Chicago Police Lieutenant Danny Roman is a top hostage negotiator for the east precinct. His partner, Nate Roenick, warns him that an informant inside the department suspects members of their own unit have embezzled millions from the police disability fund. Before they can meet again, Nate is shot dead, and Danny is lured to the scene and discovered by the police, but is unable to corroborate Nate's story or identify the informant. Danny is targeted by Internal Affairs Inspector Terence Niebaum, whom Nate's informant believed was involved in the embezzlement. The gun is recovered from a pond and linked to one of Danny's cases, and a search of his home produces evidence of an incriminating offshore bank account, making him the prime suspect in the embezzlement and Nate's murder. Forced to surrender his duty weapon and badge, ostracized by his colleagues, and with charges against him pending, Danny storms into Niebaum's office for a confrontation. When the investigatior refuses to cooperate, Danny takes Niebaum, his administrative assistant Maggie, Danny's commander and friend Grant Frost, and con man Rudy Timmons as hostages. With the building evacuated and placed under siege by his own unit and the FBI, Danny will only speak to fellow negotiator Lieutenant Chris Sabian of the west precinct. He also issues his demands: the render of his badge, a department funeral if he gets killed, and the identities of Nate's informant and killer. Chris, who sees tactical action as a last resort, clashes with Danny's unit, particularly chief Allen Travis and commander Adam Beck. A breach of Niebaum's office backfires when a SWAT marksman refuses to shoot Danny, who captures officers Scott and Markus. Chris takes command of the scene, but Danny seemingly executes Scott to reestablish control. Danny releases Frost to Chris in exchange for restoring the building's electricity, allowing him to search the files of Niebaum's computer, discovering that Internal Affairs had wiretap recordings of Nate. Believing Niebaum gave fabricated information when he claimed of not having any connections to Nate while he was investigating the fund, Danny lashes out and slaps him in the face. With the help of Rudy and Maggie, Danny discovers the embezzlement scheme: Corrupt officers submitted false disability claims that were processed by an unknown insider on the disability fund's board. Chris claims to have located the informant in an attempt to end the standoff, but Danny realizes he is bluffing when Niebaum's files reveal that Nate himself was the informant. When Danny threatens to expose Niebaum to sniper fire in his office window, Niebaum admits that Nate gave him wiretaps implicating three of his squadmates in the scheme; Allen, Hellman and Argento. Niebaum was bribed by the guilty officers to cover up their crimes, while Nate refused and was killed afterwards. Niebaum has safely hidden the wiretaps, but the corrupt officers enter through the air vents and open fire, killing Niebaum in the process. Danny fends them off with flashbangs taken from the captured officers, and Niebaum's murder convinces the remaining hostages that Danny is being set up. Convinced that the police are ineffectual, the FBI assume jurisdiction over the operation, cease negotiations, relieving Chris of his command and ordering a full breach. While Danny prepares for his eventual arrest, Maggie tells him that Niebaum likely kept Nate's wiretaps at home, while Chris reenters the building to warn Danny, who reveals that Scott is unharmed. Chris agrees to help Danny clear his name, and as the building is raided and the other hostages are rescued, Danny disguises himself in Scott's uniform and escapes. He and Chris are unable to locate the wiretaps at Niebaum's home, where the corrupt officers are about to kill Danny, but Frost arrives to negotiate with him alone. Chris shoots Danny, offering to destroy Roenick's evidence in exchange for a cut of the embezzled funds. Frost agrees, effectively revealing himself as the ringleader of the conspiracy, the insider on the disability fund's board, and Nate's killer. Crushing the floppy disks, Chris gives him and shooting Niebaum's computer, Frost exits the house. Outside, Frost discovers that Chris deliberately wounded Danny, who broadcasts Frost's entire confession to the awaiting police officers with a walkie talkie radio. Humiliated, Frost attempts to commit suicide, but is shot in the shoulder by Beck and arrested with the other corrupt officers, and Danny narrowly refrains from shooting Frost to avenge Nate. As Danny is loaded into an ambulance with his wife Karen, Chris returns his badge to him and departs.

