marcus Wright gives him his own heart and dies. Spoilers follow.

After the base is destroyed, John's heart is fatally damaged. Marcus offers his own heart and dies so John can live. John then radios the Resistance to say this battle is won but the war against the machines goes on. That closing line sets up further fighting against Skynet rather than a final victory.

Marcus's final act reverses Skynet's purpose for him: the machine built to bring John down is the reason John lives. He begins as a condemned prisoner who signed his body away in 2003, and Skynet rebuilt him specifically to lure John into a trap. Once he breaks free of Skynet's control, the transplant has a clear cause in the story.

The order of the last scenes matters. Inside the Skynet base, Marcus fights on the Resistance's side, a T-800 stabs John through the chest, and Marcus tears off the machine's head. John then blows up the base and the group escapes. Only after that escape does the film turn to John's heart, which is too badly damaged to survive. The fight shows that Marcus has picked a side before the transplant asks him to pay for it.

In my opinion, the transplant is the strongest idea in the film because it answers the deal Marcus made earlier. In Los Angeles, after he is wounded and revealed to be a cyborg, John's soldiers distrust him, and he offers to help free the prisoners in return for his life. The ending has him spend that life instead of keeping it. Nobody has to argue the soldiers into trusting him in dialogue; the act settles it. It also loops back to the 2003 opening, where a condemned prisoner signs his body over to Serena Kogan. A body given away for Cyberdyne's research is given away a second time, and this time Marcus chooses it.

Production context explains the scale of the finale. According to Wikipedia, principal photography ran from May 5 to July 20, 2008, mainly around Albuquerque, New Mexico, including Kirtland Air Force Base, with pickups in January 2009. Box Office Mojo lists the budget at $200 million, and Shane Hurlbut was the cinematographer. TMDB credits John Brancato, Michael Ferris and James Cameron as writers, and McG as director.

Against the rest of the series, the ending stands apart in two ways. Terminator Salvation is the fourth film, after Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and before Terminator Genisys, and it is the first Terminator film rated PG-13, where the earlier films were R-rated. Its final image is also a radio call, not a victory: John tells the Resistance that this battle is won but the war goes on. That leaves Skynet standing, and it leaves John, with another man's heart, as the Resistance's leader and a name on the Skynet kill list next to the young Kyle Reese.

Terminator Salvation was filmed mainly in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico, including scenes shot at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Principal photography ran from May 5 to July 20, 2008, with pickups in January 2009.

Terminator Salvation was the first Terminator film rated PG-13, and it opened on May 21, 2009, a day before its originally announced May 22 date.

• The film was rated PG-13, unlike the earlier R-rated Terminator films.
• It was first announced for May 22, 2009, the same day as Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, before it opened on May 21.

On money, the film earned $125 million domestic and $246 million international, which is about $371 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. See the full series figures on the Terminator box office page.