"Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine has all the familiar hallmarks of Hollywood biopics, but its intensity and emotional clarity make it entirely worthwhile - to say nothing of its enrapturing and transformative lead performance. Safdie, one half of the brother duo behind gambling thriller Uncut Gems, goes solo for a film about addiction of a different sort, as wrestler-turned-action-star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson brings his long-gestating passion project to life."
"Johnson plays Mark Kerr, a mixed martial arts (MMA) competitor during the sport's rise to prominence in the late '90s and early 2000s, i.e. before the UFC had become a global juggernaut threatening to bring its octagonal cage to the White House lawn. Hulking yet soft-spoken, Kerr is introduced to us much as he is in John Hyams' 2002 lo-fi documentary of the same name: politely explaining the origins of his nasty black eye to a curious old woman in a doctor's waiting room."
The Smashing Machine follows Mark Kerr, an MMA competitor during the sport's rise in the late 1990s and early 2000s, balancing career pressures with personal relationships. The film draws structural material from John Hyams' 2002 documentary, reproducing scenes and dialogue while expanding into emotional territory Hyams' camera could not reach. Safdie observes Kerr with restrained distance, then tightens focus for critical emotional beats. The narrative tracks Kerr's trips to Japan for Pride tournaments alongside friend and trainer Mark Coleman, and explores his complicated relationship with domineering girlfriend Dawn. The film emphasizes addiction, reinvention, and a transformative lead performance.
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