When it was announced last year that the Safdie brothers would no longer be making films together, fans of the Uncut Gems duo were conflicted. Some were heartbroken over their decision to split, while others made jokes about “gaining a Safdie, not losing a Safdie” and compared the decision to divorcing parents (“Double the Christmas presents!” someone joked on the A24 subreddit).
This may well be the reality. Both Safdie brothers are releasing films in 2025 and both films are likely to feature on the awards circuit early next year. Josh Safdie’s contribution is Marty Supreme, the Timothée Chalamet-led ping pong comedy-drama that hits US cinemas on Christmas Day (January 1 for the UK). But it’s Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Emily Blunt, that has got the important people talking.
To sum it up in three lines: The Smashing Machine is the film that will rewrite the history of Dwayne Johnson’s acting career. The Smashing Machine might even earn Dwayne Johnson an Oscar nomination. The Smashing Machine is good, but Dwayne Johnson is great.
The film follows American former wrestler and mixed martial artist Mark Kerr as he navigates the first loss in his career (later decided to be a no-contest) after a two-year unbeaten streak from 1997 to 1999. This coincides with the peak of Kerr’s opioid addiction and relationship troubles with his doting yet manipulative girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt). Kerr, by comparison, is a total softie and one hell of a watchable protagonist. Johnson absolutely nails his slightly odd composure and ultra-specific cadence, making him incredibly likeable and empathetic.
The way Kerr (and Johnson as Kerr) speaks is a huge part of this. His tone is gentle, considered, and warped by sportsmanship. Even after an overdose where Dawn finds him unresponsive, Kerr speaks to his best friend and former coach Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) as if it’s a post-match interview. He details how he failed to answer the paramedic’s questions about where he was and who the president was like he had just messed up a punch or made a mistake in a fight.
And it could only ever have been Johnson, really. His hulking physique is integral to the character, and seeing Kerr move through the world as a mountain amongst men helps to continually reinforce his loneliness. Some of the saddest moments in the film come when Kerr is pitted against his surroundings, a man so huge who feels so small. In one memorable scene, he refuses to board a fairground ride with Dawn because he’s nervous about feeling sick, so he waits for her outside. A beautiful, gutting wide shot lingers on Kerr — a man who fights for a living, a man who is almost as tall as the ride itself — waiting for his girlfriend because he’s scared.
Blunt is good, and Dawn’s very believable self-centred mania helps to reinforce Mark’s calmness. The pair are fantastic when they fight, so much so that it’s hard to imagine they’re the same people who starred in 2021’s Jungle Cruise (rated 62 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes). It’s equally hard to imagine that she’s out-acted by Johnson, but she is, in all moments except when tears are involved. Johnson can’t seem to properly cry on cue, which does hinder some of the more intense moments. You’re almost waiting for a truly convincing tear or breakdown, a scream or a really snotty sob, but it doesn’t quite come. This, and the film’s rather uneventful ending, leave the overall feeling of trying and failing to sneeze. You’re close to it, but it never quite follows through.
Otherwise, The Smashing Machine is very visually pleasing. The cinematography is glittering, golden and grainy. Its aesthetic appeal is aided heavily by the brilliant 1990s costumes, courtesy of Heidi Bivens (Euphoria, Mid 90s), with an array of lace-up boxing sneakers, teeny-tiny shorts, and oversized t-shirts helping to really sell the time period. Johnson’s prosthetic work to look like Kerr is fantastic and helps massively in forgetting your preconceptions about the actor. The fight scenes are sweat-drenched and compelling, even gut-wrenching in parts.
But the pace tends towards slow, and the lack of payoff does leave you with a somewhat empty feeling upon leaving your cinema seat. If this were a trailer for Johnson’s acting prowess or Mark Kerr’s emotional journey, it would have done the job. But as a film, there’s an element where it fails to truly entertain. It will make you feel empathy, but to what end? Just like an almost-sneeze or an almost-cry, it can’t quite take you there. Maybe that was Safdie’s point, but maybe that isn’t a great point to spend 2 hours and 10 minutes making. Then again, he managed to get a truly brilliant performance out of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, so maybe he is a genius after all.
The Smashing Machine is in cinemas from October 3
