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.
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Check out thechairreviewsmovies.wordpress.com or the chair on medium.com for more elegant appraisals.