A well-organized gang hijacks an armored car, breaking in and stealing some currency engraving plates while ignoring the actual money. One of the hijackers delivers the plates to Vince Ricardo on the roof of a disused building. Meanwhile, the daughter of mild-mannered Manhattan dentist Sheldon "Shelly" Kornpett and the son of businessman Vince Ricardo are engaged to be married. At an introductory dinner in which Shelly meets his new in-law, he finds Vince suspicious; during the dinner, Vince tells a crazy story of a nine-month "consulting" trip to 1954 Guatemala. He excuses himself to make a phone call and hides one set of engraving plates in the basement. Later that night, Shelly pleads with his daughter not to marry into the Ricardo clan, but he is talked into giving the marriage a chance. The following day, Vince appears at Shelly's office and asks for help with breaking into his office safe. Shelly reluctantly agrees. As he retrieves a black bag from Vince's office in an old Herald Square office building, he's surprised by two armed hit men. After a chase and shootout, Vince explains that he has worked for the CIA since the Eisenhower administration and robbed the United States Mint of engraving plates to crack a worldwide inflation plot hatched in Central America. He mentions he robbed the U.S. Mint on his own; the CIA had turned him down, deeming the caper too risky. Vince further upsets Shelly by mentioning he left an engraving plate in the basement of Shelly's house the previous night. During the wedding preparations, Mrs. Kornpett discovers the engraving plates and brings them to her bank, where she is informed by the U.S. Treasury Department that they were stolen. Shelly arrives home to find Treasury officials there and speeds away, leading to a car chase through suburban New Jersey. Vince tells Shelly he wants him to accompany him to Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the ordeal will be cleared up by the time they return. At a small airport near Lodi, New Jersey, Vince and Shelly board a small jet. Vince co-captains the plane, speaking fluent Chinese with the two-person crew. To Shelly's consternation, he notices they are flying over the Atlantic Ocean. Vince assures Shelly they are going to Scranton but need to stop in Tijata, a small island south of Honduras. When they arrive, Vince is supposed to meet a corrupt member of the country's legislature, General Jesus Braunschweiger. When they land, Jesus is shot and killed. Vince and Shelly fall under sniper fire, escape, and drive into town. At their hotel, Vince contacts the mastermind of the inflation plot, General Garcia. Shelly calls the United States Embassy and is told by Barry Lutz, the CIA agent-in-charge, that Vince is a madman who was mentally discharged from the agency. Leaving the hotel, Vince hails a taxi driven by one of the airport snipers. Shelly chases, leaping onto the roof of the car. Vince takes control of the car, crashing into a fruit market. Vince and Shelly reach the general's estate. The insane general gives them $20 million for the plates, awards them medals, and marches them in front of a firing squad. Vince stalls for time until hundreds of CIA agents, led by Lutz, overwhelm the army and take Garcia into custody. Lutz reveals that Vince was telling the truth. However, Vince retires, as he has had enough. He gives Lutz the $10 million he had agreed to deliver from the general. Vince and Shelly take off with five million dollars each, giving their children a wedding gift of a million dollars each.

In London, mob boss Lenny Cole rules the ever-growing real estate business, using a corrupt councillor for bureaucratic fixing, and his right-hand man Archy for the dirty side of things. A billionaire Russian businessman, Uri Omovich, plans a fixed land deal, and London's crooks all seem to want a piece of it — particularly Uri's underhanded accountant Stella, and a gang called "The Wild Bunch" led by small-time crook "One-Two", his partner "Mumbles", and their driver "Handsome Bob". Uri agrees to Lenny's price of €7,000,000 for bribing the council, and as a sign of trust, lends him his "lucky painting". Yet when Uri arranges for Stella to move the funds, she double-crosses him and hires the Wild Bunch to steal the money. Additionally, Lenny's estranged and drug-addicted stepson Johnny Quid steals the painting from Lenny's office after faking his own death. Lenny and Archy then coerce Johnny's former talent managers Mickey and Roman into tracking down Johnny. In a subplot, Handsome Bob gets close to Stella's gay husband, a lawyer who has information on a longtime unknown informant in their criminal circle, and asks One-Two for a single dance before Bob goes to prison after the informant exposed him. Uri tasks Stella once more with covertly siphoning the necessary payoff from his holdings, despite his growing suspicion of her. Yet when his moneymen are once again robbed by the Wild Bunch, his assistant Victor convinces him that Lenny is likely to be behind the robberies, and is also purposely keeping Uri's lucky painting from him. Uri and Victor then invite Lenny to a private golf game, where Victor beats him with a golf club, finishing by breaking Lenny's leg as a warning to return his painting. Wild Bunch friend Cookie happens to buy the painting from a couple of crackheads who stole it from Johnny's hideout. Cookie then gives the painting to One-Two, who in turn offers it to Stella as a token of appreciation after a sexual encounter. After Stella leaves his flat, One-Two is surprised by Uri's henchmen but is rescued, and subsequently kidnapped, by Archy and his goons, who had come looking for Uri's money. Uri wants to marry Stella, whom he has long admired. He goes to Stella's house to propose, but he then spots the painting. Stella lies and says she has had it for years. Uri, enraged by Stella's betrayal, orders Victor to kill her. Archy brings Johnny, Roman, Mickey and the Wild Bunch to Lenny's warehouse where Lenny orders Johnny and the Wild Bunch executed. Handsome Bob offers the legal documents concerning the informant in his pocket to Archy. Archy recognizes the pseudonym used on documents, "Sidney Shaw", as belonging to Lenny. Lenny had arranged with the police to routinely lock up many criminal associates (including Archy) for years at a time to ensure his own freedom and while also enhancing his own standing in the criminal underworld. Archy orders Lenny's men to free the Wild Bunch and has Lenny drowned and fed to crayfish. In the elevator, Johnny explains to Roman and Mickey that they will also be killed to leave no witnesses, and graphically explains the manner of their executions. His description unnerves the man tasked to execute the trio, prompting him to act prematurely. Having already anticipated this move, Johnny warns Mickey and Roman to intervene and kill their would-be executioner. Johnny shoots two more men waiting at the top of the elevator and with help from the Wild Bunch, they escape the last of Archy's men. Later, Archy picks up Johnny from rehab and gives him Uri's lucky painting as a welcome home present, remarking that obtaining the painting "cost a very wealthy Russian an arm and a leg". Johnny proclaims that, with his new-found freedom from addiction and his stepfather, he will do what he could not do before: "become a real RocknRolla". In a post-credit scene, One-Two accedes to Handsome Bob's request to dance with him.

