The Smashing Machine review

By Sven Coanraad

 

The Smashing Machine, the 2025 Mark Kerr biopic, directed and written by Benny Safdie, staring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, was an out and out failure.....or was it?

Johnson, the star of this, to be, cult classic, may have been the reason for its failure....and the reason for its success.

 

Formerly known  as “The Rock”, Dwayne Johnson has been on a long journey towards redefinition of persona. 'The Rock', as some may recall, was a WWE all-star wrestler. Pumped-up and looking like a cartoon character, he would growl and snarl and threaten to kick someone's ass. Later, he became Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and became an actor. His roles were, mainly, as a pumped-up cartoon character threatening to kick somebody's ass. Later, still, he dropped “The Rock” part and became just Dwayne Johnson. Around this time he discovered he could smile, and hasn't stopped since. I like the new smiling Dwayne.

 

The Smashing Machine was a stand-out at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, receiving a 15-minute standing O. with Mr. Johnson standing there with an ear to ear grin the whole 15-minutes. Yet, this film bombed at it's opening in the USA. Why? Can the Americans know more about what makes a block buster than Europeans?

 

Dwayne was trans-formative in his role as Mark Kerr. He lost weight to play the role and wore a wig! And he spoke his lines with feelings and emotions that most of us had no idea Dwayne had. This was not the Dwayne, America, or the rest of us, for that matter, knew. The raw and vulnerable role was unexpected and left many to wonder what happened to “The Rock”. The unconventional verite-style direction of Benny Safdie, with its long drawn out scenes and handheld camera close-ups, further confused the American audience. Moody and stylized, the film was not the UFC fight film they thought they were gonna get.

 

Europeans, on the other hand, lauded the film for its strong technical aspects. The cinematography by Maceo Bishop and a musical score by Nala Sinephro were seen as outstanding. The acting of Mr. Johnson was viewed as trans-formative to his acting career.  Benny Safdie's directing as intimate and emotional.

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Was it a confusion of the target audience that doomed the film? Americans expected a fighting film with lottsa blood and physical pain and didn't get that. They hated on the film. Europeans got the emotional pain they were looking for. They gave it a 15 minute standing ovation.

 

I liked it and give it 1.5 thumbs up, 4 palms, and 4.5 stars. Plus I'm really glad Mr. Johnson learned how to smile.

 

 

Sven Coanraad is a commentator, reviewer, and part time MMA fighter. He live with his wife and two children on a wooden sail boat in the Pacific Ocean.