Overcoming review

While many fictional sports movies are air-punching drool-fests that fail the dope test, the real-life versions are generally different - genuine blood, sweat and tears seep through.

Sadly, cycling doc Overcoming lacks the sense of history of When We Were Kings or the guts of Murderball. Watching Tour de France champ Bjarne Riis' efforts to construct a team to throw a spanner in Lance Armstrong's golden spokes is like peeking inside an exclusive (and recently disgraced) members' club. The elements are there - personal agony, adversity to surmount - but Danish director Tómas Gislason expresses it in a style that's a tad Eurosport. Riis' 'revolutionary' methods are never explained, leaving the audience to come up with their own conclusions. Despite one or two moments, Overcoming is an uphill struggle. Best hold off for that Armstrong biopic...