The Smashing Machine

This weekend, The Smashing Machine, the newest film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, releases in theaters. The movie tells the story of UFC fighter Mark Kerr in his rise to fame and struggles with substance abuse. This movie is a big career change for Dwayne Johnson, as he is typically seen playing a version of himself in an action movie. I was very interested in seeing this film and seeing what The Rock has been cooking.

Overall, I thought The Smashing Machine was a decent enough sports drama. I appreciate that Dwayne Johnson is finally trying to challenge himself in a role instead of just playing an exaggerated version of himself. I thought his performance was decently strong. It isn't going to win him any Oscars, but it does show that he has some acting talent. I thought one of his best moments was how he portrayed his anger after losing his first fight. He is also able to show some range to his performance, going from extremely angry and breaking a door to crying in his girl friends arms. I thought the strongest performance of the movie was Emily Blunt, who is trying to be a supportive girlfriend while also hiding a more manipulative side and having this need to be Mark's whole support system. I also like how they made their whole relationship so complex while also being a bit toxic by showing both to be somewhat at fault with what is going on. I also thought that the movie did a great job of getting you invested in the Mark Kerr character, whether it be through wanting him to win his fights or just trying not to fall back on his substance abuse.

However, while the movie has many good moments, I don't think it reached the heights it could have. The movie doesn't really focus on one struggle of his life, whether it be the inability to take a loss, his struggle with substance abuse, or his complicated relationship with his girlfriend. It just kind of moves around lacking any sort of forward momentum or end goal in the story, making it pretty slow for a sports drama. I think the movie needed to center its focus on one struggle and deliver a payoff based on that instead of dipping its toe in many different things. It closes out the substance abuse aspect, which I think was the strongest plot point, about halfway through, and just doesn't have anything for Mark to overcome in the second half.

Overall, The Smashing Machine delivers a solid performance from Dwayne Johnson to help bring his career in a new direction, but it doesn't have enough forward momentum or central conflict to make for a truly great sports drama.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

Recommendation: Check it out if you a fan of The Rock or sports dramas