The Smashing Machine

Benny Safdie's first solo directorial effort delivers Dwayne Johnson's best performance

Despite bursting onto the cinematic scene with their film Good Time (2017) and gripping follow-up Uncut Gems (2019) the Safdie brothers (Josh and Benny) have split up, now following separate directing journeys. Benny had been taking on increasing acting roles (Are You There God it’s Me Margaret? (2023), Oppenheimer (2023), Happy Gilmore 2 (2025)), while Josh stayed firmly behind the camera. Now we’ve arrived at their first directing products after separating, Josh will premiere Marty Supreme (2025) later this year, but Benny Safdie has just released his boxing drama The Smashing Machine (2025).

The Smashing Machine is the biopic of Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) a wrestler in the late 1990s who was amongst the pioneers of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), an organization that has now become a multi-billion-dollar global phenomenon (and political influence given its connections to President Donald Trump). The film focuses on 1997-2000 when Kerr was at the peak of his career, while also battling an opioid addiction and toxic relationship with his wife Dawn (Emily Blunt).

The Smashing Machine is a semi-remake of a 2002 documentary of the same name, which Safdie reportedly watched and wanted to pay tribute to. Much of this The Smashing Machine has the feel and tone of some of the recent sports docu-series like Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019-) or Break Point (2023-), which supposedly take you into the private lives of star athletes. Yet in these docuseries, even an observed athlete has a stake in promoting their image and will show only so much vulnerability and truth. The same happens in The Smashing Machine, which presents a curated and postured take on these characters and sport. There is greater conflict and darkness towards the third act of the film, showing us ugly moments, but the rest seems more like a lauding commercial for the UFC instead.

Safdie comes at the subject with a lot of love, yet those same elements cloud his own perspective, so that everyone related to UFC appears saintlike, which unrealistically omits conflict within a growing, corporate sport. That said, it’s also refreshing to see Safdie depict the fighters’ relationships as that of warm co-workers who understand their physical exploitation and empathize with one another. There isn’t any hatred or bitter rivalry, as usually portrayed in other boxing or wrestling films, but rather a business-like and working atmosphere is shown instead. It’s a refreshing take that purports a more complex view of these athletes, who aren’t cliched insecure males using violence as a means of proving their worth, but rather sensitive men who’s strength and capacity for pain is their best way to make a living.

The main attraction and buzz around The Smashing Machine is Johnson and his acting transformation. Johnson, a former wrestler himself, but for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) competition, has been better known for big muscular action films like his recurring role in The Fast & Furious, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), or Black Adam (2022). The actor began to show his range with the family animated musical Moana (2016), yet his dive into a prestige drama with The Smashing Machine has been his biggest challenge yet. The American actor is completely transformed in an unrecognizable turn that is equally credit of the make-up prosthetics he dons and his interpretation. Johnson employs the calm and quiet demeanor that Kerr reportedly had, contrasting with his huge and bulky exterior. Johnson expertly shows the fluttering veil of this calm as it is threatened by the toll that fights take on his body, his deepening addiction, and the irascible friction with his wife. The arguments between Kerr and Dawn are amongst the best scenes in the film, and when The Smashing Machine comes closest to delving into a deeper character explorations. Blunt is spectacular as Dawn, bringing forth a trashy and clingy sports wife that will feel familiar to many sport docu-series watchers. Yet instead of remaining a rather sexist insulting cliché, Blunt gives Dawn a depth to her confusion and anxiety through a her lack of a defined identity. This makes her desperation and clashing relationship with Kerr all the more understandable and tragic.

Safdie, an expert at maintaining tension and thrills in his previous directing efforts, delivers immersive and painful fight sequences. Each punch and trip are felt by viewers. This is achieved through a combination of minutely calibrated sound design, stunt choreography, and camera work. This transmitted pain also prevents the film from glorifying these fight scenes, showing them instead as a tragic and messy tangle of men hurting each other for entertainment.

The Smashing Machine has some quiet introspective moments, but much as a sports documentary, doesn’t have much of a plot aside from following characters in interspersed day to day life. Given the dramatic nature of the film and the expected structure of a sports film, this makes The Smashing Machine’s narrative wandering and plotless. Safdie struggles to balance his love of the sport with an intriguing and objective take on the sport. Nevertheless, this love achieves a refreshing look at the quotidian nature and workman-like attitude of many fighters amongst themselves. And if anything, The Smashing Machine is worth admittance to see Johnson at an astounding career best alongside a dominant Blunt performance; their skill alone is enough to power you through an otherwise listless story.

6.9/10