‘The Smashing Machine’ Review – Rock Smash! Then Rock Talk About Feelings
The Smashing Machine may be a flop because it went up against a juggernaut even Dwayne Johnson couldn’t beat in a main event, Taylor Swift, but let me tell you something, Brother: when Swift-a-mania runs wild on you, you’re not gonna do much because you won’t have a prayer despite taking your vitamins and drinking your milk. (That better be whole milk for Mark Kerr, by the way.) Due to stiff competition, Machine‘s opening was worse than Faster (which was decent) and Tooth Fairy (which was absolutely terrible).
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Still, there’s a funny thing about flops, in the end; they tend to get attention for their poor performance. A curiosity toward their actual quality can build. Just because a movie bombs doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that it was misunderstood at the time or had weak marketing and word of mouth. Tons of cult classics get reappraised over time, and occasionally they are honored with awards and nominations.
The Smashing Machine is certainly the latter as Oscar-bait-heavy proof that The Rock can act on the same level as his counterparts John Cena and Dave Bautista, or at least that’s what it was made for. The Academy might smell what he’s cooking, but we’ll have to wait and see (or rather, read about it as no one who reads this is probably watching the Oscars next year or ever).
“Rock” Dwayne Johnson plays real-life retired MMA fighter Mark “My Nickname Is The Title” Kerr from the beginning of his career in Brazil to the end of it in Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships promotion. In between, we see his tumultuous cohabitation with his girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt), his friendship with fellow fighter and training partner Mark Coleman (fighter Ryan Bader), and his training under combat sports legend Bas Rutten (played by the man himself).
At first, Kerr is on his best behavior and demonstrates nothing more than a laidback demeanor, articulate verbiage, and a good head on his shoulders. Slowly, though, he shows he has a dark side punctuated by issues with opioids and a self-imposed pressure to be the best. He has never lost a fight and doesn’t know how he will handle it when he does. Well, we find out pretty quickly.
His first loss at a PRIDE event sends him spiraling (I suppose you can say) as it bothers himself more than anything. Dawn doesn’t see it as a big deal, but it causes the usually cool-headed Kerr to beg for the decision to be overturned and later demolish a door in his house. He also overdoses and goes to the hospital, a near-fatal emergency that drives a further wedge between him and Dawn while also leading to an intervention from Coleman that the Machine desperately needs.
I can see why Johnson wanted to take on this part. It comes with moments of raw emotion (no WWE pun intended), but they’re sporadic. Mostly he’s calm, cool, and collected even in defeat. That only changes when the script calls for him to get explosive and punch walls or cry, which happens a lot. Johnson gets in touch with his emotions more than he normally does to undoubtedly step out from his default tough-guy persona and shoot for those nominations.
He does okay at that in the first half, but if you don’t want to sit through him talking to Emily Blunt about boundaries or his needs, you might not think any of it is all that fun or riveting. In all honesty, Smashing Machine lost me after an hour and I took a stroll around the theater to throw out some trash, wash my hands, and make some small talk with a few friends before going back to finish the movie. I don’t think I missed much as I didn’t feel like I missed anything.
Writer and director Benny Safdie (one half of the sibling duo that brought us Uncut Gems and Good Time) goes in alone on this one, though he brings the same neorealistic narrative structure. The film is more like a series of events strung together than a normal story with a beginning, middle, and end. One thing happens after another until we finally reach Kerr’s last fight, which he loses because of a sudden case of paralysis. Jump to the actual Mark Kerr grocery shopping and text fills in the gaps – the end.
While not The Rock’s worst movie, I still expected a bit more. He might (operative word) make waves come award season. However, I don’t think he will ultimately win the big one. Poor guy… He could’ve been a contender, but only a contender.
The Smashing Machine
PROS
- Emily Blunt is good for the most part
- Dwayne Johnson at least trying something different for a change
CONS
- Dwayne Johnson's distracting hair
- I suspect you are supposed to sympathize with Dawn, but Emily Blunt plays her like another cautionary tale
- Stuff happened because the script needed it to
