The Smashing Machine (2025)★ 6.6/10

Benny Safdie can direct really well, but I just wonder why this movie exists now? To me, it feels like Rock called up Safdie and offered him a bunch of money to make this movie, he accepted and did his best, but the source material just doesn't make for a very engaging or unique watch? It's by the numbers and overall a disappointment

Doesn’t punch particularly hard, nor does it deviate from the typical biopic formula substantially enough to be qualified as a knockout. But Benny Safdie’s incredibly stylish voice, Dwayne Johnson’s impressive performance, and Emily Blunt’s always-delightful (though slightly underutilized) presence make the film worth watching even in spite of its shortcomings.
Simple though they may be, the tropes and structure of the sports genre never fail to keep me entertained, and this was no exception. The story did start to get a little repetitive toward the end (domestic argument, fight, introspection, domestic argument, fight, introspection…), but Safdie and his stars always keep things vibrant and compelling enough that I could never stop caring about these characters.
But let’s not kid ourselves: The main draw of The Smashing Machine was always going to be the star vehicle for Dwayne Johnson. The film never hides its agenda: To provide its lead with yet another one of his many career reinventions, this time asserting him as a “serious actor.” In that sense, I have mostly conflicted feelings. On the one hand, Johnson delivers a performance that I could have never guessed he had in him. It’s not particularly flashy, but that’s particularly where its strength lies: in its quieter moments, in simple expressions, in subtle eye movements. He doesn’t exactly disappear into the role, but he makes it his entirely.
In that latter part lies my main gripe with the performance, though. Smashing Machine so often feels like a Dwayne Johnson career move that the story of Mark Kerr always seems to come in second. Sadly, great though The Rock might be in this film, his presence works to the detriment of the story and of its subject. There’s not much sincerity here—every big emotional moment feels like Johnson just trying to get his big Oscar nomination clip—, and that’s the worst that could possibly happen to a biopic. Maybe I’m being cynical, but I couldn’t help but feel this way.
Even still, the film is both compelling and entertaining. No, it doesn’t reinvent the formula or even have any surprises in store, but it delivers on virtually everything it promises: the acting is solid, the directing is great, the fight scenes are brutally raw, and the emotional beats are satisfying. It’s a very good movie, but I wish it had been more.

good

Great performance by Dwayne Johnson, showing that he can be more than a charismatic blockbuster action hero. He can lead touching stories and vanish behind the character, and still shine.

"Do you have any stronger pain medication? Advil? Okay. Dawn, would you like some? They're handing them out like candy." -- Emily Blunt was so good in this. Her outfits were on point. It's nice to see Playland featured in this film!

If you want to see an extremely sweaty Johnson, boy do I have a movie for you. In THE SMASHING MACHINE, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as Mark Kerr, an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter before UFC became the UFC it is today. He was a pioneer of the sport, but between 1997-2000, Kerr had a lot going on. Struggles with his conflicting relationship with Dawn (Emily Blunt) and with his personal demons. This movie is…fine, but I do have a few problems with it. It successfully avoids the typical tropes you usually see in sports movies, but it doesn’t replace that with anything of substance. The screenplay is flat, the characters feel like ideas of people instead of actual people (which they actually are). Don’t get me wrong, the acting performances here are impressive. Blunt is always great, but Johnson actually puts in the work here, much more than his signature smolder. Nothing pulled me in. I needed more feels. It’s shot like a documentary, keeping the audience at arms-length. They go for a more observational approach, going from life event to life event, not breaking the surface of anything. I wanted to be immersed in Mark’s world, but I never was. The music, while interesting, was overbearing at times. I like the duality between Mark the soft-spoken, kind-hearted guy, and Mark the smashing machine. The makeup is amazing, successfully transforming a rock into a smashing machine. Overall, THE SMASHING MACHINE is sadly underwhelming, but I love the acting. A24 took a swing with this, sport fans might enjoy this, but I found it only alright.

Buena peli, pero pudo ser mejor

Muy buena

buena peli de la roca

espero que este gua

miguel.aq.jimenez

La película explora el turbulento viaje de Mark Kerr, un campeón que dominó el octágono mientras libraba una batalla secreta contra la adicción a los opioides y sus propios demonios. La narrativa se aleja del espectáculo de las peleas para centrarse en el hombre detrás del mito: un gigante que anhelaba la victoria para llenar un vacío existencial, pero que se encontraba perdido en una espiral de autodestrucción.