By James Whittington, 26th November 2024
LEGEND unwraps sixteen channel premieres for December, filling the festive season with top-class thrillers, chillers and action-hitters, including Fred Zinnemann's 1973 classic THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, Robert Rodrigues' star-packed Machete sequel MACHETE KILLS (Lady Gaga, Mel Gibson), Michael Noer's gripping remake of PAPILLON (2017), the deadly diamond heist MOMENTUM, starring Oleg Kurylenko and the superb techno-thriller LIMITLESS, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. De Niro also stars in RIGHTEOUS KILL, alongside Al Pacino.
During the month, Hollywood's most-celebrated muscle men are in crime-thrilling action, including Steven Seagal in DRIVEN TO KILL and BEYOND THE LAW, Dolph Lundgren and Vinny Jones in AMBUSHED, Jason Statham and Wesley Snipes in CHAOS and Nicolas Cage in Mario Van Peebles' USS INDIANAPOLIS: MEN OF COURAGE.
There are first showings for heist action thriller THICK AS THIEVES, starring Morgan Freedman and Antonio Banderas, edge-of-your seat revenge thriller BEYOND SUSPICION, powerful drama OUT OF THE FURNACE, starring Christian Bale, redemptive cop thriller OFFICER DOWN and action spectacle DRAGON BLADE, starring Jackie Chan.
Plus, T.J. HOOKER makes a first appearance on the channel, with Seasons One and Two running through the month. Follow the weekly adventures of tough-as-nails veteran police officer Sgt. TJ Hooker, played by the great William Shatner.
Here's everything you need to know.
We kick off on the 1st with USS INDIANAPOLIS: MEN OF COURAGE. Nicolas Cage, Tom Sizemore and Thomas Jane star in the harrowing tale of real-life American heroes shipwrecked in shark infested waters in the waning days of World War II. The following evening we've tension of a very different kind in AMBUSHED. Drug pushers Frank and Eddie, rip off their middleman and are catapulted into the perfect storm of vengeful drug lords, dirty cops and an ambitious Federal agent (Dolph Lundgren). Realising their situation is spiralling out of control, Frank makes a move to get out while Eddie embraces the rush of life in the fast lane. Crime drama continues on the 5th with MOMENTUM. Formidable thief, Alexis (Olga Kurylenko) is recruited to pull one last diamond heist before she can leave the game forever. But when the deal goes wrong, and Alexis witnesses a brutal murder involving a senator she must run for her life. Pursued by the ruthless Mr. Washington (James Purefoy), Alex starts to uncover a tangle of lies. 
A stylish thriller with a cool cast on the 7th, CHAOS. After a deadly bank heist, Detectives Quentin Conners (Jason Statham) and Shane Dekker (Ryan Phillippe) are drawn into a mysterious case where a criminal mastermind (Wesley Snipes) is pulling the strings. Faced with random acts of violence and deception the only hope for their survival is finding an order to the chaos. THICK AS THIEVES on the 8th concerns master thief Keith Ripley (Morgan Freedman), lives by the Thieves’ Code: do the job, watch your partner’s back, don’t hold out, and never co-operate with the cops. Unfortunately, his former partner didn’t live by that code and now he’s dead, Can Keith, with new partner Gabriel Martin (Antonio Banderas), pull off the heist of his lifetime and steal the last two original Faberge Eggs ever created in order to save his own life? The next evening has a powerful, nail-biting thriller, BEYOND SUSPICION. When a drug bust goes wrong, notorious ex-cop Danny Gallagher's (Karl Urban) quest for justice leads him to the car-bomb murder of a government official's wife. Discovering the woman's secret lover was a seductive federal agent (Sofia Vergara), he finds himself under fire. But from who?
PAPILLON on the 12th is a gritty, intense remake of the 1973 classic film. Henri is wrongly convicted of murder and given a life sentence on Devil’s Island. Whilst there he meets someone who agrees to help his escape. This remarkable true story stars Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek. Far less serious is the sublime exploitation favourite MACHETE KILLS on the 13th. Danny Trejo returns as ex-Federal agent Machete, who is recruited by the US President for a mission which would be impossible for any mortal man - he must take down a madman revolutionary and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war and anarchy across the planet. Things become far more serious on the 15th in OUT OF THE FURNACE. Russell (Christian Bale) and his younger brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) have always dreamed of escaping the Rust Belt and finding better lives. When a cruel twist of fate lands Russell in prison, Rodney is lured into one of the most violent crime rings in the Northeast. Once released, Russell must choose between his own freedom or seek justice for his brother.
Fan-favourite Steven Seagal is back in DRIVEN TO KILL on the 16th. When Ruslan (Seagal), a successful crime writer, returns to his old neighbourhood to attend his estranged daughter’s wedding, his dangerous past emerges. His daughter is marrying the son of Ruslan’s age-old nemesis, Mikhail Arban, who is now the head of the brutal East Coast Russian Mafia. A brutal war of revenge begins. A true classic gets its channel premiere on the 17th, THE DAY OF THE JACKAL. The acclaimed film about a deadly assassin bent on killing French president Charles de Gaulle. Filled with amazing twists and turns, peppered with fascinating political intrigue, and populated by unforgettably vile and heroic characters, Day of the Jackal is Academy Award winning director Fred Zinnemann's most harrowing thrill ride ever! OFFICER DOWN on the 21st a rogue police officer (Stephen Dorff) tries to right the wrongs of his past by seeking revenge against the men responsible for a string of attacks on the young women working at a local strip club. Also starring Dominic Purcell, AnnaLynne McCord, David Boreanaz, Walton Goggins, Stephen and James Woods.
Classy sci-fi drama LIMITLESS on the 22nd where a Eddie Morra who is facing unemployment and his girlfriend’s rejection, has his life is transformed by a “smart drug”, allowing him to use 100% of his brain. But when he attracts unwanted attention of a greedy tycoon (Robert De Niro), he soon realises they’ll stop at nothing to uncover his secret. We go BEYOND THE LAW on the 22nd where a former mobster turned businessman (Steven Seagal), and a police detective must contend with a dirty ex-cop looking to bring the killer of his son to justice. If its action you're after then DRAGON BLADE on the 28th is for you. Two thousand years ago, a mysterious legion of extremely fearsome warriors galloped along the famous Silk Road. The soldiers are part of a Roman legion led by General Lucius (John Cusack), marching east to protect Publius, the youngest son of Consul Crassus, from his vicious brother Tiberius (Adrien Brody. Reunited, they become lost in the desert where they meet Huo An (Jackie Chan), the Commander of the Silk Road Protection Squad of the Western Region. The two form an allegiance as Tiberius eventually arrives with his army. The stage is set for an epic battle. We round of 2024 with the channel premiere of RIGHTEOUS KILL. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star as two veteran New York City detectives work on a case of serial executions of criminals who escaped justice.
Related show tags: THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, MACHETE KILLS, PAPILLON, MOMENTUM, LIMITLESS, RIGHTEOUS KIL, DRIVEN TO KILL, BEYOND THE LAW, AMBUSHED, CHAOS, USS INDIANAPOLIS: MEN OF COURAGE, THICK AS THIEVES, BEYOND SUSPICION, OUT OF THE FURNACE, OFFICER DOWN, DRAGON BLADE, T.J. HOOKER MORE FEATURES September contains channel premiers from Travolta, Lundgren and JCVD! Posted on 26th August 2026
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