THE SMASHING MACHINE – Review

Now, just two weeks ago, I reviewed the rare movie hybrid, a sports/horror flick called HIM. As it nears the end of its deservedly brief theatrical run, another sports film hits the multiplex. However, its subgenre is one that is most familiar in cinema history, the sports “biopic”. To be even more specific, this is a dramatic profile of a fighter. If you’re thinking about pugilists like LaMotta (of RAGING BULL) fame or Muhammad Ali, then you’re in a different arena. No, this week’s new release is set in the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), a backdrop in action flicks going way back to 1980’s THE OCTAGAN. In more recent years, diverse actors, from Kevin James to Halle Berry, have flexed their fists and feet on the canvas. Now an action flick superstar, who first gained fame in another fighting ring, gets a chance to show off his dramatic skills (along with his impressive pecs) as the athlete dubbed (in an acclaimed HBO documentary) THE SMASHING MACHINE.

Yes, that’s the intimidating nickname of Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson). We’re first introduced to him as he’s being interviewed at a UFC match in the late 1990s. The undefeated champ is asked how he’d feel if he lost a match. It’s something he’s never thought about, so he’s truly at a loss for words. Later, after another victory, we observe him grabbing an extra vial or two of painkillers. Luckily, he can’t hide it from his devoted but often annoyed (Mark doesn’t “open up”) girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt). In search of bigger cash prizes, Kerr joins, along with old wrestling pal and trainer Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader), the rival UFC league in Japan, PRIDE. Ultimately, Kerr’s substance abuse takes its toll as he loses focus in the ring, with one big bout ending as “No Contest”. Finally he enters a rehab facility as Coleman’s star begins to rise as a solo MMA star. When Kerr completes the “program,” his sobriety puts an even greater strain on his relationship with Dawn. But he’s still a big draw at PRIDE, so Kerr is back at the training gym, guided by his mentor Bas Rutten (himself). But will the strain of addiction, paired with a chaotic home life derail his chances at a big championship event that could have him facing his old buddy Coleman?

The film truly rests on those (really, really big and broad) shoulders of Johnson, who utilizes his considerable charm and charisma, which propelled him on the big screen, making us believe him as this worldwide champion. And then he surprises (he’s “gone A24”) us by plunging into the darkness of this “sporting life”, showing us how the affable Kerr “cons’ the medical system with his infectious grin and “gentle giant” persona. Kudos to Johnson for getting out his “comfort zone” of the overblown action “tentpoles” (in some of them he looked a tad “unconnected”, to the point of “phoning it in”) to explore the psyche of the laser-focused competitor. Perhaps he’s at his best early on as Kerr describes the “rush” of delivering a knockout blow. Matching him in intensity is the versatile Ms. Blunt, who makes Dawn more than Kerr’s “eye candy” housemate, and keeps us “off kilter” as she lashes out over being on the “sidelines” and viewed by her beau’s team as a flitting “distraction” from battle. By the big “blow-up” in the third act, Blunt makes her a volatile “wild card’ in a verbal (and nearly physical) throw down reminicent of Albee’s George and Martha. In his first acting gig, Bader is very compelling as “friend to the end” Coleman, making us wish for a greater “dive” into his story, aside from a few brief minutes of him playing with his adorable offspring. Also solid is Rutten as, well, Bas Rutten, a tough but nurturing guru for Kerr, in and out of the ring.

Much like the creative parting of the Coen brothers, this is the first film from writer/director Benny Safdie after a long cinematic collaboration with brother Josh. And as I noted, he turns Johnson and Blunt into a potent screen team (we know her dramatic chops, but he’s doing a big career shift). It’s a shame that they’re not in service to a more compelling script. Focusing on three or four years in Kerr’s “sports rise”, we don’t get a chance to see him in his “hungry years” during the “climb”. In other ways, the story needs more ‘space”. We only see him enter and exit the rehab center, with no scenes of his “steps”. And often Kerr is so stoic, it makes us wonder what his motivations are (especially when he’s fixated on a demolition derby match), though it gives us a chance to appreciate the subtle, but superb make-up work of Kazu Hiro, chipping away at “the Rock”. Plus, the film’s pacing somewhat “lurches” from interchangeable matches (it’s often difficult to ID the fighters as they become “pretzels”) to another screaming match at the Kerr casa in Phoenix. The often overbearing (drowning out dialogue) music score (two ill-timed Elvis tunes and a “jackhammer” jazz drum solo during the big matches) doesn’t aid the film. Yes, there are a few interesting sequences, particularly when Kerr sweetly explains his job to a grandma in a doctor’s waiting area, or when he takes his pal to “press the flesh” with his Tokyo fans, but the script feels like it’s “spinning its wheels” until the big “updates” prior to the end titles. Fans of the two principals will be pleased with their taut performances, but many will find that there are more than a few hints of “rust” and strain in THE SMAHING MACHINE.

2 Out of 4

THE SMASHING MACHINES opens in theatres everywhere on Friday, October 3, 2025