LOSING IT (THE SMASHING MACHINE)

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THE SMASHING MACHINE

At the start of awards season, it seemed like there was a clear path for Benny Safdie's 'The Smashing Machine to be a real Oscars contender.

It's easy to see why.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson underwent a physical transformation for his role in the biopic of MMA fighter Mark Kerr and really tested his acting prowess.

Emily Blunt also waded into new territory as well as Kerr's girlfriend.

But despite securing Golden Globe nominations for both stars, Safdie's film never quite built momentum during awards season to land nominations at the key ceremonies.

As a result, the film landed justbone solitary Academy Awards nomination for Best Make Up and Hairstyling and deservedly so.

Should Safdie's movie, however, have landed more?

'The Smashing Machine' charts the downfall of Kerr, a two time MMA heavyweight champion.

Sporting a wig, Johnson plays the Ohio MMA fighter whose reliance on painkillers tore him down from the heights in his sport and undermined his relationship with Blunt's Dawn Staples.

Working from a script by Safdie, Johnson convincingly recreates the struggles of Kerr who became addicted to painkillers as his body bore the brunt of a punishing sport.

However as watchable as the movie is, Safdie's film doesn't quite hit the heights of Robert de Niro's Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' or Mickey Rourke's Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in Darren Aronofsky in 'The Wrestler'.

Johnson is good as Kerr and brings an intensity and vulnerability to the screen that we have never really seen before from him.

However as decent as the performance is, you can see why he was elbowed out of awards contention.

Even though it is a big step forward for one of Hollywood's biggest stars, the part is still not enough of a stretch for the former pro wrestler turned actor.

Blunt is also good value as the girlfriend whose loyalty is tested by Kerr's obsession with winning.

Real life MMA fighter Ryan Bader is effective as fellow fighter and close friend, Mark Coleman.

Ukrainian world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk also makes an appearance as a fearsome opponent of Kerr's, Igor Vovchanchyn in a movie that has a really 'Rocky' vibe - if director John G Avildsen and Sylvester Stallone had really gone the whole hog and embraced a neo realist style.

Cinematographer Maceo Bishop's subtle camera work is excellent at observing the action - the brutal knees to the head during contests in the ring and the tears trickling down Dawn's face as she takes a photo of Mark as he puts on a happy face around others.

Safdie, who edited the film, gets the pacing just right and he nicely blends footage captured by Bishop on VHS cameras with 16mm and 70mm film.

And while it is no 'Raging Bull,' you still end up admiring it and hoping that Johnson will continue to stretch himself as a performer in a way that Sylvester Stallone shied away from his superb turn as a derided New Jersey suburban sheriff in James Mangold's superb 1997 thriller 'Copland'.

An affable screen presence in many blockbusters, Johnson's instinct to go for a more prickly role is the right one.

It could well reap rewards on and off screen if he is prepared to really push it.

('The Smashing Machine' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on October 3, 2025) 

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