By James Whittington, 29th April 2025
James Cameron's stunning underwater sci-fi thriller THE ABYSS gets a rare UK TV showing leading LEGEND's channel premiere line-up for May 2025. And for those who like their sci-fi adventures subterranean, LEGEND also presents three classic 'matinee' premieres – JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1959), VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (1961) and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972), starring Gene Hackman. Hackman also stars in action thriller BEHIND ENEMY LINES.
Other sci-fi / fantasy picks this month include IMPOSTER (2001), from the author of Total Recall and Blade Runner, and HIGHLANDER III: THE SORCERER, where, once again, Connor MacLeod (Christoper Lambert) is forced to face a new, dangerous enemy.
Plus, there are three high-octane action thrillers receiving first time showings on LEGEND - FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER, starring Danny Glover and Willem Dafoe, KISS OF THE DRAGON starring Jet Li and Bridget Fonda, and GOLD starring Matthew McConaughey.
There are also two entries by British director Nick Cave – crime dramas THE BUSINESS and OUTLAW, both starring Danny Dyer. The latter also stars Sean Bean and Bob Hoskins.
Here's all you need to know:
Let's start on the 2nd with one of Danny Dyer's earliest movies, THE BUSINESS. Frankie (Dyer) is a young lad on the run from the high-rise ghettos of South London to a new life in Malaga with nothing but a biscuit tin stuffed full of cash in his hand luggage. He has no idea that this delivery to the super-suave playboy and ex-con Charlie (Tamer Hassan) will change his life forever... The following evening its action all the way in FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER. Directed by John Milius and starring Danny Glover and William Defoe the movie concerns two pilots in the Vietnam War are dissatisfied with the restrictions of the US Navy. Despite the orders of their superiors, they take matters into their own hands and plan an unauthorised air strike. Our first Classic Matinee channel premiere is on the 5th where we JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. Scottish professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) accidentally discovers a map of sorts with directions on how to reach the centre of the Earth through an Icelandic crater. When the professor looks to his colleague Alec McEwen (Pat Boone) to verify his discovery, Alec turns on him and the two engage in a race to see who will reach the centre of the Earth first.
May 8th has the channel premiere of a superior sci-fi thriller IMPOSTER. Set in 2079, a famous weapons designer (played by Gary Sinise), is accused of being an alien designed "replicant" and goes on the run from the authorities. This science fiction psychological thriller is based upon the 1953 short story ‘Impostor’ by Philip K. Dick. HIGHLANDER III: THE SORCERER on the 10th is set in feudal Japan where Connor McLeod (Lambert) is unknowingly followed by an evil immortal, Kane (Van Peebles), who wants Connor's head. They fight and Connor gets away while Kane is trapped in a cave. Now in the present, Connor's peace is destroyed once again as the evil Kane is released from his imprisonment and the struggle of the Gathering begins again. Forward to the 17th where Jet Li experiences the KISS OF THE DRAGON. Liu Jian (Li), a police officer from China, comes to Paris to help the vice squad apprehend a Chinese drug lord and his unknown French connection. Problem is that the French connection, is the head of the vice squad, and he intends to kill the drug lord and then frame Jian.
In GOLD on the 18th Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) is a prospector desperate for a lucky break, teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia. The next Classic Matinee channel premiere is on the 19th as we catch a ride on a VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. Contemporary drama on the 23rd in OUTLAW where returning veteran Sgt. Daniel Bryant (Sean Bean) finds himself trapped in a world of urban violence. At his wit's end with rampant crime, Bryant recruits a group of men wronged by local thugs -- including white-collar worker Gene Decker (Danny Dyer). With the off-the-record approval of veteran police officer Walter Lewis (Bob Hoskins), Bryant's vigilante task force engages in a bloody struggle to take back the street.
Our big channel premiere has to be James Cameron's THE ABYSS. After a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks in a remote part of the ocean floor, a team of divers on a prototype underwater oil rig are pressed into service by the U.S. Navy in a rescue attempt. When a hurricane cuts off contact between the surface and the underwater depths, the crew begin to see evidence of a strange, possibly alien intelligence at work. The Navy commander (Ed Harris) begins to grow increasingly paranoid about the mysterious alien life and threatens to use a recovered nuclear weapon to destroy everything. Much missed legend Gene Hackman stars in the nautical disaster movie THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. An all-star cast which also includes Ernest Borgnine, Roddy McDowall, Shelley Winters and Leslie Nielsen heads this acclaimed film that set the standard for disaster movies. When the world’s largest ocean liner is capsized by a tidal wave, only ten passengers survive. Now, the race is on for these ten to make their way from the capsized top of the ship up to the bottom before they drown. We go BEHIND ENEMY LINES on the 31st. After pilot Lt. Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) is shot down in a Bosnian war zone, and tries to outrun a pursuing army, his commanding officer Reigert (Gene Hackman) finds his rescue operation hamstrung by politics, forcing him to go beyond his abilities to save Burnett.
Related show tags: THE ABYSS, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, BEHIND ENEMY LINES, IMPOSTER, HIGHLANDER III: THE SORCERER, FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER, KISS OF THE DRAGON, GOLD, THE BUSINESS, OUTLAW MORE FEATURES October on LEGEND brings Damon, Washington and Van Damme channel premieres Posted on 27th September 2026
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