Coming Soon: The Smashing Machine (2025) by Benny Safdie: A brutal, vulnerable, and deeply human portrait of a fighter at war with himself
- dailyentertainment95
- 1 day ago
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The man behind the monster
The Smashing Machine (2025) is a biographical sports drama directed and written by Benny Safdie, produced by A24, and starring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Ryan Bader. The film chronicles the true story of Mark Kerr, one of the most dominant and self-destructive figures in early mixed martial arts. Known as “The Smashing Machine,” Kerr’s meteoric rise through the UFC and Pride Fighting Championships was shadowed by addiction, mental turmoil, and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn Staples (Blunt).Filmed across New Mexico, Japan, and Canada, Safdie’s raw, immersive direction captures the grit and pain of a man torn between fame and fragility. With a budget of $40 million, the film is one of A24’s most ambitious dramas to date. Early critics have hailed it as Johnson’s most transformative role, blending physical intensity with deep emotional vulnerability. It has earned 1 win and 2 nominations and a Metascore of 64, marking it as one of 2025’s most discussed biopics.
Why to Recommend: Grit, grace, and Dwayne Johnson like you’ve never seen him
A career-defining performance: Dwayne Johnson sheds his action-hero persona to reveal unprecedented emotional depth. His portrayal of Mark Kerr is hauntingly human—physically imposing yet painfully fragile. This is not The Rock the audience knows; this is an actor in full transformation. Johnson’s vulnerability and control in scenes of addiction and despair mark a turning point in his career.
Emily Blunt’s grounding brilliance: As Dawn, Blunt delivers a raw, empathetic performance that grounds Kerr’s chaos in heartbreaking reality. Their chemistry is volatile, tender, and at times uncomfortably real. She provides the emotional balance to Kerr’s unraveling, embodying both love and exhaustion.
Safdie’s visceral direction: Known for Uncut Gems and Good Time, Benny Safdie brings his trademark intensity to the sports biopic genre. He crafts a world where adrenaline and anxiety coexist, using close-up cinematography, harsh lighting, and unflinching realism to place viewers directly inside Kerr’s crumbling psyche.
Beyond the ring: While it showcases brutal, authentic MMA sequences, The Smashing Machine is more psychological than physical. It’s a story of addiction, identity, and redemption that transcends the genre’s clichés, offering not triumph, but truth.
Where to watch: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0O5H42YSI009WAUWAF3GEQ5YUZ/ref=dvm_src_ret_ca_xx_s (Canada)
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11214558/
About movie: https://a24films.com/films/the-smashing-machine
What is the Trend Followed: The psychological sports redemption story
The film aligns with the modern psychological sports biopic trend—stories that explore the mental cost of greatness rather than the glory itself.
Emotional realism over triumph: Following films like The Whale and The Wrestler, it rejects feel-good arcs in favor of introspection and authenticity. Victory becomes survival, not success.
Deconstruction of masculinity: Kerr’s internal collapse mirrors the cultural shift toward examining toxic endurance and emotional repression in male athletes. The film questions what it truly means to be strong.
A24’s realism aesthetic: Continuing the studio’s trend of raw, vérité-style filmmaking, Safdie blends documentary realism with narrative cinema, emphasizing discomfort over spectacle.
Addiction and identity: Similar to Requiem for a Dream, it explores addiction not as a subplot but as a central engine of character study.
Biopic minimalism: It avoids traditional linear storytelling, instead presenting moments of collapse, reflection, and fleeting joy through an observational lens.
Reimagined sports genre: This isn’t about wins and losses—it’s about human endurance under moral and emotional pressure.
Hybrid tone: Combining the tension of Safdie’s thrillers with emotional intimacy, it defines a new genre: the existential sports film.
Summary: The Smashing Machine represents the new era of sports dramas—films where mental bruises cut deeper than physical ones, and where redemption isn’t guaranteed.
Director’s Vision: Breaking the body to reveal the soul
Unfiltered humanism: Safdie’s camera doesn’t glorify Kerr—it observes him, exposing every crack and contradiction. His direction insists on emotional truth over narrative comfort.