An ancient Buddha statue named Ong-Bak is kept in the village of Ban Nong Pradu in rural northeastern Thailand. The villagers fall in despair after thieves from Bangkok desecrate the statue Ong-Bak and take the head with them. Ting, a resident and Muay Thai expert, volunteers to travel to Bangkok to recover the stolen head. Ting's only lead is Don, a drug dealer who attempted to buy an amulet in Nong Pradu earlier. Upon arriving in Bangkok with a bagful of money donated by the village, Ting meets his cousin Humlae, who has dyed his hair blond and begun calling himself "George." Humlae and his friend Muay Lek are street-bike racing hustlers who make a living out of conning yaba dealers. Reluctant to help Ting, Humlae steals Ting's money and bets it in an underground fighting tournament at a bar on Khaosan Road. Ting tracks down Humlae and gets his money back after stunning the crowd by knocking out the champion, where his extraordinary skill grabs the attention of Komtuan, a grey-haired crime lord who uses a wheelchair and needs an electrolarynx to speak. Don is the one who ordered Ong-Bak's head stolen to sell it to Komtuan, who sees no value in it and orders him to dispose of it. The next day, Humlae and Muay Lek are chased all over town by drug dealer Peng and his gang after a botched baccarat game scam at an illegal street gambling booth. Ting fights off most of the thugs and helps Humlae and Muay Lek escape in exchange for helping him find Don. They return to the bar, where Ting wins the respect of the crowd after defeating three opponents consecutively. The trio find Don's hideout, triggering a lengthy tuk-tuk chase. The chase ends at a port in the Chao Phraya River, where Ting discovers Komtuan's cache of stolen Buddha statues submerged underwater. After the statues are recovered by police, Komtuan sends his thugs to kidnap Muay Lek and tells Humlae to ask Ting to fight his bodyguard Saming near the Thai- Burmese border in exchange for Muay Lek and the Ong-Bak head. Ting is forced to throw the match against the drug-enhanced Saming, and Humlae throws in the towel. After the fight, Komtuan reneges on his promise to release Muay Lek and return the head, where he orders his henchmen to kill the trio. Ting and Humlae subdue the thugs and head to a mountain cave, where Komtuan's men are cutting a giant Buddha statue. Ting defeats the remaining thugs and Saming but is shot by Komtuan, who attempts to destroy the Ong-Bak head with a sledgehammer. Humlae protects it with his body, taking the brunt of the hammer blows. The giant Buddha statue head suddenly falls, crushing Komtuan to death and critically injuring Humlae. With his dying breath, Humlae gives the Ong-Bak head to Ting and asks him to look after Muay Lek. The head is returned to Ban Nong Pradu. Humlae's ashes, carried by an ordained monk, is brought to the village in a procession on an elephant's back while the villagers, Ting and Muay Lek celebrate the return of Ong Bak's head.

