The Armstrong Lie
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: November 8, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireDavid HughesJan 27, 2014
A documentary of two halves, Gibney's character study of Armstrong is tough and forensic. But whether through a lingering admiration or the film's origins as a straightforward celebration of the cyclist's talents, there are moments when its powder remains a little dryer than perhaps it should. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottDec 13, 2013
It wasn't until Gibney's film was already largely shot that the truth caught up to Armstrong. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfNov 6, 2013
Given Armstrong’s squirminess on the couch, you’ll wish this profile had traded a portion of its deep background for a little in-the-moment boldness. Read full review
60
The TelegraphRobbie CollinSep 17, 2013
The film leaves you enlightened and disillusioned, but still furious at Armstrong, who seems to have drawn the conclusion that he is now a tragic hero. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternNov 7, 2013
The Armstrong Lie wears thin before it's over; the wafer-thin nature of the cyclist's personality can't sustain a two-hour running time. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'HehirNov 7, 2013
So the rhetorical strategy of The Armstrong Lie is both a strength and a weakness. Gibney’s films have always been about truth, lies and power, but for the first time he finds himself in the ambiguous philosophical terrain of Errol Morris, exploring the lies we tell ourselves. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenNov 6, 2013
Having unfettered access to Armstrong during the 2009 Tour and a face-to-face sit-down with him in Austin hours after his national confession to Oprah, The Armstrong Lie comes across more a good save than a muckraking piece of journalism. Read full review
50
The DissolveScott TobiasNov 5, 2013
There are mysteries and ambiguities aplenty about Armstrong and the current state of professional cycling, but Gibney has trouble accessing them without getting in his own way. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNov 7, 2013
There’s so much more to this story — as any number of articles about the people he wronged attest — but this time, Gibney never really gets in gear. Read full review
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