1 of 6 | Dwayne Johnson plays Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of A24
The Smashing Machine, in theaters Friday, makes for an interesting biopic, as mixed martial arts fighters rarely get the same cinematic treatment as musicians or historical figures. It is also a standout film for star Dwayne Johnson, who gets to show more vulnerability than his action or comic roles.
Johnson plays Mark Kerr, a real-life MMA fighter whose story was previously chronicled in a 2002 documentary of the same name. The 2025 film follows Kerr from 1997 to 2000, before the Ultimate Fighting Championship became mainstream.
Early in the film, Mark explains his sport to a grandmother in a doctor’s office waiting room. That appointment also shows Mark scanning the drugs and requesting to pay for prescriptions out of pocket, so as not to deal with insurance.
True to life, Mark was addicted to painkillers to cope with his injuries in the ring, and both the film and documentary show him using them at home. He seems to spend as much time procuring drugs as preparing for fights, which gives context to the magnitude of his addiction.
After his first ever loss at Tokyo Pride 7 in 1999, Mark breaks down, in private but on camera for the film’s audience.
This isn’t the first time Johnson has cried on screen. The football drama Gridiron Gang played some emotional beats, but those tears were shed over other characters. As Mark, Johnson is portraying a deeply personal breakdown.
Another significant component of Mark’s breakdown is his relationship with his then-girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt). Their passive-aggressive sniping becomes quite toxic, and the film depicts how seemingly normal quibbles escalate quite dramatically.
The Smashing Machine shows Dawn and Mark’s relationship at home and in the gym as they work out together. Initial conflicts seem like they could be reasonable misunderstandings.
When Dawn arrives in Japan, she is hurt that Mark isn’t more enthusiastic about her arrival. The night of his fight, Mark doesn’t really have time for bickering. Perhaps he should have clarified fight night protocols ahead of time, but she did fly around the world to support him.
Yet, after Mark goes to rehab and gets sober, Dawn complains he’s no fun anymore and flouts that she’s still out drinking with her friends. Any recovery program will tell a person in recovery that that is a dangerous environment.
Dawn complains Mark talks over her when she tries to clarify all the things he’s explaining to her. Blunt gets to play Dawn as more volatile, but Mark is out of his depth with her so it is appropriate.
Mark believes if he trains hard enough, he can fix his relationship just like he can win a fight. This makes his more subdued realizations powerful; although he may not have the vocabulary to express it, it dawns on him that he’s in an abusive relationship. As much as he may share responsibility, there’s no amount of training or conditioning to fix that.
Director Benny Safdie constructs trademark shots following Kerr from the ring to backstage in the arena. It is quite something to see such shots previously performed by the likes of Robert Pattinson and Adam Sandler, in Good Time and Uncut Gems respectively, with the body of Johnson, shirtless and flexed the whole time.
While Safdie’s film does not cover much territory different from the documentary, depicting it with Hollywood stars will certainly bring more eyeballs to Kerr’s story. It does show the real Kerr today, which is the benefit of revisiting his story decades later.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
