The Smashing Machine Parent Guide

In a voice-over to a UFC match, Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) describes his feelings during the fight. As he senses his opponent’s fear, Mark feels a drive to “physically impose my will on you.” It’s a chilling moment, moreso when he talks about the high he experiences after crushing the other man.

Unsettling though it may be, this voice-over is a good introduction to the rest of the film. The Smashing Machine is a docudrama that covers three years of Mark Kerr’s mixed martial arts career, running from 1997 to 2000. It tracks his ups and downs, a first defeat, the hard work to return, and his shot at redemption and domination. The movie also follows his opiate addiction and his tempestuous relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt).

Given the amount of dramatic material in this film, it’s surprising that it’s so deadly dull. I must admit that I don’t like mixed martial arts, rendering a significant portion of the film uninteresting to me. However, that’s also a failure of filmmaking. A well-made sports film should tell a story that’s able to grab any viewers, regardless of their interest in the sport: a good story is, above all, a human story. For instance, I’m no fan of car-racing but I enjoyed both Ford vs. Ferrari and F1.

Reaching beyond sports fans is where The Smashing Machine falls down. It often feels robotic and despite its incredibly long runtime, fails to fill in important parts of the backstory. We don’t know what brought Mark and Dawn together, which makes it harder to understand why they stay together. We don’t know when Mark started using opiates and, although the film shows him going to a rehab center and later coming home, we have no idea what gave him the strength to break his addiction. The script ticks boxes in Mark’s life story, but it rarely manages to give them any emotional depth.

I’m not sure if I should hold the cast or director Benny Safdie responsible for the emotional hole at the center of this movie. Dwayne Johnson turns in a determined performance, but Emily Blunt seems muted. Since both are capable actors who tend to dominate the screen, I think the responsibility lies with Mr. Safdie. I suspect that in aiming for a documentary feel, Mr. Safdie chose to try for a sense of immediacy over depth; instead the film just feels dry and remote.

The production is also overstuffed with negative content. Unsurprisingly, there are numerous scenes of vicious mixed martial arts violence, wherein fighters are pushed, punched, kneed, and kicked, with bloody injuries thereafter. There’s also a scene of attempted suicide involving a firearm. Throw in scenes of a main character injecting opiates and a script with over 80 profanities, and this movie is clearly an adults-only production.

I’m not entirely sure which segment of the adult audience will want to watch this movie. It’s poorly paced and feels much longer than its bloated two-hour runtime. There’s too much fighting for drama fans and too much poorly-executed drama for sports fans. The only audience I can think of who might enjoy this film are Dwayne Johnson afficionados who want to stare at his glistening, pec-popping chest. But that’s not worth the price of a theater ticket or two hours of your time.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.