Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Memorergi good film but with many flaws

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

leethomas-11621 The awful Lance Armstrong deception in an entertaining and faithful biopic. Acting and production are great. Better than the documentary The Armstrong Lie which was too soft on the cheat. We get to see how it was done and the number of people involved - which is staggering! The weakness of the press and the authorities is shown up. Based upon a book by an Irish journalist who revealed the truth and unbelievably got sued by Armstrong for doing so. Well acted by the lead who has Armstrong's mannerisms and arrogance down to a T.

eddie_baggins The life and times of bike racing legend turned exposed drug cheat extraordinaire Lance Armstrong will forever and a day make for an intriguing and shocking story and while Philomena and The Queen director Stephen Frear's feature exploring the 'program' that Armstrong and his racing team developed to systematically rout the system is insightful, it's still a rather cold and strangely structured piece that gets us no closer to knowing who Armstrong really was or what made him into the figure he is today.Those seeking an Armstrong biopic will be left sorely disappointed by The Program, as its main goals are signposted early by throwing the viewer headfirst into Armstrong's later life as an up and coming racer, a cancer survivor and eventually a superstar of the sport that he became a household name for his achievements and then a name that will tarnish the racing industry for the foreseeable future.Frear's bases his tale on Irish reporter David Walsh's book who is here played by the impressive Chris O'Dowd and that books focus clearly drives The Program to be almost entirely centred around what went on behind closed doors (or caravan doors) with Armstrong and his crew but it's the films sporadically used racing scenes that really get the heart going and it would've been great for the film to be a little more 'cinematic' in its ambitions, it would've likely helped the films causes upon release to in what was a very lacklustre run at cinemas despite the interest in the Armstrong story and Ben Foster's impressive central display as Armstrong.A long time student of supporting roles (his turns in 3:10 to Yuma and Lone Survivor are highlights) and the odd lead, it's great to see Foster cast in such a high profile role and looking past his uncanny resemblance to Armstrong, Foster's turn is full of physical and mental commitment. It's not an easy role, Armstrong comes across as a totally unlikeable and self-obsessed creation (watch as Armstrong sheds tears at placing third on the podium) and Foster doesn't hold back from the narcissistic creation that the racing superstar no doubt was and probably still is today, despite his great work for cancer research the world over.The Program is a watchable and proficiently made examination of a certain aspect of Armstrong's life and also the shadowy dealings of the racing industry but it never really reaches a great height considering the materials at its disposals and its inability to get down to what made Armstrong tick is considerably infuriating, despite Fosters winning performance.3 blood bags out of 5

thechair Say what you like about cycling cheat Lance Armstrong, but he is weird and a c*ck. But okay, let's admit that he's also an intriguing figure: a cheat and a bully but one who first beat cancer and then devoted part of his life to raising money to fight it worldwide; and then there's that odd drive to win at all costs. A film covering all this should make for a winning one but The Program misses out on the yellow jersey. Ben Foster does excellent Lance i.e. he comes off as unlikeable, creepy and driven; it's the narrative that lets the air out of the tyres. Much of the story is taken from the exposing book by Times journalist David Walsh, and it might have been better to make this a two-hander a la Frost/Nixon, perhaps with a focus on the chasing Walsh (Chris O'Dowd), but Stephen Frears' (The Queen, Philomena) film jumps uneasily from character to character, mashing styles and tones like a peloton with BMXs and Choppers dropped into it. Depending on the scene we are in either a sports film, a fly-on- the-wall drama or a 1980s thriller, complete with Dynasty-style rants and hackneyed journo stuff. It feels old-fashioned and, for lack of a better word, bitty. Foster makes it worth a watch and his arc remains an intriguing one but you are better off catching Alex Gibney's documentary The Armstrong Lie if you want see this story told.Check out thechairreviewsmovies.wordpress.com or the chair on medium.com for more elegant appraisals.

subxerogravity I cannot call myself a fan of cycling in the least, but even before the scandal, I knew the name Lance Armstrong and what it met, if it's any consolation on how big an athlete he was. What Venus and Serena did for Tennis, what Tiger Woods did for golf.As a whole, this movie talks about a huge tragedy in the cycling world. It showed us how performance enhancing drugs dominated this man's sixteen year career, and put a bad stain on the sport.The Program is not an inspiring sports story at all, in fact it is the exact opposite. The movie shows Armstrong's biggest achievement in life is that he beat cancer twice (that is a pretty big achievement).It's a good story that was actually done badly on film. The Program was strangely put together in an attempt to focus on what the mainstream world knows about Armstrong rather than just focusing on what is an interesting story.Most sports movies about real life people attempt to create something that inspires people to be determined despite all disadvantages, it's all about dreaming big and working hard. This movie does not do that at all. Its strength is encouraging those who dream big not to roid up.