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Summary The story of mixed martial arts & UFC fighter Mark Kerr.
Directed By: Benny Safdie
Written By: Benny Safdie
The Smashing Machine
65
4.6
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Summary The story of mixed martial arts & UFC fighter Mark Kerr.
Directed By: Benny Safdie
Written By: Benny Safdie
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 55 Critic Reviews
65
64% Positive
35 Reviews
35 Reviews
35% Mixed
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
2% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 55 Critic Reviews
65
64% Positive
35 Reviews
35 Reviews
35% Mixed
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
2% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Sep 1, 2025
The Smashing Machine isn’t a sports movie that wants to jerk a Pavolvian response of triumph out of us. It’s after something subtler and more moving. By the end of the film, Mark, who had grown so used to winning, has won in the most transformative way.
Sep 23, 2025
For audiences curious to know the ins and outs of the early days of MMA fighting, you'd be better served by watching the 2002 documentary. If, however, you're more curious about the people involved, and if you're someone who feels like either a winner or a loser (or, more to the point, both at once) in life's big match, then The Smashing Machine is for you.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 49 User Ratings
4.6
39% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
27% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
35% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 49 User Ratings
4.6
39% Positive
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
27% Mixed
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
35% Negative
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
Oct 10, 2025
Muy buena pelicula tiene muy buenas esenas de acion y peleas la roca hace muy bien su trabajo y te cuenta muy bien su historia y sus problemas con las adiciones lo unico malo es la banda sonora en algunas partes.
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Oct 6, 2025
’The Smashing Machine’ tells the story of wrestler Mark Kerr during the significant 1997-2000 years of his life in MMA along with his struggles and drama of his personal life. Overall the film is an entertaining, dramatic, and touching tale of what these fighters and athletes put their bodies and minds through to fight for a living.
Dwayne Johnson delivers the best performance of his career - a potential award worthy one - with layers of softness, emotion, and heart. Emily Blunt works well opposite him, playing his girlfriend Dawn that has Blunt rolling through all emotions at any given moment.
‘The Smashing Machine’ overall is a solid tale of an impactful and emotional span of Mark Kerr's life with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt giving standout performances. It loses some marks for a questionable final ending to the film that felt out of place, and a few areas where the heart and emotion of the story could have had a more significant impact. It sits right on the cusp of being a significantly great film that just needed a bit more to get there.
Brad: 8
Josh: 7.5
Full Review: wbtp.link/youtube
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Sep 1, 2025
In some ways, Safdie’s approach seems casual and grounded rather than pumped up, though it’s also raw both physically and emotionally.
Sep 4, 2025
The Smashing Machine boasts strong performance, but the film hits fairly generic story beats.
Oct 3, 2025
Johnson, looking radically different under a cropped black wig, takes this opportunity and wrestles with it. Not since his work for Michael Bay in Pain & Gain has he done anything this out of his comfort zone.
Oct 2, 2025
Johnson’s performance is the magnetic center of the film, and unless you’re a huge fan of watching this kind of fighting, it’s also the whole reason to watch the movie.
Oct 3, 2025
It’s entirely possible that Benny Safdie was out to craft a different kind of underdog sports movie, one where the audience isn’t manipulated into raising a triumphant fist at the end. But surely the writer-director-editor hoped for more than a disinterested shrug.
Oct 4, 2025
I enjoyed this. Thought there were good performances by all. Wasn’t sure about this before going in but it definitely held my attention.
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Oct 13, 2025
'The Smashing Machine' features Dwayne Johnson's best performance yet. Oscar-worthy? Probably not. The movie is countered by a mediocre internalization of his conflicts and the few emotions offered by Benny Safdie's script. Although Safdie, also the director, builds this biopic by trying to stray from convention and subvert expectations, the film becomes repetitive in its dramatic aspects, ultimately becoming redundant and flat for long stretches. Emily Blunt also feels wasted.
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Oct 7, 2025
Dwayne Johnson supreende no seu melhor papel e a direção movemontanhas para tornar a experiência livre dos clichês do gênero. Também curto o fato de termos um herói que vivencia perdas e ganhos sem firulas. Mas no fundo, é uma experiência que não se sustentará ao longo dos anos, sendo fria em alguns momentos, e com péssimos coadjuvantes.
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Oct 9, 2025
This is a story that didn’t need to be told.
“Story” is an overstatement though, it’s mostly just a sequence of disjointed events in chronological order.
It’s the definition of melodrama. No conflict, no hurdles, everything is just being blown out of proportion. Scenes (and especially dialogues) go on WAY TOO LONG.
Poor effort altogether.
Usyk, Rutten, and Bader were good though, gave the film some realism.
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Awards
Venice Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Warsaw International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination