The Smashing Machine Movie Review 2025: In the biographical sports drama The Smashing Machine by Benny Safdie, the future of the blockbusters, the superstar Dwayne Johnson, takes a serious twist. Playing MMA champion Mark Kerr, Johnson comes out as a strong actor who surprises and entertains, which confirms his ability to be more than a commercial action film.
The film revises the critical period in Kerr career between 1997 and 2000, he was virtually invincible inside the cage but was also an addict to injectable painkillers. The direction of Safdie is about as close to a balancing act between the adrenaline rush of MMA fights and the emotional turmoil of the situation as he chooses to be, providing a slow-boiling but engaging storyline.
Emily Blunt acts faultlessly as Dawn Staples-Kerr, the girlfriend-turned-wife of Kerr, and skillfully and honestly brings out the issues surrounding love, dependency, and surviving. The appearance of Ryan Bader as the antagonist Kerr, whose coach Mark Coleman, is a good addition to the plot, and his dynamic with Johnson on screen is smooth and convincing. The surrounding actors, such as Bas Rutten and Oleksandr Usyk, make the MMA world on the screen look even more authentic.
Dialogue has been one of the best roles of the movie. Queries such as the one Dawn makes when she says I think I miss taking care of him and the one made by Mark when he says A day without sunshine is a day without pain stick with listeners providing a glimpse of the physical and emotional cost of the sport. The patient story telling that Safdie carries out enables the viewers to realize that life out of the ring could be as difficult as life in it.
The Smashing Machine technologically is superb. Fight choreography up to cinematography, each scene has the gravity and realism of MMA, with the soundtrack matching the emotional ups and downs of the experience Kerr goes through.
All in all, The Smashing Machine is not just a sports biopic, it is a touching story about desire, fear, and forgiveness. This is an MMA film and a must watch in general because of the outstanding performance of Dwayne Johnson and careful filming direction by Safdie.
filmyhigh.com Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Release Date: 10th October 2025