Critic Reviews

It’s a fluid and nippy telling of a tale that still seems strangely urgent.

The Program offers no obvious new revelations and Armstrong remains elusive – but it has an unsettling air that carries us through its more pedestrian patches.

The inside track on one of sport’s biggest scandals, nimbly shot and sharply scripted, powered by an outstanding performance from Ben Foster and the quiet integrity of Chris O’Dowd.

This fearless reconstruction drives home the dark lie that Lance Armstrong lived – it’s just a pity it doesn’t dig a little deeper.

The Program wisely hangs on Foster’s fierce performance, transforming himself into Lance.

Despite my enjoyment in this turning of the tables to focus on our being duped rather than his being found out, The Program has its failures.

It’s basically a narrative spin on Alex Gibney’s 2013 documentary “The Armstrong Lie,” only with less cycling footage. This is a plus for those of us easily bored by such things (so many interchangeable mountain passes and neon jerseys!), but there isn’t a ton of new material here.

It must be said that Foster - who adhered to the actual doping program during filming - excels as Armstrong. Bearing an unnerving physical resemblance to the fallen cycling hero, he is a revelation in a remarkable tour de force - not France - performance.

You sense structural uncertainty about what the Armstrong saga connotes and how exactly it was begging to be told. But you can’t take your eyes off Foster.

The Program works when it has you questioning how on earth this secret could be kept so quiet for so long when so many people knew exactly what was going on.