The Smashing Machine
Directed by Benny Safdie
- brian6583April 2, 2026This seems to be Dwayne Johnson's attempt to emulate what Zac Efron did in The Iron Claw. Unfortunately, unlike The Iron Claw, this story lacks any depth. It's essentially: Big guy is good at fighting, argues a lot with his girlfriend, then doesn't win a tournament because he argued with his girlfriend. Maybe I missed something.
- RipLinesManNovember 2, 2025The Smashing Machine channels Event Horizon (1997)’s descent into the inferno, trading a starship for the octagon while preserving the architecture of damnation. Under Benny Safdie the cage reads like a kiln, and Dwayne Johnson’s Mark Kerr moves like a titan whose armor is already scorched, with Emily Blunt’s Dawn Staples providing moral ballast and Ryan Bader’s Mark Coleman a granite rival who guards the next circle down. In Paul W. S. Anderson’s film, Laurence Fishburne’s Captain Miller embodies protocol and restraint while Sam Neill’s Dr. Weir curdles into zeal, and that same duel between discipline and seduction animates Kerr’s journey. Event Horizon externalizes terror through baroque corridors, ritual sound, and a crew of secular pilgrims, while Safdie internalizes it as weight cuts, pills, and the cultic routines of training. Johnson modulates majesty and corrosion, Blunt cuts through with lucid, unsentimental care, and Bader lends textured authenticity, just as Fishburne anchors with steel and Neill burns with heretical curiosity. Anderson composes cathedrals of steel and blood, Safdie frames bruised rituals with documentary electricity, and together these modes rhyme as portraits of men negotiating a door that should probably stay shut. The result is a serious, sinewed tragedy about what competition asks of a soul.
- Omer NaorFebruary 16, 2026Anti-climactic movie about an underdog who doesn’t win but still loves the sport. The portrayal by Blunt was lacking a depth until the end. She’s a good actress who didn’t get the right script. Johnson delivered mellow performance but somehow with good depth, like it was intentional all along.
- Jeff MyersNovember 5, 2025As a huge UFC fan, I was excited for this one and a little disappointed. It’s worth a watch, but there’s nothing fantastic here. I guess I just expected more. Originally when I saw the low box office numbers I just assumed it was because most people don’t care as much about the sport or Mark Kerrs story.. but they were right. It just doesn’t deserve great numbers.
The Smashing Machine Trivia
The Smashing Machine was released on October 1, 2025.
The Smashing Machine was directed by Benny Safdie.
The Smashing Machine has a runtime of 2h 3m.
The Smashing Machine was produced by Dany Garcia, David Koplan, Dwayne Johnson, Eli Bush, Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia.
The true story of mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson), whose obsession with greatness made him a legend — and nearly cost him everything. An epic about the courage to fight for something greater than victory.
The key characters in The Smashing Machine are Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson), Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt), Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader).
The Smashing Machine is rated R.
The Smashing Machine is an Action, Biography, Drama film.
The Smashing Machine has an audience rating of 7.3 out of 10.
The Smashing Machine had a budget of $50M.
The Smashing Machine has made $21.1M at the box office.