Poster of the film The Smashing Machine

The Smashing Machine

History Drama English


In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opiod dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.

Cast:Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Lyndsey Gavin, Zoe Kosovic
Director:Benny Safdie
Editor:Benny Safdie
Camera:Maceo Bishop
FCG Score for the film The Smashing Machine

Guild Reviews

Image of scene from the film The Smashing Machine

Dwayne Johnson shines in otherwise dull film

FCG Member Reviewer Uday Bhatia
Uday Bhatia | Mint Lounge
Sat, October 11 2025

Benny Safdie's ‘The Smashing Machine’ doesn't hit typical sports film beats, but doesn't offer anything that's new either

Don’t buy that bowl, I muttered, as Dwayne Johnson cradled it in his huge hands. It’s a Japanese bowl and will obviously break at some point, and will then be repaired by someone who can’t quite pronounce ‘kintsugi’ but says it anyway, upon which Oscar voters will have their minds blown by the realization that you’re a broken man who needs putting together.

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Image of scene from the film The Smashing Machine

Thriving Between A Rock & A Hard Place

FCG Member Reviewer Rahul Desai
Rahul Desai | The Hollywood Reporter India
Sat, October 11 2025

(Written for OTT Play)

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson finally plays the role he was born to play — that of a champion wrestler and near-invincible strongman — only to challenge his stardom with a painfully human(e) performance.

As an Indian critic pummelled into submission by the hagiographic reverence and sanitised beats of homegrown biopics over the years, a film like The Smashing Machine is always a bit of a culture shock. What do you mean the hero is not really a hero? What do you mean he’s willing to be emotionally naked, broken, vulnerable, ugly, difficult and unreasonable on screen? What do you mean he’s a victim of his own decisions and not wronged by the world? What do you mean he’s not an inspirational story with a message? Benny Safdie’s sports biopic has a mixed-martial-arts protagonist who’s a serial winner with a drug addiction problem, a mansplaining habit, a toxic relationship that weakens him, a punctured comeback arc, and, eventually, he’s barely even the protagonist. It has Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson finally playing the role he was born to play — that of a champion wrestler and near-invincible strongman — only to challenge his stardom with a painfully human(e) performance.

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Image of scene from the film The Smashing Machine

Dwayne Johnson delivers transformative performance in this anti-sports movie

FCG Member Reviewer Renuka Vyavahare
Renuka Vyavahare | The Times of India
Sat, October 11 2025

The film’s greatest strength is its refusal to follow a traditional arc. The script resists dramatic exaggeration and leans into honesty.

The Smashing Machine subverts the typical sports film formula, delivering a raw, intimate portrayal of survival, addiction, and self-acceptance. Rather than glorifying the triumph of the human spirit, the film dares to explore the darker aftermath of defeat — the self-doubt, the self-loathing, and the slow, painful unraveling of a once-great champion. Benny Safdie’s docudrama, based on the true story of MMA fighter Mark Kerr, begins scattered and subdued. The first half drifts through Kerr’s daily life with an almost aimless, indie-film energy that feels too loose, even frustrating at times.

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Image of scene from the film The Smashing Machine

Pinning it Down

FCG Member Reviewer Sachin Chatte
Sachin Chatte | The Navhind Times Goa
Sat, October 11 2025

Directed by one half of the Safdie brothers, Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine is inspired by the true story of wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter, Mark Kerr. Although it follows a conventional biopic format, the narrative and the themes it delves into sets it apart from others. Safdie, in his debut solo directorial effort, rightfully earned the Best Director award at the Venice International Film Festival a couple of months ago. Under the direction of a different filmmaker, this narrative could have easily veered off course.

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What LIGER could have been?

FCG Member Reviewer Sucharita Tyagi
Sucharita Tyagi | Independent Film Critic, Vice-Chairperson FCG
October 11, 2025

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