Jack Frost emerges from a frozen pond with amnesia and finds himself invisible to the mortal realm. While he knows the Man in the Moon played a role in his transformation, the Man does not tell him why he has been changed. Three centuries later, Nicholas St. North learns of the return of Pitch Black, who threatens to plague children with nightmares. North rallies his fellow Guardians, E. Aster Bunnymund, Sanderson Mansnoozie, and Toothiana, and they discover that Jack has been chosen to join their ranks. Jack is kidnapped by Bunny and transported to the North Pole, where he learns from North that every Guardian has a "center", something they foster in children. Jack knows nothing of his center and resists the call to become a Guardian. Meanwhile, North receives a message from Toothiana that her palace is under attack. The Guardians and Jack Frost manage to chase away Pitch, but not before Pitch kidnaps Tooth's subordinate fairies and steals all of the teeth, weakening children's belief in Tooth. Jack learns that every baby tooth holds the childhood memories of its owner, and may help him find out more about his past, motivating him to help Toothiana. To counter Pitch's plan, the other Guardians and Jack embark on a mission to collect teeth from children themselves. In their quest, they visit Jamie Bennett, a young boy who, still clinging to his belief, sees all of them except for Jack. On their way back to the North Pole, Pitch's Nightmares attack the Guardians and Sandy is killed. With Easter approaching, the Guardians travel to Bunny's Warren and assist in the egg-coloring preparations. A mysterious voice lures Jack into Pitch's lair, where he finds his teeth. Pitch distracts Jack long enough for the Nightmares to destroy all the Easter eggs, causing children to stop believing in Bunny. Ashamed, Jack flees to Antarctica, where Pitch breaks his magic staff and throws him into a chasm. Unlocking the memories within his teeth, Jack learns that he was once a mortal boy who died saving his sister from the frozen pond that he awakened from at the film's start, which caused the Man in the Moon to choose him as a Guardian. Inspired, he repairs his staff and rescues the kidnapped fairies. Thanks to Pitch, every child in the world has stopped believing except Jamie, drastically weakening the Guardians. Finding Jamie's belief wavering, Jack makes it snow in his bedroom, restoring his faith in the Guardians and making Jamie the first person to believe in him. Jack realizes that his center is fun and uses it to gather Jamie's friends, play, and diminish their fear, which bolsters the Guardians and resurrects Sandy. The children's dreams prove stronger than the Nightmares, who turn on Pitch and drag him to the underworld. The Guardians celebrate their victory and Jack accepts his place as the Guardian of Fun.

At a bistro in Montmartre, IRA operative Deirdre meets with two Americans, Sam and Larry, and a Frenchman, Vincent. She takes them to a warehouse where Englishman Spence and German Gregor are waiting. Conversations among the men reveal that they are former government and military agents who have become mercenaries. Deirdre briefs the group on their mission: to attack a heavily armed convoy and steal a large, metallic briefcase, whose content is never revealed. The team's first preparation task is to acquire firearms, which turns into an ambush; the team survives and gets the weapons. Deirdre meets with her handler, Seamus O'Rourke, who tells her that the Russian mafia is bidding on the briefcase and that the team must intervene to prevent them from winning. Spence is exposed as a fraud by Sam; he is dismissed by Deirdre, and the others continue their mission. Deirdre's team successfully ambushes the convoy at Villefranche-sur-Mer and pursues the survivors to Nice. During the gunfight, Gregor steals the case and replaces it with explosives in an attempt to sabotage the others. He attempts selling it to the Russians, but his contact betrays him; Gregor kills the contact and has Mikhi – the Russian mobster in charge of the deal – agree to another meeting. The team tracks Gregor through one of Sam's old contacts and corners him in the Arles Amphitheatre during his meeting with two of Mikhi's men. Sam chases Gregor, who flees but is caught by Seamus. Deirdre and Vincent confront the two Russian hoods, prompting a shootout. Sam arrives to help, killing one, but is injured by a ricochet from the other. Seamus kills Larry and escapes with a reluctant Deirdre and the captured Gregor. Vincent takes Sam to a villa that is owned by his friend Jean-Pierre. After removing the bullet and letting Sam recuperate, Jean-Pierre compares Sam's situation to the tale of the 47 Ronin. Vincent asks Jean-Pierre to help them find Gregor and the Irish operatives. In Paris, Gregor is persuaded through violent interrogation to return the case to Seamus and Deirdre. After retrieving it from a post office, they are pursued by Sam and Vincent in a high-speed chase. Vincent shoots out their tire, sending their car off an overpass. Gregor escapes with the case while road workers rescue Deirdre and Seamus from the burning vehicle. Doubtful of where to go next, Sam and Vincent decide to track down the Russians after discovering that the decoy case that Gregor used in his theft of the original is used for carrying ice skates; one of Jean-Pierre's contacts informs them that the Russians may be involved with figure-skater (and Mikhi's girlfriend) Natacha Kirilova, who is performing at Le Zénith. During Natacha's show, Mikhi meets with Gregor, who says that a sniper in the arena will shoot Natacha if Mikhi betrays him. Mikhi kills Gregor and takes the case, allowing Natacha to be killed by the sniper. Amid the ensuing chaos from Natacha's shooting, Sam and Vincent leave the arena in time to see Seamus kill Mikhi and steal the case. Sam and Vincent split up; Vincent pursues Seamus but is wounded in a gunfight. Sam finds Deirdre waiting in a getaway car and convinces her to leave, after explaining that he is still in the CIA and is after Seamus, not the case. As she drives away, Seamus is forced to return to the arena as Sam gives chase. Seamus ambushes Sam but is shot dead by Vincent before Seamus can kill Sam. Sam and Vincent have coffee in the bistro where they first met. A radio broadcast announces that a peace agreement between Sinn Féin and the British government has been reached, partially as a result of Seamus's death. Sam keeps glancing at the door as patrons enter, but Vincent convinces Sam that Deirdre will not be coming back. They shake hands and part ways, but not before Vincent asks what was in the case. Sam replies that he does not remember. Sam drives off with his CIA contact as Vincent pays the bill and leaves.

