The Smashing Machine
The second film this year to celebrate the physical potential of the human form without shying away from the consequences of obsessive physical perfection, The Smashing Machine is the kinder, gentler version of Magazine Dreams.
Instead of exploring a character along the lines of Jonathan Majors’ incel body builder, writer/director Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems) gifts us the fact-based story of Mark Kerr — an extremely nice guy who just so happens to be really, really good at beating the shit out of people in Ultimate Fighting competitions.
That juxtaposition of heart and violence wins viewers over to Mark’s side early and often, and Dwayne Johnson's reserved yet dialed-in performance is mesmerizing to witness. It also doesn't hurt that the already very chiseled Johnson appears to have banished every ounce of fat from his body and replaced it with muscle, and as with other famous cinematic physical transformations from Zac Efron in The Iron Claw to Michael Fassbender in Hunger, Johnson’s changed form is nothing short of transfixing and significantly enhances the drama at hand.
The performances, general intensity of Safdie’s no-frills direction, and the desire to see Mark and his trainer/friend Mark Coleman (real-life fighter Ryan Bader) succeed largely overcome what’s a pretty spotty screenplay. Even with Mark, there’s little character development beyond his tunnel-vision desire to win, and there’s far less revealed about his girlfriend Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt) beyond her love for him and her party-girl tendencies.
The excessive focus on the world of Ultimate Fighting results in a thoroughly realized professional world, but also numerous narrative gaps, particularly around Mark’s addiction to painkillers and what exactly brought (and keeps) him and Dawn together. When troubles arise, we care because of the tenderness they’ve shown others — not knowledge of past traumas or victories, and that disconnect from their individual histories proves limiting in certain present-day conflicts.
But since these moments aren’t the focus of The Smashing Machine, Safdie doesn’t linger on interpersonal dramas and quickly returns to the fully-formed realm that he’s created. When it focuses on this fledgling sports industry, the film is as good as anything that’s been released in 2025, and Johnson is a huge reason why it succeeds. If this hard work doesn't yield him awards consideration, it’ll hopefully show him that he's well-suited to the indie realm and has more to offer than mindless action movies.
Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: A24)