Claustrophobic intensity: The fights are filmed with suffocating realism, making every punch feel personal. The close, trembling camerawork mirrors the instability of Kerr’s mind.
Moral ambiguity: Safdie refuses to turn Kerr into a hero or a villain. He’s a man undone by his own success—a victim and perpetrator of his downfall.
Emotional duality: The film balances physical brutality with quiet, tender moments between Kerr and Dawn, creating a devastating emotional rhythm.
Themes: Pain, love, and identity under pressure
The cost of greatness: Kerr’s success becomes his prison. His pursuit of dominance leads to isolation, self-destruction, and moral decay.
Addiction as coping: Substance abuse isn’t sensationalized—it’s depicted as a desperate grasp at control in an uncontrollable life.
Fragile masculinity: The story dismantles the myth of the invincible man, showing that emotional honesty is the truest form of strength.
Toxic love: Kerr’s relationship with Dawn is both salvation and poison—intimate, codependent, and heartbreakingly real.
Key Success Factors: Acting, atmosphere, and authenticity
Transformative acting: Dwayne Johnson’s complete physical and emotional transformation draws critical acclaim. His performance anchors the entire film.
Immersive realism: Safdie’s handheld cinematography and documentary-style editing make every scene feel lived-in and painfully real.
Emotional resonance: The film connects even with non-sports fans by focusing on universal struggles—love, failure, and identity.
A24 craftsmanship: Meticulous sound design, raw lighting, and an unconventional jazz-infused score add sophistication and texture.
Awards & Nominations: Raw power earns critical respect
1 win & 2 nominations total, including festival recognition for Best Actor (Dwayne Johnson) and Best Cinematography. The film is expected to feature prominently in the 2025–2026 awards season, praised for Johnson’s performance and Safdie’s fearless direction. Though not a crowd-pleaser, it has been labeled a career milestone for both actor and director.
Critics Reception: Brutal brilliance
The Hollywood Reporter: “Dwayne Johnson demolishes expectations—his most vulnerable, human work yet.”
Variety: “A raw, unsentimental masterpiece about pain, love, and addiction. Johnson disappears into the role.”
IndieWire: “Benny Safdie redefines the sports biopic, turning the cage into a confessional.”
Metacritic: 64, indicating generally favorable reviews, with critics divided on pacing but united in praise for performance and realism.
Summary: Critics call it immersive, painful, and transformative. While some find its detached tone cold, most agree it’s a masterclass in performance and realism—a brutal meditation on being human.
Reviews: Audiences divided but moved
IMDb Users: Rated 7.0/10, viewers praised Johnson’s emotional depth and the film’s authenticity, though some found the pacing slow and atmosphere heavy.
Letterboxd: Described as “a soul-crushing, hypnotic slow burn,” earning acclaim for emotional honesty and visual power.
Audience sentiment: Viewers call it “intense but unforgettable,” admiring the courage to show a sports hero without polish or redemption.
Summary: Viewers see The Smashing Machine as more experience than entertainment—one that lingers long after the lights go up.
Release Date on Streaming: Early 2026
Following its theatrical run, The Smashing Machine is expected to stream on Max and A24’s platform by February 2026, capitalizing on awards season buzz.
Movie Trend: The fall of the sports hero
The film joins the movement redefining the sports biopic as psychological art, where triumph is irrelevant and the body becomes a battlefield for identity. Like The Wrestler and Foxcatcher, it explores the darkness beneath athletic glory—an emotional knockout for fans of realism.
Social Trend: Redefining masculinity and vulnerability
The Smashing Machine reflects society’s shift toward emotional transparency in men’s mental health and addiction narratives. It dismantles the myth of indestructible masculinity, replacing it with honesty, empathy, and the understanding that real strength begins when one stops pretending to be strong.
Final Verdict: Unflinching, intimate, and unforgettable
The Smashing Machine is a devastating and masterful dive into the fragility of strength. With Benny Safdie’s fearless direction and Dwayne Johnson’s career-best performance, it turns pain into poetry and brutality into revelation.Verdict: A visceral, emotionally charged masterpiece that redefines the sports biopic—one that hits harder outside the ring than inside it.