Introduction / Sypnosis:

In 2003, a death row inmate named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) at the Longview Correctional Facility meets with Dr Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter), a representative of Cyberdyne Systems to donate his organs and tissue for what he believes will be a good cause. He wakes up 15 years after his execution, in 2018, to find a desolated downtown Los Angeles and a desert wilderness that was once the San Fernando valley. At the same time, John Connor (Christian Bale) has just left a nearby Skynet base, the sole survivor of an assault on the base. He discovers plans to develop the T-800, as well as a Skynet transport carrying captured humans, which is moving to Skynet’s main base of North American operations in San Francisco.

Connor returns to the Resistance headquarters (a nuclear submarine) and tells Resistance leader General Ashdown (Michael Ironside) of his discovery. Ashdown informs Connor that, even though it will result in the deaths of most of the prisoners, an offensive against the Skynet base in San Francisco is planned to take place in four days. When Connor asks why it would be in four days, it is revealed that the Resistance intercepted a transmission from Skynet, listing people that they planned to kill in four days: first on the list is Kyle Reese, second is John Connor, and the rest are the command staff of the Resistance. However, the Resistance has also discovered a frequency that could possibly be used to force Skynet machines to shut down. After leaving the submarine, Connor speaks with his second in command, Barnes (Common), and breaks the news to him that his brother was killed in the attack on the Skynet base. He also meets with his wife, Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard), before listening to tapes from his mother Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and sending broadcasts to Resistance members and surviving civilians across the world.