grahamvandyke 'The perfect storm' is a phrase that encapsulates this entire endeavor. A cyclist with the simple goal of seeing if he could beat performance enhancing drugs testing stumbles across the Russian Edward Snowden. And I do mean stumble. What was intended to have been a fun, interesting niche documentary turned itself into a world-wide scandal that accidentally let us into the world of deception on a national level. The ramifications confirm what most people knew but couldn't substantiate. And this is not an attack on Russia. This is a small piece of a world-wide puzzle in which high level agencies and authorities deceive the world.I would liken this to the Jason Bourne series if it was taking place in the real world, just without the violence and far more terrifying implications. This is no ordinary documentary. I was absolutely riveted and shook to my core by the end.An absolute must watch.

alexandramakarenko The entire film is gripping, giving the audience no-holds-barred access to the biggest sporting controversy of the century, as well as pulling back the newly re-erected iron curtain ever so slightly to see the inner workings of the Kremlin.Documentary exposes an uncomfortable truth that should call into question the whole purpose of watching the games anymore, when this awful disregard for ethics can find such an easy way in and become endemic to the whole thing.

The Couchpotatoes Very funny to see that the negative reviews are written by people with Russian names. They probably can't stand it to be accused of cheating. I'm not a Russian nor an American, I just love sports. I'm 100% positive that American athletes are also big cheaters, like any other nation actually. The proof is that ridiculous decision at the end to finally still let the Russian delegation participate at the Rio Olympics. That's a proof the whole system is just corrupt to the bone. The IOC is just a farce. Politics winning against sportive achievements. The documentary is very well made, with stunning interviews and footage. Once part of the cheating system as one of the main characters in this fraud to whistle blower, Grigory Rodchenkov comes up with proof on how the system is corrupt. It becomes clear that the vast majority uses doping all the time, and that in any sport. It kinda makes you wonder why even bother to watch those sporting events. I stopped watching cyclism a long time ago since it is obvious they all use doping. It's just humanly impossible to do what they do in their sport. But for the government to allow and even sponsor this scam, in this documentary Russia, is just unbelievable. Well unbelievable is a big word, nothing surprises me anymore. Long live the amateur sports. Too bad for the few athletes that refuse to take doping, they will never win anything and that while they are just better than those cheaters, mentally and physically.

evanston_dad "Icarus" is certainly a zippy little expose about the institutionalized system of doping within Russia, but I have to admit I found it hard to care much about what the filmmakers clearly perceive to be an outrage when there are so many other much more outrageous issues vying for my attention.I watched this film because it was nominated for (and ended up winning) the 2017 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The first nominee that I watched in this category was "Last Men in Aleppo," about the continuing humanitarian crisis in Syria, which consequently involves Russia as well. In another time, a movie about sports doping might have raised my hackles, but in the wake of "Last Men in Aleppo" and Russian meddling in our recent elections, there just seem to be more important issues than this to take Russia to task for. An unfair response from me? Perhaps. But then no one said our reactions to movies have to be fair.Grade: B