Opening with a mixed martial arts tournament in the late ’90s, a hulking figure emerges from the ring. It’s the first time we see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in A24’s “The Smashing Machine,” but not the version we picture in the action-packed blockbusters he thrives in.
Beyond the prosthetics that render him unrecognizable, there are no cheesy lines, forced grins, or exaggerated furrowed brows. There’s no money shot of flexed muscles or forced male-gaze scenes. Instead, we glimpse the man behind the fighter—and I dare say, the man behind “The Rock.”
“The Smashing Machine” retells the life of UFC and PRIDE Fighting Championships legend Mark Kerr, played by Johnson. Kerr reigned in the late 1990s, earning the nickname that lends the film its title. But behind the ring and locker room, his championships are shadowed by addiction, personal struggles, and the crushing weight of fame.
His partner—and at times, his emotional anchor—is Dawn Staples, portrayed by Emily Blunt. Their relationship is the antithesis of the usual hero-and-damsel trope. Here, love and career don’t align, instability brews on both sides, and if anything, Kerr becomes the damsel in distress.
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The machine breaks down
Benny Safdie’s solo directorial debut, one-half of the critically acclaimed Safdie Brothers (Good Time, 2017; Uncut Gems, 2019), reminds us that Kerr’s fighting alter ego doesn’t reflect an indestructible machine—but a fragility that breaks down when all is said and done.
Between stitched wounds and bloodshot eyes, winners in Kerr’s world return to holding rooms bloodied, bruised, and congratulated, their cauliflower ears swelling even more.
For the MMA audience, it ends there. For the fighters—the “machines”—life continues bruised and broken. In Kerr’s case, his gears fail outside the ring. His effort to uphold the same public image at home collapses into painkiller addiction. His fight doesn’t end in the cage; his opponent is himself. Safdie and Johnson ask us, humbly and painfully: “Have you seen a grown man cry?”—an image they offer while still withholding its full weight.
“The Smashing Machine” shows just how vast a fighter’s world really is. Bringing to mind the likes of classics such as Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Southpaw” and Tom Hardy’s “Warrior”—for these fighters, the familiar grit, anger, and rivalry of the sport feels trivial compared to everything else that happens outside the ring.
The rock hits its mark
Early reactions to “The Smashing Machine” have been overwhelmingly positive. At its Venice Film Festival premiere, the film received a 15-minute standing ovation, leaving the audience—including Johnson, Blunt, Safdie, and Kerr himself—visibly emotional.
Between stellar performances from his WWE peers, as well as a rumored contractual obligation that prevents him from ever losing on-screen, Johnson has received his fair share of criticism—particularly when compared to the likes of Dave Bautista and John Cena. But as critics and reviewers have praised him for delivering his rawest performance yet, perhaps Johnson has been listening to the noise after all and has promptly guided “The Rock” off the stage.
