Running Time: 123 Minutes
Certification: 15
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk
It's safe to say that Dwayne Johnson has had a difficult time with features. Despite being one of the world's highest-grossing actors, his career has received an underwhelming run with the likes of Red Notice, Black Adam, and Red One littering his filmography. This has also offered an opportunity for Johnson to recalibrate himself, as he teams up with well-regarded filmmaker Benny Safdie to take on a more serious role, and bring to life the story of Mark Kerr.
Sharing the same name as John Hyams' 2002 documentary, The Smashing Machine follows mixed martial artist Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson), a pioneer of the sport who viewers meet on an undefeated run. While he fights competitors in the ring for his work, he also battles addiction in his home life and has a volatile relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt.)
Across his cinematic career, Dwayne Johnson has settled into a role which has appealed to his fans, yet offers a limited depiction of his talents. In this biographical role, the actor sheds his dry wit, takes out the much-reported "no losing a fight" clause in his contract, and avoids any scenes where he wears khakis in a jungle. All he has here is his performance, and it is easily the best of his career so-far. Johnson brings alive a man who is driven to become the best, to the point that he cannot even imagine a hypothetical loss in his career. The standout moment occurs during a single-take sequence in the aftermath of a fight, phenomenally saying so much through body language as Kerr tries to move forward while reality sinks in. It is a powerful portrayal, and one hopes that Johnson keeps this momentum going.
Directing his first solo feature, Benny Safdie does an effective job bringing alive this moment in time. The fighting scenes are well-realised, aided by a compelling jazz score, and a retro-feeling cinematography. Outside of that, there is an unfortunate sense of disappointment to this tale. While it is serviceable to watch, there is an unadventurous feeling to the addiction drama and domestic strife, with these threads unfolding in by-the-numbers ways.
Instead of allowing audiences to see where the issues are, much of it is explained via dialogue, and this leaves the drama to resemble less exciting examples of well-worn tropes. The worst of this is felt in the toxic relationship between Kerr and Dawn, not helped by how often this subplot will suddenly get dropped. Most unfortunate is how underwritten Dawn feels, leaving Blunt's talents to feel wasted due to the subpar characterisation. While the tale may feel overly familiar and lacking excitement, The Smashing Machine is a superb showcase for it's stars talents. Plus, in a year where Happy Gilmore 2 exists, this is far from Benny Safdie's worst project.
The Smashing Machine is available in cinemas now
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