Ranking March 2016's Movies - From Worst To Best
9. The Program
RottenTomatoes Score: 55% (6/10)
Box Office: The Lance Armstrong biopic has made just $1.73 million from more than 20 international markets, while its extremely limited U.S. cinema release this past month was no doubt damaged by the fact that the film was also released on-demand in mid-February. Dead on arrival.
Verdict: A director of Stephen Frears' (The Queen, Philomena) apparent caliber really should have tried harder here, so it falls to Ben Foster to deliver a cracking performance as the disgraced cyclist, even if almost everything around him feels like a down-the-line PBS docudrama.
For one, the film is too short at 103 minutes, and you can sense the script's desperation to quickly race through Armstrong's highs and lows without just taking a moment to soak them in. Chris ODowd and Jesse Plemons add some welcome flavour in supporting roles, though overall it's more decent than actually good, which is a damn shame given the sure dramatic potential.