Icarus

One of the best, if not the best, documentaries that I have ever watched. It is an amazing story about a man who set out to prove one thing and ends up in the middle of one of the most dramatic moments in sports history, complete with shady characters, political giants, and assassinations. This documentary put the documentor in the right place at the right time. Wow, an eleven on a scale of one to ten!

I almost never write reviews for anything, but after seeing this movie and seeing a completely spiteful, misinformed review from another poster I feel obliged to post. This is an incredibly powerful documentary that had me at the edge of my seat for nearly the entire two hours. Honestly have no idea what movie the other poster was watching or if they're simply bitter or don't enjoy the documentary format, but I highly recommend this to anyone in an interest in sport, current world politics (US/Russia), or conspiracy. Both the director Bryan and protagonist Grigory are engaging and entertaining, and the movie will seriously leave you feeling like you just got a backstage pass to a very recent global conspiracy between Russia and the world.

I wanted to write this review because I don't understand how anyone can claim that this is for a fact propaganda, without providing any proof. Those reviewers say the movie is propaganda because the filmmakers have no proof, yet I would say the movie provided more than they did for their claims.

Anyone can scream propaganda - but I would like to know why. This movie started years ago when Brian didn't even have a clear idea on what his documentary will be about exactly (nor am I sure he was even trying to make a full documentary). It was born out of personal reasons but he came across something he couldn't have imagined. So, he ended up with an incredibly shocking documentary which took years to be made.

Those who say it's propaganda just because it involves the Russians; I couldn't care less if it were Russians, English or Brazilian. What shocked me was the incredible amount of evidence and detail this RUSSIAN man gave to the public about an incredibly elaborate state-wide conspiracy (and he wasn't the only one, nor was he the one who started this whole thing). It is actually quite incredible how they pulled it off.

So, I am more inclined to believe this person who devoted years of his life to expose what was going on and what he himself was also a part of than government officials who say "No, it is not true". If you remember, Lance himself said many times in the beginning that he has never taken drugs. Then, he admitted.

The same thing happens here; someone accuses you of a monstrosity like this one, you are very well going to deny it.

To those whose argument is "well, it's not like the US or China don't have the same doping programme" I say: where is their Grigory? That's the difference.

To me, it is incredible how a nation could have gotten away with this. Well, not really - Putin can get away with anything. Just like the US.

It's a documentary about doping in sports. While opining on the many incidents of drugs in sports, it quickly zeroes in on the Russian efforts. Grigory Rodchenkov led the Russian national anti-doping program and would become a big time whistleblower. His allegations lead to physical evidences of cheating in Sochi after the Russians suffered an embarrassing performance in Vancouver.

Cheating in sports is a big target. Grigory's whistleblowing is very compelling. I do remember some of the news reports during that time. It's even less sophisticated that I imagined. The bottles are left with marks and there are telltale chemicals in the samples. So the allegations are undeniable and therefore they will keep denying. They are not geniuses and more like arrogant brutes. They keep lying and force their lies upon the world until they shout down everyone else. It's the new world order and nice guys finish last.

Watched this documentary and got so angry with the 'powers that be' in sports that allowed the crooked Russians to participate in the Olympics despite overwhelming evidence provided by a Russian official who risked his life doing so. Utterly sickening to see the IOC bowing to Russian pressure. I have always loved sports, watching in awe how Armstrong won 7 Tour de France for example. Seeing all these things just makes me sad. But if you want to know how this is done, how they get away with it, watch this. If you want to stay in the bubble, watch something else. I won't blame you.