In response to a brief blackout at the FBI Cyber Division headquarters, Deputy Director Miguel Bowman orders local law enforcement to locate and bring in top computer hackers nationwide for questioning. NYPD Detective John McClane is tasked with picking up Matthew Farrell, a skilled hacker in New Jersey. As McClane arrives at Farrell’s apartment, assassins sent by Thomas Gabriel, the mastermind behind the blackout, attack. McClane manages to fend off the attackers, rescuing Farrell, and the two narrowly escape.
On the way to Washington, D.C., Farrell reveals that he had been hired to write an algorithm for Mai Linh, unaware of its ultimate purpose. Meanwhile, Gabriel and his team of cyberterrorists launch a coordinated attack, seizing control of transportation systems and financial markets, and broadcasting a threatening message to the U.S. government. Farrell deduces that Gabriel is executing a “fire sale,” a cyberattack designed to dismantle the nation’s infrastructure by targeting communication, transportation, and utilities.
As McClane and Farrell head to DHS headquarters, Gabriel’s team intercepts them. Linh, posing as a dispatcher, reroutes their vehicle into an ambush involving a helicopter. McClane destroys the helicopter and its crew, ensuring their escape. Farrell then explains Gabriel’s likely next move: targeting the power grid.
The pair travel to a utility superstation in West Virginia, suspecting it to be Gabriel’s next target. Upon arrival, they discover the facility under the control of Gabriel’s operatives, led by Linh. In a fierce confrontation, McClane and Farrell manage to neutralize the team. McClane kills Linh by trapping her in a car that falls down an elevator shaft, which explodes upon impact. Farrell accesses the hub computer to disrupt Gabriel’s operation, tracing Gabriel’s location in the process. He also uploads Gabriel’s image to Bowman, revealing Gabriel’s identity.
McClane learns that Gabriel is a former Department of Defense (DOD) cybersecurity expert who had warned the government about vulnerabilities in America’s infrastructure. His warnings were ignored, and his controversial methods led to his dismissal. Gabriel’s attack is motivated by revenge for the dismissal and the systemic failures he tried to prevent. Furious over Linh’s death, Gabriel retaliates by redirecting natural gas pipelines to the superstation. McClane and Farrell narrowly escape as a massive explosion causes a blackout across the Eastern Seaboard.
Seeking help, McClane and Farrell fly to Baltimore to meet Frederick “Warlock” Kaludis, a renowned hacker. Warlock identifies Farrell’s algorithm as a tool designed to access data housed at a Social Security Administration facility in Woodlawn, Maryland. This facility is revealed to be an NSA backup site for safeguarding the nation’s financial and personal records during a cyberattack. Gabriel plans to exploit the blackout to steal the data, which he helped design the system to protect.
Gabriel intercepts the communication between Warlock, McClane, and Farrell, learning the location of McClane’s estranged daughter, Lucy. He sends his team to abduct her, using her as leverage against McClane. Gabriel contacts McClane virtually, taunting him and warning him to stay away. McClane, undeterred, vows to stop him.
McClane and Farrell race to the Woodlawn facility. While McClane fends off Gabriel’s men, Farrell infiltrates the main server room and encrypts the data Gabriel’s team is attempting to download. Farrell is subsequently captured, and Gabriel takes both Farrell and Lucy as hostages. McClane pursues Gabriel’s convoy, hijacking a semi-truck to follow them. Gabriel, using his connection to a nearby airbase, orders an F-35B Lightning II to attack McClane’s truck. The fighter jet causes massive destruction, but McClane manages to outmaneuver it, surviving a dramatic series of explosions and collapsing infrastructure.
Gabriel’s team retreats to a hangar, where Gabriel demands Farrell decrypt the stolen data. When Farrell refuses, Gabriel shoots him in the leg and threatens to kill Lucy. McClane arrives and takes down two of Gabriel’s henchmen but is wounded by the last operative, Emerson. Gabriel, holding McClane at gunpoint, positions his weapon over McClane’s shoulder wound. In a desperate move, McClane pulls the trigger of Gabriel’s gun, firing the bullet through his own shoulder and killing Gabriel instantly. Farrell, despite his injury, grabs a nearby pistol and eliminates Emerson just as FBI reinforcements arrive.
With the crisis resolved, McClane reunites with Lucy, who shows interest in Farrell for his bravery. McClane expresses gratitude to Farrell for saving Lucy’s life as they all prepare to return to safety.
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