Review of The Program (2015) by Eric A — 31 Dec 2016

A rather scathing Lance Armstrong story - what a surprise.

Starting off with Armstrong's introduction to the holy grail of cycling, Le Tour de France, "The Program" wastes little time developing character, but instead jumps cannonball style into the chemical pool. It's very simple poetry: to compete, you have to cheat; and young Lance hops on board. The rest is well documented history: a brutal fight with testicular cancer, a miraculous recovery, some balls jokes, seven Tour victories, cancer foundation glory, millions of dollars, the fall from grace, the end.

Telling nothing we don't know, "The Program" relies on documenting the most sensational scandal of sports doping history in a methodical, well-paced manner. And as juicy as the story may be, the film fails to generate anything in way of sympathy, outrage or tension. We don't really get to know who the hell Lance Armstrong is, where he came from, how he compared with his chief rivals (Jan Ullrich is not even mentioned), and what his personal life was like (we see a quick marriage and glimpses of kids, but nothing else).

"The Program" is so Lance centered that it lives and dies with its lead. Ben Foster does an admirable job as the stoic cyclist, but his deadpan performance is as lifeless as Armstrong's public persona. There is never any depth revealed, nor hinted at.

Recommended for those not familiar with the crazy tale, if such an audience exists.

- hipCRANK.