MovieChat Forums > Icarus (2017) Discussion > Highly questionable

Highly questionable


I have serious doubts about this film being touted as a whistleblowing masterpiece, and if it wins an Oscar I might just throw up. There are so many red flags here - I've watched it twice, trying to figure out if I was missing something, and each time I get more and more disgusted by all the crap that certain people are not only getting away with but being called heroes for. Grigory Rodchenkov is no martyr, the filmmaker is no muckraker, and it really bogs the imagination to see how Russia is being made the scapegoat of the doping scandal when the poster boy for doping in sports will forever be all-American Lance Armstrong.

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Both Russia and Lance are posters for doping. The only difference is Lance is one person Russia is a country

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The doping scandal that came to light with regard to Russia, supposedly helped along by this film, wasn’t just isolated to one athletes or trainer, it was across the board— and sever enough to disqualify Russia from the Olympics. If you want to understand what Russia was really up to, or the real ramifications of it, this movie isn’t going to provide you with the background or depth needed to understand it. Endurance bicycle racing (i.e., the Tour de France) is also not comparable to biannual global competition that covers winter sports.

I am surprised, however, that this movie won the Oscar. I was actually surprised it was nominated at all. It began as a completely amateur doc focused on some guy’s own effort to cheat, a plot line that reeked of self importanc and ego (and unnecessary to include more than five minutes of, given what the doc actually became about). Not a bad documentary film, but Oscar worthy? I guess so...

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Thank you, tyboulder2. My thoughts too. And anyone who thinks that doping in America was limited to Lance Armstrong is dreaming.

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could not disagree more with your take.

the doc started out with an elite amateur cyclist who wanted to monitor the effect of doping on performance, as well as the efficacy of evading the anti-doping regimen. it was quite clear that was the agenda, but it utterly escaped you.

this film, moreover, provided a comprehensive background on 'what russia was really up to'. again, i supposed you were dosing when the went through the protocol of urine swapping, botttle cap opening, the hole in the wall, etc, etc.

as far as its oscar worthiness, in terms of presentation, drama, and social import, you'd be hard to find better.

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