The Armstrong Lie

Directed by Alex Gibney

3 Stars

The award-winning master documentary maker Alex Gibney turns the spotlight on the disgraced sports legend Lance Armstrong in this fascinating and eye-opening chronicle of his rise and fall from grace.

He started following the cycling superstar on his comeback tour in 2009 after beating cancer and winning the Tour de France a record seven times. It sounded too good to be true that he could win again and of course it was.

Gibney was forced to abort filming when the doping scandal broke but then interviewed Armstrong again after his infamous confession to Oprah Winfrey.

Angry and betrayed, Gibney explores how he and the rest of the world were duped for so long and how the "Armstrong lie" was able to hide in plain sight for so many years.

Armstrong's doping was never a closely guarded secret and, as the film shows, most leading cyclists were up to it at that time. Yet no-one wanted to believe it.

Gibney paints an unyielding picture of an extraordinarily powerful and arrogant man who would do whatever it took to win whatever the cost.

Although the film doesn't reveal anything new about the doping scandal, it does give us fresh insights into Armstrong.

Even so, he remains an enigma.

Maria Duarte