The Smashing Machine Review: A Pick for Sports-Biopic Fans

This The Smashing Machine review starts with a simple point: Dwayne Johnson is not playing The Rock here. Benny Safdie's biopic follows UFC pioneer Mark Kerr, a man who looks unbeatable in the ring and fragile everywhere else.

It is a quieter, slower film than the poster suggests, and that will decide whether it works for you.

The Smashing Machine Review: The Story So Far (No Spoilers)

The story begins in the late 1990s, when mixed martial arts is still a rough, barely regulated sport. Mark Kerr is an up-and-coming fighter who wants to be the greatest in the world. He earns a living, but there are no luxury cars or swimming pools waiting for him yet.

Away from the cage, he battles an opioid dependence and a turbulent relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn Staples. The film treats those two struggles as equal to anything that happens under the lights.

The plot is a character study more than a classic underdog tale. Safdie, who also wrote the script, shows the grind of training and the fallout of recovery, and he lets scenes run long. If you want a conventional rise-and-fall arc, this is more observational than that.

What Works in The Smashing Machine

The biggest strength is the contrast at the heart of Kerr. He is a huge, intimidating athlete, yet the film keeps finding exhaustion, insecurity and tenderness in him. When it stays close to that contradiction, it hits hard.

Safdie also avoids glossy sports-movie clichés. The tone is grounded and raw, and the fights feel like part of a larger, messier life rather than big set pieces. That restraint gives this action-biography a distinct personality.

A few other highlights:

• A lived-in late-1990s atmosphere that suits the early days of the sport.

• A willingness to sit in uncomfortable, emotional silences.

• A leading performance that surprises, even if you are sceptical.

Fans of the genre can find more in our biography movie reviews and action movie reviews.

The Smashing Machine Cast and Performances

The Smashing Machine cast is led by Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr and Emily Blunt as Dawn Staples. Johnson is nearly unrecognisable, and he mostly succeeds in erasing his star image. Several viewers noted that they never expected to see him this raw, with real emotion in his eyes. Some wonder whether it is range or restraint, but it works for the character.

Emily Blunt gives Dawn a sharp, volatile energy, so the relationship feels messy and real rather than decorative. Ryan Bader plays Mark Coleman and has drawn praise as a strong supporting presence. Bas Rutten appears as himself, Oleksandr Usyk plays Igor Vovchanchyn and Lyndsey Gavin plays Elizabeth Coleman, which adds authenticity to the fight world.

Benny Safdie's Direction

Safdie writes and directs solo here, and his choices are patient and character-first. He trusts his actors and the quiet moments, though that trust is not always rewarded with momentum.

Where The Smashing Machine Stumbles

The slow-burn pace is the main hurdle. Some stretches feel repetitive, circling the same cycle of pain, medication and apology without much escalation. One viewer even felt the film looked cheaper than its estimated $40 million budget.

The film also keeps the audience at a distance at times. Kerr's emotional shutdown makes sense for the character, but it can leave the drama feeling muted. Sports fans hoping for big, crowd-pleasing fights may find the payoffs understated.

Audience response has been mixed to positive, with a TMDB score of 6.4 out of 10 from 741 votes. That fits what I saw: respected, interesting, but not a knockout.

Is The Smashing Machine Worth Watching?

Yes, if you are curious about Dwayne Johnson in a serious dramatic role or about the early days of MMA. It is a flawed but thoughtful biopic, and it rewards patience more than adrenaline.

The film runs 123 minutes, is rated R and is in English. It is better as a portrait of a troubled athlete than as a sports thriller. Anyone who wants a faster, more formulaic fight movie may want to look at our sport movie reviews instead.

For more background on the film, see its IMDb page.

Who Will Enjoy The Smashing Machine

• Viewers who like slow, character-driven biopics over crowd-pleasing sports dramas.

• Fans of Dwayne Johnson who want to see him stretch beyond blockbuster roles.

• Anyone interested in 1990s MMA history and the personal cost of the sport.