One of the biggest surprises of any actor’s career was Dwayne Johnson’s seemingly total career change within the last few months. In Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine,” it seems that he is one of the first directors to get a great performance out of Johnson. What makes the movie so successful is how they use his superstardom.
Everyone is used to Johnson being a huge action hero; whatever genre of film it is, we all have come to expect a certain something from his performances. However, Johnson, as the Ultimate Fighting Champion fighter Mark Kerr, completely changes these premonitions we have about him as an actor.
“The Smashing Machine” covers a two-year span in the life of Kerr as he fights in two Japanese tournaments. What makes this movie a bit different than your usual biographical sports film is that there is no rise to being the best or a rise and then fall. The film takes a more day-in-the-life approach that is interesting for the genre. What makes this successful is that it feels like you are just following around Kerr through these days in his life.
Another reason that the film is successful is that it puts the sports in the background. While there are some great moments, notably the training montage set to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” and the fights themselves, the movie is mostly about Kerr’s addiction to opioids.
While the structure of the film is unique and different, it does fall into some cliché moments and has its fair share of shortcomings. A lot of the personal drama is just stuff that is in almost every sports movie; it is just elevated by Johnson. The way that he is used in this is excellent; he has an openness and vulnerability that has not ever been present before, and it is very effective. The scenes when Kerr is out of rehab, in particular, are a showcase of this.
A lot of the cliché moments come from Emily Blunt’s character, Dawn Staples, who is Kerr’s girlfriend. The relationship drama isn’t bad, but it’s just something that has been done so much that it feels a bit worn out. Blunt also gets sidelined for a lot of the UFC portions of the film, so it makes her feel more one-dimensional whenever she does enter the film again.
The supporting cast of the film also doesn’t really work either; no one gets enough screentime to be interesting outside of Kerr and Staples. Kerr’s friend, Mark Coleman, played by Ryan Bader, is the only other character who gets close to having something to do. However, what is cool about the supporting cast is that a lot of the other UFC fighters are played by actual fighters, so it feels like it adds a level of authenticity to the fights themselves.
Safdie’s direction here is great; however, the way that the UFC matches are fought in particular are very well done. They all feel so intense and the intimacy the camera captures by being so close makes you feel like you are right next to the stage with the rest of the crowd. The way these are edited also, it always feels like the buildup to the fights are more satisfying than the fights themselves. That may be a negative to some, but it works incredibly well in the film and really makes it a lot more interesting.
Without Johnson’s incredible performance as Kerr, the movie simply would not work at all. A lot is resting on his shoulders to deliver a great performance, and he does just that here. Leaving the theater, even with the problems the movie has, it is hard not to be incredibly enamored in Johnson’s performance.
7/10
