SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

CANpatbuck3664 Lance Armstrong had a pretty drastic fall from grace. He was synonymous with athletes like Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Serena Williams. Then the news came out about what he had done to win those 7 Tour De Frances and his legacy crumbled overnight. It definitely seemed like an appropriate subject to do a biopic about so I remembered The Program when I got the chance to catch it on DVD. I would have thought that this movie would have got some more attention, Ben Foster has always seemed like he was one key role from being an A list star. So this was the kind of project that might get him there. The Program opened in a limited release to a decidedly mixed reception and while I'm happy to talk about it, I think I'm going to echo what other reviewers have said. This is an absorbing story of betrayal and deception but the movie seemed very eager to tell it's own version of events instead of presenting a more unbiased look at Lance Armstrong's story.*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) is just starting out and he's meeting up with journalist David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd) to discuss his team and his chances. They bond over a game of Foosball and David is impressed with Lance. Lance is behind the curve though and is looking for an edge. This leads him to Michele Ferrari (Guillaume Canet). Ferrari is reluctant to take him on, he doesn't have the optimal body type and his requirements are below Ferrari's standards. Lance claims he'll do what it takes and when Ferrari is about to take him on and Lance begins to succeed, he gets diagnosed with testicular cancer and his fight to get to the top takes on a whole new challenge. Ben Foster has always been underrated in the way that he's always providing solid supporting work in bigger projects. He throws a lot into his performance as Lance Armstrong. He's painted as a complete villain and Foster is up to the task, radiating arrogance and spitting venom at whoever gets in his way. I also really liked Chris O'Dowd as David Walsh, he's clearly the white knight in the movie. His character is single-minded and also arrogant but he doesn't overplay it and you get where he's coming from. I was impressed with the supporting cast: Jesse Plemons, Guillaume Canet, Denis Ménochet, Lee Pace and Dustin Hoffman all fit within the movie nicely and there wasn't a sub-par performance in the bunch.The Program does a good job of dramatizing the story of Lance Armstrong. I had a couple of issues with how they decided to tell it (more on that later) but I remained interested in the movie throughout. If you're familiar with Lance's story even a little bit, you might know it didn't come to a clean end and the fallout was pretty severe. The movie borders on being a thriller with him hiding drugs and circumventing the regulatory bodies. You probably know how this story ends but that didn't bother me, the ending was a little anti-climactic but the movie achieved what it wanted to achieve.The Program just had one big flaw for me. This movie picks sides almost immediately and does almost everything it can to make you hate Armstrong. I understand that there is inherent bias in everything and it's not the movie's job to present this subject like a documentary. It's based on true events, as opposed to reporting the facts. But The Program doesn't even approach being objective. I'm also saying this while largely being on The Program's side. Reports about Lance Armstrong describe his behaviour as bordering on psychotic and completely obsessive and his achievements are now tainted because of his cheating. But the guy did raise millions of dollars for cancer research and he revitalized cycling. It's okay to not be completely down the middle but you have to compensate by making an excellent film (e.g. Snowden) and for me this movie didn't hit those heights.I would re-iterate that The Program did present an interesting story and made it dramatic enough to be entertaining. It just didn't reach high enough to hit iconic biopic status and it was a little embarrassing to what lengths they drove this movie trying to sway viewer opinion. I think they would have been better served diving deeper into Lance's motivations and showing the complete picture around his life. With that said, this was still worth a watch to see Ben Foster giving it his all and learning some of the finer points around Armstrong's story.

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

elle_kittyca I was a bit surprised to see this biopic had a rating of 6.5 after I watched it. I find most IMDb reviews far too generous, but in my opinion, this rating was about right.its a solid bio-pic that tells an interesting story of a cheater and his downfall. I am generally not very interested in sports, but I do like true stories of people and their weakness, and Armstong is a flawed character, who even in disgrace and failure never seemed able to really grasp the enormity of his flaws. The movie was coherent, well scripted, an d reasonably acted. and I've looked at the reviews that have marked it lower than that, and most of them complain that its is not as powerful in the end as it should be. I guess, to some extent, I can see where they are coming from. Who can argue that the the level of dishonesty displayed by this man should have ended in a total downfall of heart-wrenching magnitude? Like Armstrong (eventually), the movie tells it like it is and doesn't contemplate the full enormity of the situation for dramatic effect.

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.