Force Recon Scout Snipers Gunnery Sergeant Bob Lee Swagger and his spotter Donnie Fenn provide overwatch for a black ops mission in Ethiopia. The mission is successful, but while covering the retreat of friendly forces, an enemy attack helicopter assaults their position, resulting in Fenn's death. The CIA officer supervising the operation disavows the mission and strands them in enemy territory without any backup, though Swagger survives. Three years later, a retired Swagger is approached by Colonel Isaac Johnson to seek his help in preventing a possible assassination attempt on the President during a public event. Swagger identifies Philadelphia as the best location for the act, and pinpoints likely sniper spots. Swagger joins Johnson at an overwatch position during the event, where a sniper kills Ethiopian Archbishop Desmond Mutumbo. Officer Stanley Timmons, a Philadelphia Police Department officer bribed by Johnson, shoots Swagger, who falls through a window. Swagger disarms rookie FBI Agent Nick Memphis and warns him about Timmons, before jumping into the Delaware River and escaping under a ferry. Soon, news reports are released naming Swagger as the assassin and that he used his CheyTac M200 sniper rifle to kill Mutumbo. Evading authorities, Swagger travels to Kentucky and meets Fenn's widow, Sarah, who treats his injuries. Memphis grows suspicious of the unusually rapid conclusions, exacerbated by Timmons' odd death off-duty during an alleged mugging, begins his own investigation and realizes that the assassination was conducted with a remotely controlled gun. Sarah and Swagger discreetly feed Memphis information, furthering his investigation until he catches Johnson's attention, who orders his men to kidnap and kill Memphis. In captivity, Memphis is strapped with a brace that could force him to shoot himself, while his abductors force-feed him water in order to get him to urinate the ruphylin from his system. Before they can stage Memphis' suicide, Swagger kills them, releases Memphis and requests his help bringing down Johnson. The two travel to Tennessee and meet with firearms expert Mr. Rate, who explains paper-patching can be used to confuse ballistic fingerprinting and deduces that the only other person alive capable of making such a long-range shot is the crippled Serbian sniper Mikhaylo Sczerbiak, whom Swagger has unawarely met when working for Johnson. Swagger concludes that he was used to conduct reconnaissance for the wheelchair-using Sczerbiak, who performed the actual assassination remotely. At the same time, Sarah's connection to Swagger is uncovered, and she is abducted by Payne. In Virginia, Swagger and Memphis infiltrate Sczerbiak's estate, who reveals Johnson works for U.S. Senator Charles Meachum on behalf of oil conglomerates exploiting developing nations for profit. Swagger and Fenn had unknowingly covered PMCs who massacred an entire village on the Eritrea–Ethiopia border to make way for pipelines, and were deliberately abandoned as part of the cover-up. Johnson then ordered Sczerbiak to assassinate Mutumbo, who was going to discuss the massacre during his speech, to prevent Johnson's crimes against humanity from being revealed to the public. Sczerbiak also informs Swagger about Sarah's abduction, and then commits suicide as mercenaries close in on the estate. With Sczerbiak's confession recorded, Swagger and Memphis fight their way out and escape to Montana, tip off the FBI, and arrange a private meeting with Meachum and Johnson. Johnson, Meachum, and their men arrive at the meeting point on a snowy mountaintop, with Sarah held hostage. Memphis acts as a decoy, allowing Swagger to eliminate Johnson's sharpshooters and rescue Sarah, in which Sarah guns down Payne after the hell he put her through. Meachum cryptically implies he is not the only politician involved and arrogantly tells Swagger to give up. Deducing that the proof will get them murdered as witnesses, Swagger destroys the recording as the FBI arrests him. Swagger requests a plea hearing with United States Attorney General Russert. With Memphis's assistance, Swagger reveals that his personal rifles, including the supposed murder weapon, have all had their firing pins replaced, making them unusable. Johnson's men had stolen the rifle, retrieved a previous fired practice bullet and paper-patched it for Mutumbo's assassination, and planned to frame Swagger. Swagger's name is cleared, and Memphis also provides Russert with evidence cataloging Johnson's involvement in the village massacre and other crimes, but no legal action may be taken against him as the crimes fall outside U.S. jurisdiction. Afterwards, Russert casually hints that extrajudicial measures may be necessary to address the corruption before ordering Swagger's release. Boasting impunity at a private gathering, Meachum, Johnson and their associates discuss their next operation, but Swagger attacks the villa and kills them all. He frames the dead Johnson as the assailant, and ruptures the gas line causing a gas explosion before leaving the area with Sarah.

