Dwayne Johnson’s drastic physical transformation for The Smashing Machine has paid off, as his turn as the legendary UFC fighter Mark Kerr has been praised as a “career-best” performance. The sports biopic has received a verdict on Rotten Tomatoes, and it seems fans of the actor should prepare to see a truly revelatory role for the wrestler-turned-movie star.
As of this writing, The Smashing Machine has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, was directed by Benny Safdie and stars Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk. A bulk of the praise has been for Johnson and Blunt, who play Mark Kerr and Dawn Staples, respectively. Johnson, in particular, gave what has been consistently described as the best performance of his career. Variety says that he seems like a “a new actor” in the film, in which he captures the “silent, moody, hidden side of Mark with a quality of mystery.”
Although some critics feel like The Smashing Machine does little to break the mold of sports biopics, the emotionally vulnerable performances by Johnson and Blunt are what separates the film. IndieWire says it moves between a “sweet duet between a remarkably unembellished Johnson and a blazingly good, blue-collar and freshly blown-out Emily Blunt.” Meanwhile, Screen International made it clear that, while the film doesn’t reinvent the wheel, Safdie’s direction offers a “candid look” at Mark Kerr as a working-class athlete with personal struggles.
“The Smashing Machine may not always transcend genre conventions, but is a consistently idiosyncratic and candid look at a working-class athlete with a complicated romantic relationship and a crippling opioid addiction.”
Dwayne Johnson Was “Hungry” for a Project Like ‘The Smashing Machine’
During a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, Dwayne Johnson revealed that his transformation for The Smashing Machine was the kind of role he’d been hungry for. After starring in countless blockbusters over the years, Johnson seemed keen on exploring a new side of his acting. With Smashing Machine, it allowed him to address the voice inside him that said, “I want to do more.”
“This transformation was something I was really hungry to do. I had been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had over the years and to make the films that I’ve made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, ‘Well, what if I could do more — I want to do more and what does that look like?’”
As revealed in the trailer, Johnson underwent a stark physical transformation to play Mark Kerr, a mixed martial artist whose sheer size was nearly unmatched during his peak. However, there was a profoundly human aspect to the story that seemingly convinced Johnson to pursue Smashing Machine.
“Mark was the greatest fighter in the world at one point, but this film is not even really about fighting — it’s a love story. It’s a love story about Mark and Dawn in this relationship, and it’s a love story about Mark and the love that he had for the thing that he did — his struggle with trying to deliver [in the ring], his challenges and his overcoming. As you know, Mark OD’d twice, and he’s lucky to be alive — and that’s part of why this story is so special.”
Audiences will get to see Johnson transform into Mark Kerr when The Smashing Machine releases in theaters on October 3.
The Smashing Machine
- Release Date
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October 3, 2025
- Runtime
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123 minutes
- Director
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Benny Safdie
- Writers
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Benny Safdie
- Producers
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Beau Flynn, David Koplan, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
