While Johnson gives a fantastic performance, he's let down by an incomplete script.
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Well it finally happened. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hit the same point that so many other popular actors hit before him. He wanted to be respected. It's something that happens with almost every superstar actor. You make a bunch of hits using a well-defined public image. But in time the box office and enthusiasm for said image dries up and is quickly accompanied by backlash. Hard to gauge the exact moment, but in my opinion it was Black Adam. Not only did Johnson fire off one of the ill-advised tweets about the death of a monarch, but everyone seemed pissed about Johnson's level of creative control and how much he seemed to envelop what was the DCU at the time around him. Now his ubiquity as a brand, not just an actor, was a chore you had to deal with every press tour for yet another PG-13 action movie. Soon we're making Santa action movies because...what else is left. Meanwhile, everyone and their brother is saying that Dave Bautista is actually the best wrestler turned actor at a time when you just returned to the ring and John Cena is doing a better, self-aware version of your action guy schtick. So what do you do? You get one half of the guys who made Uncut Gems and make yourself a gritty A24 biopic so you can remind everyone that you can actually act.
The Setup
Based on the life of MMA pioneer Mark Kerr, Johnson plays the titular "Smashing Machine" as he goes through one of the rockiest periods of his career. He's just been beaten in the ring for the first time and his painkiller addiction is quickly taking over his life. But can Kerr piece together his life and career, or will his demons and volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn torpedo his chances at glory inside the ring?
I'm going to be a touch unkind towards this movie. Not because I think it's without merit or outright bad, I don't think it's either. But because it is incredibly frustrating.
The centerpiece of the movie is, rightly, Johnson's performance as Kerr. Which is exactly what I thought he had in the tank all along. An excellent realized deep dive into a particular kind of guy and character that is miles away from anyone he's played before.
My guess is that a lot of people might've assumed that the guy who's been "The Rock" over half of his life playing an MMA fighter wasn't a stretch. Physically they're right. He's still a muscular giant. But in terms of persona and acting this is a completely different animal.
The main reason? Restraint.
Almost all of Johnson's previous characters, even in his best performances, have been defined by over-the-top elements. Very intense, silly or hilarious intense guys like his cokehead performance in Pain and Gain or being teenager in the body of The Rock in Jumanji.
But Kerr, both due to his substance issues and seemingly just who is as a person, isn't volatile or outspoken. He's constantly swallowing words or just barely letting his respectful persona slip. And it's inherently sympathetic. Because we've all been this guy. That person that doesn't want to show how hurt he is, or blow up at someone. So much so that when he eventually does, it's easy to see that this is a fuse that was lit months if not years ago.
Johnson is clearly proud of this performance and he has every right to be. It's his best in at least half a decade and I think a great sign of things to come. I also appreciate his dynamic with Dawn played by Emily Blunt (who kinda has the back and forth between blockbuster and classy dramas down at this point). Blunt doesn't usually play characters that are this...messy. She's played a lot of strong characters in the past, but rarely someone who could be described as a bad influence on the lead character and I love that she just goes for it.
She's also important thematically because despite her boyfriend being a fighter, she feels freer than Mark does. Whereas Mark comes across like a prisoner in his own head.
Combine these two with solid supporting roles and even some MMA legends playing themselves, this should feel more impactful. So why doesn't it?
Well I have a theory.
Something I wasn't aware of is that Mark Kerr's life has already been documented on film for an HBO documentary with a similar name called The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr. And having seen some clips and read through a very detailed outline...this movie is more or less that documentary turned into a narrative film.
The most aggravating thing? The documentary sounds more satisfying.
The main issue with The Smashing Machine is that it feels off. Some of the emotional progressions ring true. But for a two hour movie it feels like there's a lot that's left out. The depths of Mark's addiction are only loosely alluded to (i.e. we see him high a few times and trying to get more meds from doctors) but we're missing the desperation. Which is wild because this is one half of the guys who made Uncut Gems. A movie that showed the desperation of a gambling addict and every other kind of comorbid addiction for about the same amount of screen time, in a very similar, cinema verite kind of style.
Likewise, it's hard to see how/why Mark feels such a strong connection to Dawn when most of the movie portrays her as abrasive and oblivious to Mark's inner turmoil.
Which in turn makes me wonder if the second Safdie brother, Josh, is the one who really likes to dive into the nitty gritty, both from a visual and storytelling standpoint.
My impression is that the movie is trying to both replicate standout and signature moments from the documentary, while also avoiding the traditional biopic highs and lows. But I didn't come away from this movie feeling like I had a better understanding of a fighter or why Kerr feels/felt so connected to Dawn. I felt frustrated.
The Verdict: A Missed Opportunity
While Johnson gives a fantastic performance, he's let down by an incomplete script. 5/10
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