In 2005, unpopular-yet-scholarly student Morton Schmidt and popular-yet-underachieving athlete Greg Jenko miss their school prom, Schmidt being rejected by the girl he was trying to ask to be his date and Jenko being barred from attending due to failing grades. Seven years later, the duo meet again at the police academy and become friends. After graduating, the two become partners assigned to bicycle patrol at the local park. They catch a break when they arrest Domingo, the leader of a one-percenter motorcycle gang for drug possession, but are forced to release him after they fail to read him his Miranda rights. The duo is reassigned to 21 Jump Street, a revived undercover program from the 1980s, which specializes in infiltrating high schools. Captain Dickson assigns them to contain the spread of a newly-made synthetic drug called HFS ("Holy Fucking Shit") at Sagan High School. He gives them new identities and enrolls them as students, giving them class schedules fitting their previous academic performances; Jenko taking mostly arts and humanities, and Schmidt taking mostly science classes, but the duo mix up their identities. Schmidt gets a lead on HFS from classmate Molly, and he and Jenko meet the school's main dealer, popular student Eric. The two take HFS in front of him to maintain their cover, and then rush to the bathroom and attempt to vomit the HFS out of their systems, but are unsuccessful. Eric takes a liking to Schmidt, who develops a romantic interest in Molly. Jenko becomes friends with the students in his AP Chemistry class and finds himself becoming more interested in geeky hobbies and academic pursuits. Schmidt and Jenko throw a party at Schmidt's parents' house, where they are living during the course of their assignment, and invite Eric. During the party, a fight breaks out between Schmidt, Jenko, and some party crashers from another high school. Schmidt wins the fight, impressing Eric and gaining his trust. Jenko's friends hack Eric's phone to enable them to listen in on his conversations. The phone hack reveals information about an upcoming meeting between Eric and his supplier. Jenko happens to overhear conversations between Schmidt and Eric, where he catches Schmidt making disparaging comments about him. A rift between the duo grows and their official police work suffers. Schmidt and Jenko later track Eric to a cash transaction with the distributors of HFS—the motorcycle gang from the park—and a chase ensues on the freeway. They return to school, argue, and eventually begin fighting, which disrupts the school play. They are expelled from school and fired from the Jump Street program. Eric, stressed and terrified, recruits Schmidt and Jenko as security for a deal taking place at the school prom. While dressing for the prom, Schmidt and Jenko rekindle their friendship. At the prom, Schmidt is forced to reveal his identity as a cop, upsetting Molly. When they go to the penthouse, they discover that the supplier is the physical education teacher, Mr. Walters, who created the drug accidentally and started selling it to the students to supplement his teacher's salary and pay alimony to his ex-wife. Having caught Eric smoking marijuana, he was able to persuade him to be his dealer. The motorcycle gang arrives for the deal, but Molly, high on HFS, interrupts them and starts arguing with Schmidt, outing him as a police officer. As a result, gang leader Domingo recognizes Schmidt and Jenko and orders his men to kill them. Two of the gang members then reveal themselves to be undercover DEA agents Tom Hanson and Doug Penhall, former members of the Jump Street program. In an ensuing exchange of gunfire, Hanson and Penhall are both mortally wounded. Mr. Walters and Eric escape with the money and Molly as a hostage; the gang, Schmidt, and Jenko follow close behind. Jenko creates a homemade bomb and uses it to kill the gang. Mr. Walters shoots at Schmidt but Jenko takes the bullet to his arm, sparing Schmidt's life. In response, Schmidt shoots Mr. Walters, unintentionally severing his penis. They arrest Mr. Walters and Eric, successfully reading the former his Miranda rights. Schmidt and Molly share a kiss while Eric and Mr. Walters get arrested. Both officers are congratulated and reinstated in the Jump Street program as Dickson gives them a new assignment: infiltrating a college.

