The Smashing Machine (2025) – Review

2025   •   A24  

Rated:  R   

Length:  2 hr  3min 

Biography ~ Drama ~ Sports ~ True Story  

Director:  Benny Safdie 

Writer:  Benny Safdie 

Actors:  Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten and Oleksandr Usyk.  

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The Unforgettable True Story Of A UFC Legend.

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Official Trailer

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The Smashing Machine (2025) – Review

The Smashing Machine is a True Story Sports Drama about Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson), a top mixed martial arts fighter who is terrifying in the cage but actually a quiet, decent guy in real life. The movie follows him in the late 1990s as he rises through the UFC and Japanese fight circuits, smashing opponents so badly that fights are often bloody and hard to watch, even while he worries about their safety afterward. Outside the ring, he lives a pretty normal, almost low‑key life, which makes the contrast between “monster fighter” and “gentle guy” stand out. That gap between his public image and his private personality is a big thing the film keeps coming back to.

As Mark’s career takes off, pressure to stay on top pushes him into heavy use of painkillers and steroids so he can keep training and fighting through injuries. At first, drugs feel like a tool that let him perform like a superhuman, but they slowly start to own him, he zones out, overdoses, and his body and mood go downhill. The film shows how normal this kind of thing is in his world: UFC sport is brutal, everyone expects him to keep winning, and he’s surrounded by people who can get him what he wants. It’s less a “villain turn” and more a slow, sad slide driven by pain and ego.

Meanwhile, his love life is a mess. He’s in a long, rocky relationship with Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt), who loves the lifestyle and attention but brings her own emotional baggage and self‑centered behavior to the table. They swing between passion and ugly fights, arguing about his drug use, her partying, and whether they should settle down and start a family. Their worst moments include his overdose and her suicide attempt, which show how toxic they’ve become for each other even though they keep trying to make it work. The movie makes it clear that his career stress and their relationship drama constantly feed into each other.

By the end, Mark has taken big beatings, lost key fights, and watched parts of his life fall apart, but he also steps back and tries to clean himself up. He goes to rehab, changes how he trains, and eventually finds a way to live that isn’t just chasing the next high of victory or the roar of the crowd. The film closes by connecting to the real Mark Kerr in the present day and reminding us that, while he’s no longer a famous name, he helped shape modern MMA and paid a heavy personal price to do it. Overall, it plays less like a triumphant sports movie and more like a rough, human story about a guy who could break anyone in a fight but nearly broke himself in the process.

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt both turn in very strong performances, and they’re the main reason this is worth watching. Johnson strips away almost all of his usual larger‑than‑life charm and plays Mark Kerr as a quiet, beaten‑down guy who only really explodes when he’s pushed too far, and critics widely call it one of the most complex, committed performances of his career. He changes his body, his posture, even how he talks, and you can see his shame, pain, and confusion in small expressions rather than big speeches.

Emily Blunt has a less fleshed‑out role on the page, but she keeps Dawn from feeling like a one‑note “problem girlfriend.” She plays her as messy, funny, and wounded all at once, hinting there’s a bigger life and history there than the script gives her, and that extra dimension is what makes their relationship feel real instead of like a typical sports‑movie subplot. When they’re on screen together, there’s a lived‑in chemistry—fights, private jokes, and small, awkward moments—that tells us these two people are genuinely tangled up in each other’s lives.​

Whether it’s worth a watch really comes down to what you’re in the mood for. As a performance piece and a rough, grounded sports drama, it absolutely delivers: most critics single out Johnson as a “revelation,” and even people who are lukewarm on the movie still praise how deeply he and Blunt commit. On the downside, the movie itself is slow, emotionally heavy, and deliberately avoids the big triumphant payoff you might expect from a fight film, so if you’re looking for something uplifting, this will feel more punishing than inspiring. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt‘s names on the bill, I wouldn’t have watched it. If you are into Mixed Martial Arts or The UFC, it is worth a watch as it plays more as an homage to a true pioneer of the sport.

His name is Mark Kerr!

The Smashing Machine!

The Smashing Machine (2025) – Review by Bobby @ Streaming Movie Night.

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Movie Stills

The Smashing Machine (2025) – Review © 2026 Streaming Movie Night