A Russian billionaire is on trial. John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) is an ex-cop who finds out his son is on trial with the Russian billionaire in Moscow. He goes to Moscow to save his son Jack McClane (played by Jai Courtney). While outside the courthouse there is a massive explosion of many car bombs which creates the opportunity for the Russian billionaire and Jack McClane to escape. John sees his son Jack, stops him momentarily, but his son tells him he should not be there and drives off. There is a car chase at high speed through the streets of Moscow. John McClane realizes his son is a CIA operative on a mission.
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The son, Jack, is trying to evade capture from a big truck full of bad guys. Plus, he is being chased by a van that follows him, that is driven by his father. There are also helicopters that hover overhead. The truck that follows them is taken out by an RPG. John crashes, then steals a SUV to continue the chase. He drives through barricades across the top of a train and across the roofs of the cars in traffic, to catch up with the car being driven by his son.
John gets involved in the rescue while his son tries to extract the Russian billionaire. The father claims comically he is "on vacation" while bullets are flying and bombs are going off everywhere. The billionaire and John talk about how they feel about their children and what the children mean to them. The billionaire will not leave Russia with the secret files that indict the Russian political leader, without having his daughter with him. So he calls her and they arrange to meet up.
The daughter of the Russian billionaire double-crosses them, leads them into a trap where they are all captured. The father and son get taken hostage. The Russian billionaire gets captured. They distract their captors by laughing. With a knife, they cut themselves free and escape. It's a daring escape for Jack and John, from the top of a building that is under construction. They escape through the orange plastic debris tubes and fall down many floors to ultimately land in a dumpster.
The top leaders of the Russian government insist that the two Americans be captured, because the son now knows the details of the corruption, at the highest level of the Russian government, including the weapons research that was done at Chernobyl. Jack and John steal a car from the outside of a club that Russian gangsters frequent. The car has a lot of weapons in the trunk. The father and son bond while they drive away to make their escape. The son insists on driving the father to Chernobyl to complete his mission. They go there because that is where the Russian Billionaire hid the key to the files that reveals the corruption. His father is not so happy to go along, but he sticks with his son.
They go to the radioactive site of Chernobyl where there is a bank with safety deposit boxes, one of which contains the information proving the corruption of the Russian government at the highest level. The son and father arrive at Chernobyl and weapon up, using the guns in the trunk of the gangster's car they have stolen. Father takes this moment to tell his son he loves him right before they take on all the Russian gang in the radioactive wasteland. This brief sensitive moment ends with "Let's go kill some MF-ers!" The two Americans walk into the radioactive scene un-protected except for the weapons they carry. The Russians are already there in protective radioactive suits trying to break into the vault at the bank that contains the secret information about the corruption. The Russians are the first to discover a huge cache of stuff that has been left for safekeeping by the Russian billionaire. The daughter leads her captured father to look for the file they are seeking. In a surprise turn, her father kills the captor as part of the daughter's triple-cross. The father, who is now free, leads everyone to the real treasure which is not some file but, instead is a huge stash of enriched uranium capable of being used to make bombs that he is ready to transport for sale.
The Russian billionaire has been hiding all this weapons-grade material under a bank in Chernobyl so there is no way it could be taken or detected. Now he is ready to sell it. He will, not only get more rich but he will also take down his enemy in the Russian government. He calls his enemy on the phone and listens while a masseur breaks his neck.
The Americans arrive on the scene. The Russian billionaire pretends to be in recovery from the kidnapping. The son figures out that the Russian billionaire has tricked them. When he pretends to go for the file, the Americans figure out his game. The billionaire confesses that there is no file only it was bait to use them. They capture the Russian Billionaire to take him once again, not to protect him but as a prisoner. There is an intense shoot-out. The Russian billionaire escapes. It's father and son from the American side and father and daughter from the Russian side with lots of firepower coming from all sides. Huge fiery explosion.
The daughter of Russian Billionaire lands in a large transport helicopter that carries a lot of cargo. John barely gets on board the helicopter before it takes off. He takes a truck in the holding bay and drives it out of the exit bay so that the helicopter goes out of control. The son throws the Russian billionaire from the highest floors of the building to be chopped up in the helicopter blades. The father gets thrown through the windows of a building to escape the helicopter. The daughter crashes the helicopter into the building trying to kill the son and the father but fails. Both the son and the father jump out of the windows at the exact same moment as when the helicopter should crash in to them. They land in a swimming pool amidst broken glass from the all the windows of the building with the backdrop of a fiery explosion. Are they OK? The son frantically searches for his father to complete his mission and because he now loves him.
Best part of story, including ending:
It is non-stop action with Bruce Willis as his charming self. What's not to like about this film? If you like an aciton ride that crunches, this film delivers that is for sure.
Best scene in story:
I like the simultaneous explosions of multiple cars parked outside the court house in Russia because I love seeing that many things blow up.
Opinion about the main character:
Bruce Willis as John McClane is really a likable character. It is obvious he loves his son, but he needs some spectacular life-threatening action to tell him so. Everybody wants a Dad like this.
