The Smashing Machine

• Directed by Benny Safdie
• September 1, 2025 (Venice) / October 3, 2025 (US)

The life of Mark Kerr-mixed-martial arts and champion of UFC.

With tales reaching my ears that Dwayne Johnson tries to act in The Smashing Machine I needed to check it out. I am no hater of the man but the stuff he does is far from serious drama requiring effort. It tends to rely on persona or physique to work. Could he pull an Ahnuld (see Maggie) and surprise me with genuine ability?

This is a movie that was never going to be a huge hit. It’s too quiet and small in contrast to Johnson’s action fueled filmography. It’s something more intimate. I could certainly see it blowing up on streaming if released only there but not being a theatrical juggernaut. Director Benny Safdie is very focused on authenticity.

It appears that level of natural delivery and interaction is derived largely if not entirely from improvisation. What works to hold your interest in everyday life does not hold you in a movie theater or at home watching. The minutia of a conversation in a dramatic presentation becomes a heavy weight on a presentation.

Improvisation (or the appearance thereof) drags this movie out. It has a good story and good moments but with all the extra to get from Point A to Point B that because the actors are essentially winging it makes for Machine going on too long. It is important to keep things moving and Safdie has trouble doing that.

It needed a script. Improv works on a stage but in a film no. It makes editing difficult and the removal of revealed detritus almost impossible since the dialogue comes via train of thought over that of a written page.

On top of the regular use of ‘tummy’ in the improvised dialogue, there are also scenes where Dwayne Johnson fake cries. Sometimes it’s best to just show a character holding back or show them having just cried rather than fake crying because not everybody can do it. Dwayne Johnson cannot.

The authenticity is further driven home by distinct lack of music largely if not entirely throughout the movie. Music of a particular era may show up in a scene briefly over some speakers, but it sets the period rather than to break the silence or heightening a mood. It also serves to avoid being overt in communicating the year.

It’s a movie you can sit and enjoy from start to finish, but only if you don’t have an interruption. The documentary feel is lost and difficult to regain if any number of modern-day distractions happen. Sometimes your dogs need to go outside. Sometimes you need to eat dinner. Sometimes your phone rings with a possible scam call. Then you find yourself taken out of the story. The hold on your attention by The Smashing Machine is very weak.

I applaud him for trying to step beyond what he’s known for. Every actor that is serious about their craft should do that. The Smashing Machine looks like he could be finally serious about his craft rather than playing what amounts to the same character in every film with minor tweaks like in Skyscraper where he didn’t have a complete set of legs. That means his core audience is not going to show up for something like this. It also accidentally makes this a bit of a novelty much more than making it a serious dramatic biographical film.

Emily Blunt as Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn Staples and Johnson as Kerr have a preestablished rhythm from Jungle Cruise that aids in Johnson’s performance. In his first genuinely serious outing he needed the help. I must note that Blunt looks like she was plucked right from the 90s. I have a hard time believing it is just an actress.

Kerr comes off as not the brightest guy in the world yet conversely just smart enough. Johnson’s performance shows how in Kerr’s drive to be successful in ultimate fighting he goes down a slippery slope and how it harms his relationship with his girlfriend. The general toxicity of their dynamic makes you worry.

The Smashing Machine is not a bad movie so long as you’re not interrupted. Perhaps if it had a script to focus things, interruptions would not have mattered. If you can watch this movie undistracted I say go for it. Other than that don’t.