The Program (2015)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Good start, but then it gets ruined

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

We all know the story and this movie doesn't really add anything worthwhile or insightful to the story. Armstrong is portrayed as an ego-maniacal fraud who only becomes a decent cyclist after discovering EPO (despite the fact that a pre-doped Lance starts the film in the rainbow world champion jersey) and Floyd Landis is portrayed as the innocent fall guy who brings Lance down after he's been betrayed. The way the story is told, Lance and his team are the only ones with access to EPO and Dr. Ferrari's doping know-how. Without getting too mired down in specifics, cheating and specifically doping has long been (and continues to be) a problem in sports in general is glossed over throughout the run time of this film. Most of Lance's main rivals were also clients of Dr. Ferrari (and others such as Dr. Fuentes). If Lance's team were the sole cheaters, why were his stripped titles never awarded to the runners- up?Lance was pretty despicable in his actions and the film lays that out pretty clearly. The film lost many opportunities to tell the whole story of that era. Where were Pantani and multiple runner-up Uhlrich? What about the Cofidis team firing Lance after he was diagnosed with cancer? What about the top riders being barred on the eve of the 2006 tour which allowed Landis to ride against a depleted field?Perhaps most who don't follow cycling won't be bothered by these omissions, but they add to the story and would have added some much needed grey area or tension to an otherwise painfully straightforward film devoid of any real character arc. Instead we end up with Lance going the Reefer Madness route after taking a hit of EPO before a confusing set of events forces him to confess.

-The Program (working title Icon) is a 2015 British-French biographical drama film about Lance Armstrong directed by Stephen Frears, starring Ben Foster as Armstrong and Chris O'Dowd as journalist David Walsh.-The film is based on Walsh's book Seven Deadly Sins. It premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on 14 September 2015 and was theatrically released in France on 16 September and the United Kingdom on 14 October.--Development: -Screenwriter John Hodge has said that he primarily based his screenplay on Seven Deadly Sins, in addition to other journalism and affidavits from cyclists. Hodge says he ruled out using Armstrong's own accounts of his behavior during this period, and that scenes shown from Armstrong's perspective are fiction.--Casting: -Lee Pace joined the cast in November 2013. Dustin Hoffman joined the cast in December 2013.-To better understand his role, Foster took performance enhancing drugs while shooting the film.

It's 1993 and Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) is in his first Tour in France. Irish sports journalist David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd) is both following and rooting for the competitive new American wonderboy. After initial losses, he and his teammates start using enhancements. The team starts winning but then he's diagnosed with cancer. After his tiring treatments, he gets help from Dr. Michele Ferrari who is experimenting outside the ethical lines. Bill Stapleton (Lee Pace) organizes the deal with US Postal. Walsh starts to suspect that something is amiss. God-fearing Floyd Landis (Jesse Plemons) is hired to help Armstrong and he takes over after Lance. Betsy Andreu recounts a moment with Armstrong and her husband. Armstrong decides to defend against his detractors by attacking them.Despite the great actors and solid work, this still has a biopic feel in the structure of the movie. It follows the story faithfully. The truthfulness seems to be there. Ben Foster does nice work inhabiting the role although I'm not sure if it dives into his mind enough. It would be helpful to add something from before his Tour and doping life. Walsh's crusade is more compelling. The second half of the movie is more compelling. It is generally missing the drama and the thrills. I'm also not certain if this gets any special insight into Armstrong's character. It's a functional biopic but the material is ready for much more.

Greetings from Lithuania."The Program" (2015) was very entertaining movie, that told true story about fall from grace. Ben Foster was excellent as Lance Armstrong and director Stephen Frears did a great job in creating this superbly paced and involving movie - at running time 1 h 40 min this movie never drags and is very involving. Now i wasn't a fan of Lance Armstrong nor cycling sport, but i read some stories after it was all revealed. Overall, "The Program" is great biopic, not the one Lance Armstrong envisioned of course when he was on the top. It shows the shameful dark side of this legendary athlete and how his myth burned. Very solid movie.