Somewhere in the midst of multiple Fast and Furious installments and several team-ups with Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson lost whatever ineffable spark that had made him interesting to watch as a performer. The charm, fun, and lack of pretension audiences saw starting with 2003’s The Rundown have largely faded into self-seriousness and a rumored no-lose clause in his contracts over the last decade or so. Johnson and his recent on-screen alter egos seemingly lack any shred of emotional or physical vulnerability, and as a result, they’re generally boring as hell to watch. This quality removes the stakes from his movies, and it renders his characters into something other than human. So what’s surprising about the otherwise middling mixed martial arts movie The Smashing Machine is his remarkable transformation into someone capable of losing, both in a fight and in life. (Ironically, this is surely in search of winning an Oscar nomination.)
Other than his hulking size and defined physique, Johnson is nearly unrecognizable under layers of frankly amazing makeup and prosthetics as real-life UFC fighter Mark Kerr. His indelible, booming voice is higher and gentler, but he isn’t just working in a different vocal register. He’s also pulling from a different range as an actor. Johnson is doing compelling work in The Smashing Machine, even if the script from director Benny Safdie doesn’t do more to pin the character down.
And that’s the problem with this drama; it refuses to really say anything about anything, including Kerr, the people in his life, or MMA and the UFC. It is a surprisingly bland biopic from one half of the filmmaking duo behind the jittery thrillers Good Time and Uncut Gems. In The Smashing Machine, we learn few deeper insights about anyone on screen, and I didn’t care about what was happening to any of them.
Safdie delivers the basic outline of events in Mark’s life from 1997-2000, mostly centering on various fights that he fought, whether in the octagon, against an addiction to painkillers, or with his volatile girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt). It’s unclear what has made Dawn so awful, as she ostensibly works to sabotage Mark as much as possible. The Smashing Machine seems to think we should think there’s something romantic about their bouts that feel dangerously close to coming to blows, but it’s all so exhausting. No one here is especially sympathetic — other than Mark’s long-time friend and mentor Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader, a real-life fighter who really impresses in this supporting role) — but Dawn is definitely the worst, without any real indication as to why.
Since there’s no larger meaning behind anything, The Smashing Machine just feels like we’re getting pummeled for no reason. Outside of the thrills of watching Johnson really push himself, this is a rough watch, where I vacillated between apathy and annoyance. Even beyond the lack of thematic depth, there’s little beyond Johnson and Bader’s performances to latch onto. As someone who often becomes extremely invested in sports I previously never cared about in the real world when they’re presented in cinematic form (WWE! Auto racing! Rock climbing!), I couldn’t muster any excitement for MMA. The Smashing Machine hammers into the idea that this is just a sport, and even though the competitors draw blood, there’s no real animosity between them. Mark shows real concern for his fellow fighters, demonstrating a sweetness and thoughtfulness to match his quiet and gentle voice, but it’s never explored more than that.
Safdie was inspired by the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, and his narrative take on Kerr’s story is shot with the look of a nonfiction film of the turn of the century. It isn’t out of line stylistically with the digital video aesthetic of the films he made with his brother, but there’s something missing underneath the surface. Unlike its characters, who beat the absolute shit out of each other, The Smashing Machine pulls its punches. Only Johnson comes out swinging and emerges with any sort of victory.
C
“The Smashing Machine” is in theaters this weekend.
