Film Review: The Smashing Machine

Welcome back to the blog readers. We are officially in Oscars season, and this is my favorite time of the year. Fun fact: as long as I have been making these year-end lists (since 2013), my favorite film of the year has come out in awards season in every year except 5:

• 2017 - War for the Planet of the Apes

• 2019 - Avengers: Endgame

• 2020 - 1917 (technically a 2019 release but it released wide in 2020 and this was the COVID year)

• 2021 - Zack Snyder's Justice League

• 2023 - Oppenheimer

Would this year make six, or would this film be enough to call this list a fluke? Stick around to find out.

The Smashing Machine was written and directed by Benny Safdie, based on the 2002 documentary film The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr. The film stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk. The film chronicles the period of time lasting from 1997 to 2000 in the life and career of mixed martial artist Mark Kerr, while also dealing with his substance abuse and domestic issues with his girlfriend Dawn Staples.

When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson took on this project, I was obviously curious of what we would be getting, because he has never been in a film like this and has never played a real-life person in any of his projects. What direction would this project go? Would it be serious, would it be light-hearted? Would Johnson play to the stereotype he has been cast as over the last two decades? Thankfully, not only is this the best film Johnson has been a part of, this is the best he has ever been in a film. I love the cinematography, as well as the music and obviously Johnson's performance.

I want to start with the performance of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. If you would have asked 17-year old me, who was a bigger WWE fan than I am now, that the Rock would eventually star in a serious Oscar-level drama film where he is getting award consideration, I would have called you a fucking moron because he would never take on a film like this. Thank the heavens I was wrong, because holy shit does he bring it in this film. I mentioned in my last paragraph that this is the best I have ever seen him, and that does not even begin to cover it. Sure, he brings some level of himself to the performance, but this is the first time I saw Mark Kerr (the character he plays) rather than just The Rock playing Mark Kerr. He embodies the spirit of Kerr in such a way that he just transcends everything he has done before. I truly believe Johnson is going to get an Oscar nomination for his performance, and that 17-year old me will be very happy.

I next want to talk about the performance of Emily Blunt. None of you should be sleeping on Blunt's chances to get her second Oscar nomination, because what she was able to do with the character of Dawn Staples is absolutely and truly mesmerizing. Blunt knows how to bring a powerhouse performance to a film. Just look at what she was able to do in A Quiet Place (2018) and its 2021 sequel, and in her award-nominated role in Oppenheimer (2023). Blunt has proven herself to be a force of nature on the screen, and this is just the tipping point. She brings a level of paranoia and emotional complexity to this role that only she can, and the chemistry she has with Johnson is something to behold. Their scenes are the most poignant in the whole film, and their arguments are so real and relatable, and I have to praise the screenplay and Blunt's performance for that. Again, I would not be surprised to see Emily Blunt get an Oscar nomination herself for this role.

The next point of praise I have for this film absolutely has to be the cinematography. I do have to admit that this is one of the most beautifully shot films of the year, and it is also one of the most raw and viscerally-shot films of the year. Our steward for this film is Maceo Bishop, and he does things in this film that would only be attempted by the director of an indie film. Certain camera angles that he pulls off, zooming effects that are a Benson and Moorhead specialty, and the close-up shots that we see of these characters are just some of the highlights in terms of the cinematography, and I again would not be surprised if Bishop finds himself in rarified air come January.

The next positive I have regarding this film absolutely has to do with the music: both the licensed songs in the film and Nala Sinephro's score. I'll start with the score. Being that Sinephro is from Belgium, I obviously did not know who she was. But that was the same thing I said for Volker Bertelmann, and he is quickly becoming one of my favorite composers. But Sinephro is able to infuse a quirky and at times sinister jazz scores that makes you feel as if you have entered another reality. And her guitar-laden rendition of the National Anthem is enough to make you feel patriotic in a time when that feeling is hard to come by.

Finally, I want to end this review by talking about the licensed music that we hear in the film. Because of the song selections, I will go on the record by saying this is one of the best soundtracked films of the year. An eclectic choice of songs that ranges from Faith Hill to Bruce Springsteen, Sublime to Rod Stewart, Brian McKnight to Billy Swan, and Sugar Ray to The Alan Parsons Project, this film highlights the musical tastes of director Benny Safdie in a very impactful way. I have especially come to love "Limelight" by the Alan Parsons Project since I heard the song over the credits.

In conclusion, The Smashing Machine is a drama that packs a surprisingly emotional punch with a career-best performance from Dwayne Johnson. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.