Rob Reviews "The Smashing Machine"

It’s hard to imagine The Smashing Machine with anyone else in it but Dwayne Johnson.  I am not calling this “stunt casting” at all; this is more of a “who else would understand this story athletically while bringing a sense of gravity to the role” kind of thing.

Benny Safdie goes solo to direct this one (he also wrote the script, which is based on a 2002 documentary) about Mark Kerr, who was UFC before UFC was cool.  This part of Kerr’s story takes place between 1997 and 2000, starting with his dominance of early MMA fighting in South America and then a short stint in the UFC before focusing on PRIDE in Japan.  From his volatile relationship with longtime partner Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt) to his volatile relationship with his own demons, Kerr is determined to keep on fighting until he cannot fight anymore… at any cost.

Johnson received a fifteen-minute standing ovation when this film screened at the Venice Film Festival, and it is easy to see why.  From the first production stills until I saw the final product, there was no doubt that he was committed to this role, and seeing him act in a role this dramatic was a welcome change to some of the other stuff that he has brought out in the last few years to mixed results.  I appreciate everything he puts in here, and even though I could still see him through the prosthetics, Johnson sells this on a level that even his WWE persona could learn a thing or two from.  Reading that he refuses to talk about any award nominations for him here is an interesting point, but I could see that going either way.  This is not the best performance I have seen this year, but it is also no where near the worst: it exists right on that razor’s edge.

(As a side note, if there isn’t a nomination for Best Makeup here for the ability to cover up that man’s tattoos while keeping the skin tone consistent, that would be a modern travesty.)

Safdie also directs this thing to the hilt in a documentary style that makes the story pop alongside amazing cinematography from Maceo Bishop (who has worked with Safdie before but gets this role for the first time in a major motion picture).  Their ability to immerse the screen and audience inside of their story is truly commendable, even opening the film with footage shot like a VCR, which would have been used at the time it takes place in.

There is one more thing I HAVE to recognize here and that is the work of former Bellator and UFC fighter Ryan Bader as Kerr’s best friend, Mark Coleman.  With the star power in front of him, it would be easy to get lost in the shuffle, but Bader absolutely goes toe-to-toe with them and does not relent.  This is as much of a star-making performance as I have EVER seen and truly hope to see more from him as time goes on.

For those expecting a ton of fighting in this in the same way that those expecting more wrestling out of The Iron Claw would have not quite had their expectations met, show up about the mid-way point.  The Smashing Machine is a tale of two hours: the first exists in a much slower pace than the second, focusing on the story more of Mark, Dawn, and the demons that both unite them and tear them apart while the second is more about the comeback and resolution of Mark’s story, even seeing him in the flesh at its closing.  It felt a bit uneven, but that didn’t take me out of it.  While this may not be in my Top Ten this year, it will find itself closer to that then the other end.  This is one that should be seen on the big screen, but that won’t take away from it’s quality if is not.