Rent The Smashing Machine (2025)

The Rock Cracks (Beautifully) - The Smashing Machine review by griggs

Let’s start at the top: The Smashing Machine is a good film. Dwayne Johnson is even better—intense, wounded, and more human than he’s ever been, giving his most layered performance to date. Emily Blunt, as his partner, brings warmth and frustration in equal measure, though the story keeps its gaze on his inner bruises rather than the toll they take on her.

Benny Safdie directs with a sharp eye for texture—sweaty gyms, harsh lights, quiet despair. It recalls The Wrestler: the ache of performance, the loneliness of physical glory, the body as both weapon and cage. Still, there’s something missing—an emotional punch that never quite lands.

What remains is a fascinating portrait of masculinity in freefall: a man fighting not just opponents but himself, beautifully shot and bruisingly human, if just shy of knockout power.

Boring - The Smashing Machine review by cr

I agree that the rock does give a layered and interesting performance of a wrestler that i have never heard of before.

But in my opinion this is too niche, too slow and too boring to sustain interest.

And yet again there is a loud annoying and intrusive jazz soundtrack vying for attention with the dialogue.

There is a reason why it didnt perform at the box office.

Only if you are a rock or wrestling fan.

Brutal Sport Drama - A Bit Tame!! - The Smashing Machine review by GI

A sports biopic about MMA fighter Mark Kerr, relatively unknown in the UK (or is that just me??) and covering the early days of the sport between 1997 and 2000 where it appears it was most popular in Japan and known as Pride! Dwayne Johnson, under heavy prosthetics plays Kerr and manages to give a very convincing performance showing Kerr's emotional side and his conflict with opioids and fractious relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt). The film delves into various issues amongst which are Kerr's unpreparedness for actually losing a bout, so when he does he falls into a spiral of existential despair increasing his addictions to cope. But after successfully undergoing rehab the gentle Kerr becomes the angry Kerr much to Dawn's fear and consternation. The central part of the film is their relationship and Blunt is the best thing in the film with a very nuanced and convincing performance but she is sidelined far too much as the fighting takes preference and in particular Kerr's relationship with his friend, co-fighter and potential opponent Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) is given more prominence, in my view, to the film's detriment. This is a film about a brutal sport, indeed an unpleasant one and whilst Mark Kerr may have some following and fame in the USA the story seems rather hollow to an outsider. It has committed performances and Johnson arguable gives a career best here but it's a somewhat limited film.