The Smashing Machine is directed by Benny Safdie (instead, all on his own this time as a director) and is about amateur fighter Mark Kerr, played by Dwayne Johnson. He strives to become the best fighter there is, but also while maintaining mental health struggles of his own. He battles opioid addiction and also has a messy relationship with his girlfriend Dawn, played by Emily Blunt.

It was very short into the movie that I realized that I wanted to see Dwayne Johnson in more movie roles like this one. I’ve been so used to somewhat of the same Dwayne Johnson in most of the movies I’ve seen him in, so him playing a completely different character and role this time was something really neat to watch. His performance is outstanding, capturing all the characteristics and mannerisms of Mark Kerr perfectly (at least the ones they intended with this film), and I definitely see why he was nominated for best actor this year for the Golden Globes, and I totally see him getting nominated by the Academy as well. I can’t forget to mention the makeup that was done for him, either; he almost looks like a completely different person as well, but it also doesn’t have that “oh, he’s wearing makeup” feel to it either. It was very well done and convincing.

I was very unfamiliar with the person, Mark Kerr, himself, so it was cool to learn more about him throughout this film. He’s a very interesting person, especially when it comes to his mannerisms and the way he interacts with other people. Aside from the people he’s closest to, mainly his girlfriend, he’s very much a “gentle giant,” so to speak, and very calm and collected, even when he’s frustrated (ex: during his interviews). However, there are still moments where the anger, frustration, and depression really come out of him, specifically with his girlfriend Dawn, to the point where he becomes psychologically abusive.

This is all due to his mental health struggles, which are very well conveyed in the film. You really feel for this guy, as he’s someone very admirable, but keeps on making bad decisions, specifically with his relationship and addictions. It’s really all a story about depression, addiction, and obsession, and by the end, it truly becomes a pretty inspiring true story that was very well done in my opinion.

One of the things that stuck out to me about The Smashing Machine was the way it told its story. It’s not anything crazy, but it does have a sort of untraditional flow to it, where each scene is kind of just a moment in Mark Kerr’s life, rather than flowing like a normal story does. It completely worked for me, though, as each individual moment was really interesting and added to Mark Kerr’s development throughout the runtime. I think it was really the only way this story could have been told, as his development, or “character arc,” I guess, took the course of several years.

When it comes to the mixed, the method of storytelling could definitely fall into this category, even though it worked for me. Again, it’s very different, and since it doesn’t flow like a typical movie does, the character development itself is rather subtle. It’s not hard to follow by any stretch, but it doesn’t overly dramatize any of Kerr’s big moments over the course of the film, as you might see in a lot of other sports films.

The one negative I have with The Smashing Machine would definitely have to be Mark Kerr and Dawn’s relationship. I think that because of the storytelling method that Benny Safdie took, even though it worked for everything else, it didn’t work super well here, mainly because pretty much every scene with them together felt a bit random. What I mean by this is that, over the course of the movie, they have several arguments, which, don’t get me wrong, are interesting because you get to see how Kerr’s struggles affect his relational life, but it was kind of weird how they played out. One moment, they were in love with each other, and the next scene, they were having a massive argument, and by the end of it, there was a pretty serious moment that also, again, just felt random. It’s not a massive negative by any means, as a lot of these scenes still hit hard emotionally, but it is definitely something that stood out to me.

Overall, though, I went into The Smashing Machine with modest expectations, mainly because I had heard that the movie’s story was rather uninteresting and that it was really just Dwayne Johnson’s performance that stood out. After having watched it, though, I couldn’t disagree more, and I personally think it is one of the better films this year, a year that has been a rather mixed bag for the most part for me.