John McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building. A massive bomb explodes in a department store, causing chaos in the city. Simon demands that McClane wear a racist sign and go to Harlem. McClane is rescued by a store owner and the two are forced to follow Simon's challenges to prevent more bombs from detonating. As they unravel Simon's plan, they discover he is the brother of a criminal McClane killed years ago. Simon steals gold from the Federal Reserve and plans to destroy the tanker carrying it. McClane and the store owner manage to stop Simon and his men, saving the city and recovering the stolen gold.

John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working undercover, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces. In Moscow, Russia, Viktor Chagarin, a high-ranking but corrupt Russian official, plans on incriminating political prisoner, former billionaire and government whistle-blower Yuri Komarov without a fair trial when Komarov refuses to hand over a secret file believed to have convicting evidence against Chagarin. John McClane, who has not been in touch with his son for years, learns of Jack's situation and travels to Russia to help. When McClane arrives and approaches the courthouse that holds Jack and Komarov on trial, an explosion orchestrated by Chagarin and his henchmen occurs in the courthouse, and Jack breaks free with Komarov. McClane, Jack, and Komarov escape, but Jack and Komarov were supposed to be extracted by the CIA. They are directed to a safe house when Jack misses the extraction window. Hiding in a safe house, McClane finds out that Jack has been a CIA officer in an undercover operation for the past three years. Collins, Jack's partner, demands the location of the secret file from Komarov so that the CIA can bring Chagarin down. Komarov agrees to handover the file to Collins in exchange for safe passage from Russia for him and his daughter. Collins is soon shot by Chagarin's men and dies, as McClane, Jack, and Komarov survive the subsequent heavy gunfire and escape again. The trio then makes their way to a hotel in the city to find the key to a vault containing the file. The plan takes a twist when they meet Komarov's daughter, Irina, who turns out to be working with Chagarin. Jack and McClane manage to escape from Irina and her henchmen, and they discover that the file never existed. Instead, the vault contains a large amount of weapons-grade uranium. Komarov kills one of his henchmen and calls Chagarin to tell him that he and Irina manipulated the entire sequence of events to obtain the uranium and get revenge on Chagarin. McClane and Jack capture Komarov and go after Irina, who is escaping on a helicopter. McClane is able to bring down the helicopter and save Jack before it crashes. They finally defeat Irina and return to New York, reuniting with McClane's oldest child and Jack's sister, Lucy.

John McClane, a detective, is asked by the FBI to bring in a hacker named Matthew Farrell. They discover a cyber-terrorist named Thomas Gabriel is behind a plot to disable the U.S. infrastructure. McClane and Farrell must stop Gabriel before he can cause more chaos and save McClane's daughter, who has been kidnapped.

Former NYPD officer John McClane must save Dulles International Airport from a group of rogue military operatives who have taken control. With his wife trapped on a plane running out of fuel, McClane allies himself with a janitor to gain access to the airport and fight the terrorists. With explosions, shootouts, and heroic acts, McClane ultimately saves the day and reunites with his wife.

A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. On Christmas Eve, NYPD Detective John McClane arrives in Los Angeles, hoping to reconcile with his wife Holly at a party held by her employer, the Nakatomi Corporation. The plaza is seized by German radical Hans Gruber and his team, who take everyone hostage except for McClane. McClane must navigate the building, outsmart the terrorists, and rescue the hostages.