The Smashing Machine Movie Review

“The Smashing Machine” is a look at the Full Contact Wrestling / Mixed Martial Arts world-class fighter who rose to fame in the late 1990’s. This is a mountain of a man who fought with a brutal style. Sometimes his low-key emotions got in the way of his relationships.

 

Mark Kerr (played by Dwayne Johnson) was an amateur wrestler looking for a way to turn that into a career. It is the late 1990’s, and in Brazil they held an event called World Vale Tudo. This contest was an MMA event with Mark looking to enter and win a big payout.

 

He had a training partner named Mark Coleman (played by Ryan Bader). They both entered, and Kerr ended up with some vicious opponents. He won each round and felt great about himself.

 

Going back to the USA, Kerr and Coleman next got into a big event there. The Ultimate Fighting Championship held the MMA events in which Mark Kerr excelled. For the next couple of years, he and Mark Coleman became some of the top fighters in MMA events. But Mark Kerr felt that there was some better money to be made in Japan. Over there, they held events called Pride Fighting Championship meets.

 

Kerr was back home (in Scottsdale, AZ) once in a while. When he was there, he had a very loving relationship with his girlfriend. She was named Dawn Staples (played by Emily Blunt). She supported Mark in everything that he did.

 

But many times, she felt left out of his world. Mark was the ‘strong and silent’ type. This was an emphasis on the silent part, because he rarely talked about his feelings. Mark left Dawn back home again, so he could fight in Japan.

 

The Pride organizers had just tightened up some of the rules of the fight event. Mark Kerr was supported by his friend Mark Coleman. Coleman had pretty much retired from full-time fighting to be a trainer and coach. Mark Kerr won all of his fights. But then along came opponent Igor Vovchanchyn (played by Oleksandr Usyk).

 

Igor did what seemed impossible and won the match against Mark Kerr. But Igor used a knee to the head — and this move had just been banned. This match did not end up as a loss for Mark. Yet, he would always assume he was going to win.

 

This no-call decision got his mood really down. The pain and aches of his massive body were just too much. He needed medical help, and before too long — that went in the wrong direction.

 

Opioid pain medication became a crutch for Mark. Dawn could see that Mark was not up to his potential. Mark Coleman knew that his friend was going to get out-of-control at some point. But nobody seemed to know what they could do to help Mark Kerr.

 

Sometimes, his anger at Dawn would seethe up to the surface, and he would take it out on a wooden door or a glass ashtray. But after more trips to Japan, Mark was losing his edge, and his way to cope was more drugs.

 

One day, back at home, the addiction piper came to call. Mark fell into a deep opioid coma. Dawn could not make him wake up. He was rushed to the hospital. Mark Coleman came from out-of-town to be there.

 

Dawn and Coleman both pressed Mark to enter rehab. It was up to Mark Kerr to turn his life around. That is exactly what he did. Now in recovery, Mark went back to double-down on training.

 

He went to California, to an old mentor and friend. Bas Rutten (played by himself) was a premier MMA trainer, and he was someone who could lift Mark Kerr out of his slump. He was back on track to get into the ring at more Pride events and win again. Bas was encouraging Mark to get back to the place he needed to be.

 

Mark Kerr went to Japan for another chance for the Championship. But this time, he had Mark Coleman coming along, too. But not as his trainer this time, in this event — these two might face-off against one another.

 

When in his Recovery period, Mark was getting even more annoyed by Dawn’s behavior. She seemed to taunt Mark at every turn. She would make light of the fact they he could no longer drink. She went out with her friends and was drinking a lot by that point. Mark was still very subdued and quiet about things. That drove Dawn crazy – even to the point that she became suicidal…

 

Mark Coleman was in Japan to make a comeback. Mark Kerr was there to make a return to his premier status. However, Kerr had so many emotional ups-and-downs in the past few years that he found it hard to focus.

 

The Pride Fighting Championship was a very good payout to the ultimate winner. The press and the fans were having a field day with the speculation. Would it come down to a final matchup between the Marks — Kerr vs. Coleman? Could the people watching be so lucky?

 

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“The Smashing Machine” is a glimpse back into the early days of MMA and UFC fighting. One of best world-class fighter who rose to fame was Mark Kerr. Yet not all of his fights occurred in the arena. One of his opponents was outside of the ring. He struggled against the foe of opioid abuse. This fierce brawler was gifted with an abundance of strength and power.

 

In that sense, it is logical choice to have Dwayne Johnson play a similar beast of a man. Johnson does an uncanny performance as he transforms into a soft-spoken yet fiercely driven fighter. He can almost disappear into the world of Mark Kerr. He shows some deep emotion and empathy for the pioneer of MMA.

 

Dwayne Johnson is almost always cast as a variation of Dwayne Johnson. Yet, here in this movie, the inner acting ability of Johnson shines through. The bluster and bravado of his typical roles is stripped away for much deeper emotional journeys. His portrayal of Kerr shows all his proudest professional highs, and some of his deepest, lowest agonies.

 

Emily Blunt is great playing Dawn, being the one closest to Mark Kerr. She is supportive, yet it is difficult to deal with Mark’s quiet nature. It finally breaks her spirit. Ryan Bader, playing good friend Mark Coleman, is quite remarkable. He was also a prior MMA star, same as Mark Kerr, in the earlier days. He was able to switch over to a role that fits him.

 

Benny Safdie is making a distinctive effort with the way he is able to handle making this movie. He takes the effort to write the screenplay, and handle directing. He even worked as the editor. In the past he teamed up with his brother Josh to make movies. But he shows himself very capable to deliver an excellent movie on his own.

 

“The Smashing Machine” is compelling portrayal of the earlier years of Mixed Martial Arts, in which Dwayne Johnson gives an engaging performance that is steady as – The Rock.