By James Whittington, 26th August 2026
There are channel premieres for eight feature films this month, including military thrillers BASIC, starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, SECOND IN COMMAND, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Guy Hamilton’s classic FORCE 10 FROM NAVORONE, the sequel to the 1961 classic The Guns of Navarone, starring Harrison Ford, Robert Shaw and Barbara Bach.
Jean-Claude Van Damme also stars in Sci-Fi action film UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN and another cult action hero hitting our TV screens this month is Steven Seagal, starring in crime thrillers CONTRACT TO KILL and KILLING SALAZAR, both directed by Keoni Waxman.
Other channel premieres include neo-Western BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA, and crime thriller BLOOD OF REDEMPTION.
Here's all you need to know:
Let's start on the 3rd with BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA where we follow John (Ryan Kwanten) and Colt (Freida Pinto), modern-day gunslingers traveling across South America to participate in "The Game". In this dangerous, underground circuit, participants don bulletproof vests and duel each other until only one combatant is left standing. Jumping to the 7th where things get BASIC as an ex-Ranger turned DEA agent, Tom Hardy (John Travolta), is brought in to investigate the disappearance of a sergeant (Samuel L. Jackson) following a bungled training exercise during a hurricane in Panama. This results in deeply conflicting accounts of murder and corruption. More action on the 10th as Jean Claude Van Damme is SECOND IN COMMAND. Sam Keenan (Van Damme), a Navy SEAL, is appointed as second-in-command at the U.S. Embassy in a turbulent Eastern European nation. When insurgents attempt a coup, Keenan must lead a detachment of Marines to protect the nation's president and defend the embassy.
More JVCD on the 14th playing one of his most famous characters in UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN. Jean-Claude Van Damme is Luc Deveraux, a now-human former bionic soldier. When the government's sentient AI, S.E.T.H., learns its project is being shut down, it commandeers a cyborg body, kidnaps Deveraux's daughter, and triggers an army of deadly, upgraded war machines. BLOOD OF REDEMPTION on the 17th concerns Quinn Forte (Billy Zane) who is a powerful mobster who loses everything after being betrayed by his inner circle. Imprisoned for the murder of his father, Quinn is released three years later only to find his former associate Campbell (Vinnie Jones) running his criminal syndicate. Refusing to back down, Quinn teams up with his loyal bodyguard Axel (Dolph Lundgren) to wage war against the traitors and reclaim his empire. Jumping to the 20th and Steven Seagal is back to his best in KILLING SALAZAR. U.S. Marshal Tom Jensen (Steven Seagal) and his elite team, are assigned to protect a dangerous, newly turned cartel informant named Salazar at a luxury hotel safe house. The operation is compromised, forcing the team to defend the compound against brutal hit squads and cartel assassins.
A classic gets a star-studded sequel on the 24th, FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE. Allied commandos Mallory and Miller are tasked with assassinating a German spy, Captain Lescovar, who has infiltrated Yugoslav Partisans. They team up with an American squad (Force 10) to blow up a crucial enemy dam. Robert Shaw and James Fox play the same characters as Gregory Peck and David Niven in the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone. Seagal has a CONTRACT TO KILL on the 28th playing CIA/DEA enforcer John Harmon who uncovers a deadly plot by Islamic extremists to ally with a Mexican cartel. Tasked with stopping them from smuggling weapons into the U.S., Harmon travels to Istanbul with his team to turn these forces against each other.
Related show tags: BASIC, SECOND IN COMMAND, FORCE 10 FROM NAVORONE, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN, CONTRACT TO KILL, KILLING SALAZAR, BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA, BLOOD OF REDEMPTION MORE FEATURES Those Duke boys are gonna cause trouble on LEGEND in September! Posted on 26th August 2026
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