Early on in “A Good Day to Die Hard” comes a prolonged car/ truck chase through the clogged streets of Moscow that contains some of the most impressive stunt driving I’ve ever seen in a movie.

As far as I could tell, director John Moore (“Max Payne,” “The Omen”) used little to no CGI in the entire sequence. Those are real 18-wheelers and tankers and dump trucks smashing into each other, and the tactile feel of the scene, which goes on for at least 15 minutes, gets the movie off to a super-fun start. It’s an orgy of Hollywood bombast and destruction at its most wanton.

There’s just one problem: With the exception of Bruce Willis, reprising his signature role of NYPD officer John McClane, you don’t know who any of the people in the vehicles are, why they’re chasing each other or what’s so important that pulverizing half of Moscow is worthwhile.