Here's a comparison you weren't expecting: This documentary really reminded me of Cloverfield. Only in one way, but it's a big way. Cloverfield is a found footage movie that's supposed to be about a goodbye party for a friend moving to Japan. Then a Godzilla happens! Well, Icarus is the same thing. Amateur cyclist, Bryan Fogel wanted to make a movie about how athletes can get around the doping tests. Then a Godzilla happens! The Godzilla of this movie is the Russian government, which is much scarier.
Fogel's attempt to cheat the doping tests leads him to Grigory Rodchenkov, a Russian scientist who was in charge of or ranked highly in Russia's athletic drug testing program. For years, if a Russian athlete needed to be cleared for the Olympics, they went through him. Rodchenkov takes on Fogel as a special project to teach him about how easily the system can be cheated. However, in the middle of all this, Rodchenkov basically blows the lid off a decades-long doping conspiracy by the Russian government that sets off an international shit storm. Rodchenkov has to flee the country for his own safety. He at the center of news stories all over the world. Suddenly, Fogel's movie becomes about something much bigger. This all happen only a year an a half ago, so you may remember a lot of this from the news. This is a very special inside-look. Right place, right time doesn't get much better than this.
The story is very compelling. The film making isn't quite ready to match it. I'm not sure if Fogel isn't a good enough documentarian or if he was just completely caught off guard by the size of the story. Either way. the latter half of the movie feels like it's playing catch up with story. That inside looks makes this worth seeing. Just know that it's not the most polished final product.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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