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Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) trains his way in The Smashing Machine, directed by Benny Safdie
Film clip: A24

The Smashing Machine
Directed by Benny Safdie
Rated R
Punched 3 October 2025
#TheSmashingMachineMovie

"A day without pain is like a day without sunshine."
Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine

Dwayne Johnson scores a KO, but the movie’s stuck with a draw.

The Octagon

The story’s about Mark Kerr, one of the pioneers in Mixed Martial Arts, but the movie’s all about Dwayne Johnson’s transformation.

This is actually Johnson’s passion project. He secured the rights to make a movie of Mark Kerr’s life story after seeing the 2002 HBO documentary The Smashing Machine. He then took the idea to Benny Safdie. And, of course, Benny and his brother Josh famously transformed Adam Sandler – the Saturday Night Live comedian who went on a spree of theatrical comedy hits – into a legitimate dramatic actor in Uncut Gems.

The Smashing Machine is Johnson’s own uncut gem. Here, he’s actually creating a real character instead of a caricature. The beef cake pec dances are gone. The raised eyebrow is ditched. The machismo is subdued. With his curly hair wig and facial prosthetics, Johnson undergoes a stunning physical transformation. But his voice is still there. And when he shaves off all his hair, that famous melon is back. The bald Mark Kerr bears a striking resemblance to Johnson.

But Johnson’s so massive. He seems too massive, as if something unnatural took place. He’s a behemoth. Maybe it’s merely a visual illusion, particularly when Johnson’s in a tiny sportscar being driven by the relatively diminutive Emily Blunt. During the end credits, a behind-the-scenes photo is shown of Johnson with the real Mark Kerr. Johnson’s upper body is covered in tattoos. Sure, makeup (or even digital touch-up) can take care of that, but he also seems slimmer. Regardless, Johnson’s enormity is a bit of a distraction.

But that’s to take nothing away from what Johnson’s accomplished. It’s a commendable feat, an eye-opening performance that certainly positions Johnson for more interesting work to come.

How about an Oscar for The Rock? Probably not.

The Squared Circle

The action in Safdie’s screenplay focuses on Kerr’s championship rise during 1997-2000. The movie opens with what appears to be vintage TV footage from ’97, grainy and sloppy VHS video in 1.33:1 that seamlessly shifts to 1.85:1 as the opening scene settles in.

Kerr weighs in at 6’1", 260 pounds. He’s a monster in the ring, winning one freestyle wrestling match after another. He’s so good, he simply can’t fathom what it would feel like to lose.

Even so, there’s a soulful aspect to the man. He’s – ironically enough – drawn in the public eye as a wrestling caricature when in fact he’s a gentle giant. He’s the kind of guy who politely requests the man sitting in the airplane’s window seat open the sun visor so he can watch the sunset.

An early scene puts Mark at the doctor’s office, sitting in the waiting room and having a conversation with a sweet old lady who simply can’t stomach the very thought of what Mark does for a living. The bloody, brutal sport is controversial, with some wanting it banned outright. And yet there’s Mark, with such a calm demeanor. So well spoken. So soft spoken. So calm.

None of the theatricality of the old World Wrestling Federation or its brand change to WWE. None of the bravura and theatrics of The Rock.

While he relishes having a crowd of 40,000 cheering him on, with only two men on the stage – fighting – and the sole focus of everyone’s attention, Mark’s also thinking about strategy.

"Will I hurt him before he hurts me?" is his own primary question.

The sweet ol’ lady aske, "Do you hate each other?"

He responds, "Absolutely not."

At one point, he also makes an interesting observation, "The difference is like being either a flashlight or a laser beam." The point being, you need to control your emotions in (and out of) the ring or else fear will get the best of you.

The Family Circle

Setting all of that – the transformation of Dwayne Johnson and the person that is Mark Kerr – against the backdrop of a brutal sport in which the rules are still evolving – rapidly – make for a great movie idea. There’s a Japanese moderator announcing the latest rules: 1. No biting. 2. No eye gouging, 3. No head butting with the knees. That’s all great, borderline fascinating.

The movie intentionally steers clear of most of the sports tropes and stereotypes. The score is jazzy. There’s a terrific Elvis Presley cover of My Way that fits the "big workout" scene and works every bit as well as Gonna Fly Now in any one of the Rocky movies.

But then other facets of Mark Kerr’s reality set in and drag it all down.

Enter Dawn Staples. Mark’s girlfriend. She’s no Adrian. She’s not loving, she’s grating.

As Mark grapples with his growing dependency on powerful, highly addictive opioids, Dawn’s not his enabler. But she’s not his toughest supporter, either. She is one more burden that adds to his emotional pain, if nothing else. She repeatedly taunts him, daring him to punch her. Not the brightest idea, particularly considering he’s easily three times her size. Instead, he smashes a door in half. On a couple different occasions.

Giving credit where it’s due, Emily Blunt does a mighty fine job of making Dawn less than likable. It’s all in service to the story. As the movie’s pre-end credits footnotes indicate, Dawn and Mark broke up, but then reunited and were eventually married for six years of what was surely wedded turbulence.

Mark makes a simple observation to the effect that, "She’s exhausting."

He’s right.

And if Dawn Staples wasn’t in fact a reality, her surname would be called into question as a figurative representation of her prickly personality.

The Moebius Strip

The bulk of the drama focuses on Mark’s unhealthy relationship with Dawn. Even his battle with opioids is underplayed as merely a problem to overcome. He goes to rehab. He moves on.

And this all leads to the movie’s non-fatal flaw. While Safdie largely keeps the tropes on the ropes, there isn’t much that drives emotional resonance. Not much lands with a much-needed punch. Mark comes across as so nonchalant about so much. If he doesn’t seem to care about winning a $200,000 prize, why should the audience? Those story beats seem to miss the beat.

But there’s still plenty to admire, beyond Johnson’s dramatic turn. And that includes his co-star Ryan "Darth" Bader, a real-life MMA star who makes an astonishingly solid acting debut here as Mark Coleman, Mark Kerr’s friend, trainer and potential championship opponent. Bader is joined by several other real-world fighters making their acting debut in The Smashing Machine.

Both Marks are strikingly calm, downright amiable. They’re the figurative antithesis to everything that goes on in One Battle After Another.

As the movie closes out the rather stilted outcome of 2000, the time shifts to now, 2025. A supermarket in Scottsdale, Ariz. 2025. There’s the real-life Mark Kerr checking out with a small shopping cart of groceries.

It’s easy to see it all now. The real-life Mark seems to be in actuality a soft-spoken and gentle man. Then, after giving a soft-spoken shout out to the camera – he motors out of the parking lot in a suitably outsized Ford F-150 super-cab.

Nonetheless, the drama is lightweight material that doesn’t bode well for a championship push to the Academy Awards.

During one of the movie’s early fights, Mark inexplicably holds himself down on the mat, expecting the referee to call the illegal head-butting he’s enduring from his opponent. It’s never called and he initially loses the match. He lodges a protest and the is eventually ruled a no-contest. A draw.

Much like this movie.

• Originally published at MovieHabit.com.