While driving through the Alps, thief Roger Beckerman is murdered by the local Mafia and his body disposed of in the river below. In the United Kingdom, his friend and fellow thief, Charlie Croker, is released from prison. After reuniting with his girlfriend, Lorna, to celebrate his freedom, Croker goes to meet Beckerman to discuss a heist, but is shocked to find only his widow. She insists that Croker continue with Beckerman's final masterpiece: an ambitious heist of $4 million in gold bullion, from a convoy transport in the city of Turin, Italy. Croker breaks back into prison to request financial backing from British nationalist crime lord Mr. Bridger. Initially unconvinced, Bridger soon offers support after confirming the scheme's potential. With Bridger's right-hand man, Camp Freddie, Croker recruits a crew of specialists, including Lorna, professional drivers, and lecherous computer expert Professor Simon Peach. With preparations complete, Bridger stages a funeral ceremony to meet the team in person. He discloses that the Mafia are expecting them, as they killed Beckerman over his planned heist and see the prospect of foreigners stealing Italian gold as an insult to their pride. Travelling through the Alps, Croker splits the team up to avoid raising suspicion. However, Croker's group are confronted by Mafia boss Altabani and his men, who destroy their backup escape cars and warn against continuing the plan. Croker and his men narrowly avoid being killed by threatening Bridger's reprisal against Italians living in the United Kingdom. Undeterred, the team continue to Turin. That night, the team infiltrate the Turin traffic control centre and Peach replaces a magnetic-tape data storage reel with a duplicate designed to sabotage the traffic control system. On the day of the heist, as the gold arrives at Turin airport, Croker sends Lorna to Geneva to keep her safe, promising to meet her there later. Meanwhile, Peach is arrested for molesting a woman on a tram. The convoy begins its journey through Turin, followed by Altabani. One of Croker's men sabotages the city's CCTV surveillance while the traffic control system malfunctions, disabling traffic lights and causing city-wide traffic jams that eventually force the convoy to stop outside the Museo Egizio. The crew intercept the convoy, subdue its police escort, and tow the armoured van carrying the gold into a building. While police ram the door, the crew breach the van and divide the gold between the boots of three Mini Coopers. The remaining crew escape disguised as British football fans, while Croker leads the Mini Cooper drivers out of the city, evading the police and the Mafia using an ingenious route designed by Beckerman that avoids the stalled traffic by taking them over stairs, pedestrian streets, rooftops, and through sewers. Mr. Bridger receives word of the successful heist and celebrates with his fellow inmates and prison staff, as the crew escapes Turin and conceals the Minis in the back of a modified coach. Driving through the Alps, they unload the gold and dispose of the Minis before collecting the remaining crew. During a reckless celebration, the coach driver loses control of the vehicle, resulting in the rear of the coach teetering precariously over a cliff. The crew stands at the front of the coach in an attempt to counterbalance the weight of the gold at the rear. Croker slowly crawls towards the gold which slides ever further from him. Finally, he turns to the crew and declares: "Hang on a minute lads. I've got a great idea."

In 1978, Baton Rouge pilot Barry Seal, who flies commercial jets for TWA, is recruited by CIA case officer Monty Schafer. He asks Seal, who has been smuggling Cuban cigars into the country to make a little money, to fly reconnaissance missions over Central America using an Aerostar 600, outfitted with aerial surveillance cameras. Seal accepts the job, but hides it from his wife, Lucy. In the 1980s, Schafer asks Seal to act as a courier between the CIA and General Noriega in Panama. During a mission, the Medellín Cartel picks Seal up and asks him to fly cocaine on his return flights to the US. Seal accepts and flies the cartel's cocaine to Louisiana, airdropping the drug in the countryside. The CIA turns a blind eye to the drug smuggling, but the DEA tracks Seal down. To avoid the authorities, Seal and his family relocate to Mena, Arkansas and his wife comes to accept the wealth generated by his side job. The small town becomes wealthy as the hub of US cocaine trafficking. Later, Schafer asks Seal to run guns to the Nicaraguan Contras in Honduras. Realizing the Contras are not serious about the war and just want to get rich, Seal starts trading the guns to the cartel. The CIA sets up a Contra training base in Mena and Seal flies the Contras in, but many of them escape as soon as they arrive. Seal makes so much money he buries it in suitcases in the backyard. Seal's freeloading, unemployed brother-in-law JB moves in. JB starts stealing money and is arrested with a briefcase full of cash. With JB out on bail, Seal gives him money and a plane ticket to Bora Bora for his safety. JB demands weekly cash and insults Lucy. As Seal chases after him, JB is killed by a car bomb placed by the Medellín Cartel, who had previously promised to "take care" of the JB problem. The FBI catches wind of the sudden exuberance on the streets of Mena, not helped by JB's reckless spending. Eventually, the CIA shuts down the program and abandons Seal, who is arrested by the FBI, DEA, ATF and Arkansas State Police simultaneously. Seal escapes prosecution by making a deal with the White House, which wants evidence of the Sandinistas being drug traffickers. They ask him to get photos that tie the Medellín Cartel to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. Seal manages to get them, but the White House releases them as propaganda against the Sandinistas. Seal is prominently shown in the pictures, which leads to his indictment by the crusading state attorney general and the cartel plotting revenge. Seal is convicted but sentenced to only 1,000 hours of community service. Moving from motel to motel making video recordings detailing his experiences, Seal expects an explosion any time he starts his car. As his community service is performed at the same Salvation Army building every night, Seal cannot hide from the cartel and is shot dead by an assassin. The CIA destroys all evidence connecting them to Seal and continues smuggling, instead using Iran to get guns to the Contras, as proposed by Schafer. The film ends with Schafer getting promoted for his idea, though it is soon discovered by the public with reporters asking President Reagan and Vice President Bush about the scandal. Lucy and her kids move back to Baton Rouge, where she is seen contentedly working in fast food. One of her expensive pieces of jewelry is seen on her wrist.

