Armstrong participated in the documentary as an interview subject but had no editorial control over itGETTY IMAGES
ESPN on Sunday will premiere "Lance," a new big-budget, two-part "30 for 30" documentary "on the rise and fall of the world’s most infamous bike racer," Lance Armstrong, according to Christopher Keyes of OUTSIDE magazine. Director Marina Zenovich "spent 18 months on the project," which "premiered at the Sundance Film Festival" in January. Part one of "Lance" is a "very entertaining hour and a half," as Zenovich "seems to have tracked down everybody for this project -- coaches, teammates, friends, enemies." The list of "surprising talking heads includes Armstrong’s estranged stepfather." The documentary's pacing is "stellar," and if "nothing else, it’s still interesting to reexamine his rise." But things get "a lot more interesting in part two, which airs May 31." The narrative gets "bogged down," for there are "simply too many feuds and scandals to catalog." But "fortunately, Zenovich’s interviews with Armstrong in part two contain enough drama to keep you watching" (OUTSIDEONLINE.com, 5/21).
DEEP DIVE: USA TODAY's Brent Schrotenboer wrote the two-part film is "captivating in at least one respect," as Armstrong "apparently isn’t very fond of the film in which he stars." Zenovich said they "went to toe to toe on a couple of issues in the film, and I haven’t talked to him” since showing him the film in December. She added, "I was very clear with him that I was going to make the film that needed to be made. And I did. I think he’s processing that.” Zenovich said that Armstrong "participated in the documentary at length as an interview subject but had no editorial control over it." The film will "become the latest in a series of works about the fall of this American icon, including several books and other films." But this one "differs in at least two major areas: It arrives on the scene long after the doping dust seemingly has settled from his nuclear implosion of 2012 and 2013, allowing for better historical reflection." Armstrong also gave Zenovich "unprecedented access to him and his family"(USA TODAY, 5/21).
