In the world of wrestling, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has made a name for himself. When he switched over to acting, it was a natural shift because of how talented he was in the ring. In his early years, Johnson had taken to comedies, which showcased his talents and made him enjoyable to watch.
Once he became an action star and a massive box office draw, that’s when his persona began to change. He became dependent on what would sell rather than what would make him grow as an actor. After one final straw with Black Adam, Johnson turned a new leaf and chose different projects.
In Benny Safdie’s solo feature film directorial debut, The Smashing Machine, Johnson shines as two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Kerr, in a more vulnerable and internalized role than we’ve seen him before. The prosthetics used to have him resemble Mark Kerr ultimately helped him transform in the role, but didn’t exceed expectations for his performance. It was nice to see Johnson in a dramatic role, now knowing he’s capable of going deeper, but the writing only scratched the surface for this sports biopic.
The issue with the film is not the performances, but more the writing for the characters. There was no depth to Mark Kerr or his girlfriend, Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt); it can be argued that the film accurately depicts their relationship, but that doesn’t mean it’s executed well.
Due to the immense pain MMA fighters went through, Safdie wanted to explore how detrimental opioids could be for fighters. Mark Kerr struggled with an opioid addiction and became a different person outside the ring. Most of the arguments between Dawn and Mark were repetitive regarding going to rehab and openly communicating his struggles with her.
Blunt gives it her all with a script that is poorly written for her character. The characterizations of women as girlfriends/wives in sports biopics are usually underwritten. Safdie made some choices (even though factual) that were poorly executed, especially the final argument between Dawn and Mark.
Blunt and Johnson worked well together, but the writing for their dialogue grew stale as the film went on. Dawn was unhinged and spiralled out of control with the escalation of arguments over the way Kerr handled his drug addiction and how he treated her. Emotionally, there was no way to escalate their arguments because the level of anger remained consistent.
Unfortunately, it didn’t feel as if there was a flow of natural events, but fragments of what was important, rather than exploring the true nature of Kerr’s life. It felt like a highlight reel of all those big moments in his life without getting to know who he was.
We’ve seen enough sports biopics to understand how the conventions work, and Safdie doesn’t necessarily break the mould but rather plays it safe. Yes, the film is shot in 16mm, so he experimented with that format, especially for an IMAX release, which does help build the excitement of the event, but it doesn’t serve the film. It becomes more style over substance with an observational documentary focus, which hinders getting to the center of Kerr’s issues.
Even the direction within the ring was not as inventive as it could have been. There was no weight to his fights, and that’s a problem. There were no inspiring moments that could make an audience root for Kerr or even take a liking to him. What transpired in the ring didn’t affect Kerr, or at least, we didn’t see it because of his composed demeanour. Kerr was understanding of the calls made against him and always fought fairly, with love for the sport.
The Smashing Machine is a serviceable solo feature film debut from Benny Safdie, who did care about his subject, but chose to keep his story at the surface. Dwayne Johnson delivers a unique, vulnerable performance that we haven’t seen from him before, showing growth in his craft. There are some great moments between Johnson and Ryan Bader, who plays Mark Coleman. Their interactions were the bright spots in a rather uninteresting and dull MMA biopic.
3/5
Written by: Amanda Guarragi
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