On an unspecified day during Christmas week, two years after the events of the previous film, John McClane is now a lieutenant with the LAPD, who arrives at Dulles International Airport to pick up his wife, Holly. He is met with hostility from airport police officer Vito Lorenzo, who issues him a parking ticket. Meanwhile, a plane carrying corrupt foreign military leader General Ramon Esperanza is headed to Dulles under extradition for using U.S. funds to buy drugs. Waiting to meet Esperanza's plane is disgraced former United States Army Colonel William Stuart and a group of ex-military sympathizers who supported Esperanza's actions. McClane follows two of Stuart's men into a baggage sorting area where a gun fight ensues. He kills one man, but the other escapes. With the help of his friend Sergeant Al Powell, McClane runs the dead man's fingerprints. They correspond to an American soldier who was listed as having died in a helicopter accident two years earlier. McClane reports his concerns to the ill-tempered airport police chief Carmine Lorenzo and air traffic control director Ed Trudeau, but neither believes him. Stuart and his men are operating out of a church on the outskirts of the airport. They cut all communications with incoming airplanes, disable runway lighting, and demand that Esperanza's plane be allowed to land without interference. Under Stuart's direction, Trudeau orders all planes in Dulles airspace held in the air despite their low fuel supplies. McClane becomes worried about Holly's plane, so enlists the help of airport janitor Marvin to fight back. Chief airport engineer Leslie Barnes decides to try using an unfinished antenna array to communicate with the airplanes. Lorenzo sends an airport SWAT team with him, but Stuart's men kill the officers and destroy the antenna. McClane saves Barnes and kills Stuart's men. In retaliation, Stuart impersonates air traffic control and fakes a British airplane's altimeter reading by recalibrating sea level. McClane is unable to warn off the airplane which crashes, killing everyone aboard. Esperanza's plane lands and McClane wounds Esperanza before Stuart and his men arrive. They blow up the plane and take Esperanza to the church. A Blue Light team arrives, led by Major Grant, of whom Stuart is a protégé. Grant's men and McClane attack the church. McClane kills one of Stuart's men and gives chase with his gun, but the mercenaries escape on snowmobiles. McClane follows but his vehicle is destroyed by gunfire. McClane realizes the gun was filled with blanks; the earlier firefight was staged and Grant's team is working with Stuart. Grant, Stuart, their men and Esperanza rendezvous at an airport hangar, where a Boeing 747 is waiting for them. On Holly's flight, reporter Richard Thornburg becomes suspicious as to why the plane has not landed. He taps into the cockpit communications and records a transmission from Barnes to all the circling airplanes describing the situation. From the airplane's lavatory, Richard broadcasts the recording, leading to a panic in the airport terminal which prevents McClane and Lorenzo from getting to the 747. Holly subdues Thornburg with a fellow passenger's taser. McClane asks reporter Samantha Coleman's crew to fly him via helicopter to intercept the 747. McClane jumps onto the wing and uses his coat to jam the aileron, preventing the plane from taking off. During a melee, McClane kicks Grant into a jet engine. While fighting Stuart, McClane opens a fuel valve in the engine pylon just as Stuart kicks him off the wing. McClane uses a cigarette lighter to ignite the fuel trail, causing the plane to explode and killing everyone on board. The fire trail serves as a landing guide for the circling aircraft to land safely. McClane and Holly are reunited. Marvin picks them up in his airport cart just as Lorenzo turns up asking if McClane got a parking ticket outside his airport. Lorenzo rips up the ticket and says "What the hell, it's Christmas!" Marvin drives McClane and Holly away.