The Armstrong Lie - B-

Rated R, 122 minutes

Fascinating "Armstrong Lie" doesn't provide anything new

Lance Armstrong

The compelling, tragic new documentary “The Armstrong  Lie” from filmmaker Alex Gibney details the rise and fall of super-athlete and renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong and how, over time,  he doped his way into a record seven Tour de France championships.  Absorbing yet overlong, it doesn’t provide any additional revelations from what we already knew, though it has its share of entertaining moments thanks to Armstrong’s volatile, often testy personality. Gibney initially began the documentary in 2009 following Armstrong’s comeback then stopped when Armstrong became the focus of the doping investigations that eventually led him to confess he had in fact, doped and took illegal substances during the time in which he cycled in all of his championship races. Gibney’s anger with his often defiant subject is evident throughout, finally calling him a liar and a cheat for deceiving so many, and while Gibney’s assertions may be true, he only skims the surface of Armstrong’s lies and deception, adding little to what the general public already knows. He replays the Oprah confession and speaks to many of Armstrong’s teammates and colleagues, including his doctor Michele Ferrer and Frankie and Betsy Andreu, whose revelations helped propel the investigation into the doping allegations, who only confirm Armstrong’s actions. The central problem is Gibney’s scattershot approach, skimming over many of Armstrong's wins and instead heavily focused on his 2009 comeback, unsurprising given that Gibney already had considerable footage of this. This makes the film unnecessarily longer than necessary, not to mention it doesn’t provide further updates on one crucial character, his doctor Ferrer, and relies upon old footage he had when he started the doc.  However, Gibney's major coup is scoring updated interviews with Armstrong, which highlight the film as we see angry, often testy Armstrong of yesterday compared to the now older, more reflective Armstrong, who wanted to win at all costs and is now paying the price for those actions. Armstrong it seems is living the American dream and a tragedy at the same time.

Wes's Grade: B-