The Smashing Machine
The Smashing Machine
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten
Directed by Benny Safdie
Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) is at the height of his career as a Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter, living the high life with his girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt) and working with his best friend and fellow UFC fighter Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader). From 1997-2000, Mark travels to Japan to participate in the Pride Grand Prix, where he suffers his first loss and begins abusing painkillers as his relationship with Dawn grows more intense, his demons threaten to destroy everything he worked so hard to build up.
From the synopsis it's easy to assume that this is one of those generic sports biopics, but Benny Safdie subverts expectation by making "The Smashing Machine" a more concise section of Mark Kerr's life rather than a Wikipedia-style sprinkling of his entire life. The years of 1997-2000 was a pivotal time for the fighter, and Safdie doesn't hold back his own punches in telling it in his own unique way. Whereas you'd expect the fights Kerr gets involved with in the ring to be monumental and spellbinding, they're actually very simplistic and shot with a steady hand as opposed to making you feel like you're in the ring as well. It knows you're the audience watching, and it's shot in that sort of fashion, which could turn off some viewers who were expecting some extremely action-packed fighting, but for those who want to learn more about the man in the ring, it only adds to the sense of realism.
Before this movie I never knew who Mark Kerr was, and in a way I still don't apart from the timeframe of the movie, but during that time I know a lot more about him than I would've if it had given an all-encompassing timeline instead. His time in Japan, his dependency on painkillers, his coming back from it, his friendship with fellow fighter Mark Coleman and especially his tumultuous relationship with Dawn Staples are more impactful because we're allowed to spend more time with them instead of glossing them over. It doesn't glamorize or sensationalize those moments, but they're restrained enough to keep you entertained but not emotionally overstimulated in the process.
The cast consists of numerous MMA fighters including Ryan Bader who plays Mark Coleman, along with Satoshi Ishii, James Moontasri, boxer Oleksandr Usyk, and Bas Rutten who plays himself as he trains Kerr for the 2000 Pride Grand Prix. It adds to the realism of the story and keeps you engaged, at least it did for my friend who actually knew who those people were.
Emily Blunt deserves an Oscar nod for her performance as the multi-layered Dawn, a firecracker in her own right who in some moments seem to be overtaken by Kerr's presence, and at others is the one towering over him. Their relationship is the true struggle in the ring, and both Blunt and Johnson (who co-starred previously in "The Jungle Cruise") are so comfortable with one another they readily delve into the explosive relationship (including a shocking one-take scene that's the gut punch of the movie).
There's several actors out there that no one thinks could step outside their wheelhouse and do something completely unexpected. Adam Sandler is one such actor, seen as a comedic genius thanks to legendary hits like "The Waterboy" and "Big Daddy," but once the Safdie brothers got ahold of him, the rest is history. "Uncut Gems" was Sandler's finest performance, and dare I say he was robbed of an Oscar nomination for it (something I never thought I would've said before). Now, Benny Safdie has struck gold again, as he transforms Dwayne Johnson from the action star he's known for and made him an actor who also deserves his own Oscar nomination.
When I saw the trailer for this movie I thought, "it sounds like Dwayne Johnson, but doesn't look like him," as there's a general consensus that he is the same character in every movie he's in - but to my surprise it's actually Johnson in the film, underneath layers of prosthetics applied by Oscar-winning makeup artist Kazu Hiro, who turned Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill in "Darkest Hour." The makeup work is exquisite, and makes him completely unrecognizable save for his voice that makes it seem more like you're seeing Mark Kerr on the screen, rather than Dwayne Johnson playing Mark Kerr.
This is his crowning achievement to date, and it's no surprise why this is his lowest-attended movie: it's not what you expect from him. You expect "Jumanji." You expect "Fast and the Furious." You expect "Moana." You expect a character who nails one-liners and beats up bad guys - but you get none of that here. Instead, you get a tortured man who doesn't crack a joke and the only person he really beats up is himself. Johnson is a wonder to behold here, and hopefully the Academy will notice him for it.
While it's not as flashy and explosive as other biopics, "The Smashing Machine" is heightened by awards-worthy performances from Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt and focuses on a small amount of years in the life of Mark Kerr, a man who's name has almost been lost to history.
The Score: A+
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