--- title: "The Smashing Machine: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-smashing-machine/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-smashing-machine" critics_score: 73 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Smashing Machine (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 73 from 18 reviews: 14 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative. The praise clusters on Dwayne Johnson. Nearly every critic singles out his performance as Mark Kerr, describing a star who has set his persona aside for something quieter, sadder and smaller than life, and several call it the best work he has done. Emily Blunt draws warm notices too, with more than one review finding the domestic scenes the strongest in the film. Benny Safdie’s direction gets a more mixed reception. Most admire its gentle, documentary-like approach and its interest in losing rather than winning; the Telegraph also credits the score with giving the story a sweet, spiritual edge. The reservations are about what surrounds Johnson: a run of critics, from The Ringer to Collider and Den of Geek, find the storytelling conventional and slow, and The New Yorker goes further, calling the film distanced and passionless. Film Stories is the outright dissenter, finding it stiff and without guts. The spread is narrow, with most reviews landing at four stars or its equivalent. ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2025. Festival review. Dwayne Johnson gives a revelatory performance as Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie's clear-eyed and humane sports biopic. The film is praised for its intimate, documentary-like approach that avoids conventional biopic tropes while exploring the fighter's inner life. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-benny-safdie-1236503546/) ## Empire — John Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 2025. The critic praises Dwayne Johnson's transformative performance as Mark Kerr, calling it the best of his career and a response to recent professional setbacks. Benny Safdie's direction is highlighted for creating a thoughtful, moving, and authentic portrait of loss, complexity, and failure in this unconventional sports biopic, drawing comparisons to Raging Bull and Rocky. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-smashing-machine/) ## The Observer — Wendy Ide Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 3 October 2025. In Benny Safdie’s first solo film, Dwayne Johnson delivers an unexpectedly bruised and naked performance as real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr, balancing savage competitiveness with childlike earnestness. The story explores his rise and opioid-addled fall, with a terrific turn from Emily Blunt as his demanding girlfriend. [Read the review](https://observer.co.uk/culture/film/article/wendy-ides-pick-of-other-films-the-smashing-machine-urchin-and-more) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Rating 4/5. 3 October 2025. The Smashing Machine is a crunchily satisfying fight movie that innovates subtly, with Dwayne Johnson shedding his daft image for a warm, sincere and ego-less performance as Mark Kerr. Safdie summons thrilling energy, and the score gives the tough story an unexpectedly sweet and spiritual edge. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 1 September 2025. An unexpectedly gentle and soulful character study that puts heart before glory in the world of MMA. Johnson undercuts his persona with vulnerability in what amounts to his The Wrestler moment. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-smashing-machine-review-2025) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 2 October 2025. Benny Safdie’s curious drama about the fighting life is built around Dwayne Johnson, who is very good as Mark Kerr, conjuring an elusive character with fleeting glances and remarks. It is a big man in miniature, with souls grappled with in a hard-hitting film tied to Johnson’s wrestling roots. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/011cb8f3-f004-4773-8e06-50ed5888f542) ## The Times — Tom Shone Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 2 October 2025. Dwayne Johnson shows the soft side of an MMA fighter in a gentle, introspective film that is not really a traditional sports biopic or addiction drama. Johnson’s show of vulnerability is the big draw as the real-life Kerr, whose mixture of hulking physique and mild manners suits the role perfectly. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-rock-crumbles-in-a-biopic-with-a-big-heart-rhtkfc2fm) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2025. Benny Safdie has written and directed a solid bro drama about the central crisis in the life of Mark Kerr after his first loss. The film focuses on substance abuse, relationship anxieties and the question of what life means without constant winning, with touching moments of vulnerability but without reaching for tragedy or big set pieces. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/sep/01/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-mark-kerr) ## The New York Times — Alissa Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 2 October 2025. Dwayne Johnson delivers a strong performance as the fighter Mark Kerr, but the film fails to fully engage with its subject's inner life. The critic highlights Johnson's magnetic presence as the main reason to watch while noting issues with the surrounding story and direction. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/movies/smashing-machine-review.html) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 2025. Johnson gives a taut and precise performance that brings emotional depth to the role of Mark Kerr. However, the film as a whole is criticized as distanced, passionless, and overly analytical, failing to capture the extremity of the subject's experiences. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-smashing-machine-pulls-its-punches) ## Screen Daily 1 September 2025. Festival review. A consistently idiosyncratic and candid look at a working-class athlete with a complicated relationship and opioid addiction, more focused on learning to lose than winning. Johnson brings real vulnerability to the role in a grittier, more intimate take on the genre. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-and-emily-blunt-clash-in-benny-safdies-ufc-drama/5208412.article) ## Sight and Sound 6 September 2025. Festival review. The film offers a respectful, un-sensationalist account of MMA fighter Mark Kerr that functions as a fascinating essay on physique and fame. Johnson delivers a standout performance that draws on his own wrestling background for added depth. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/the-smashing-machine-dwayne-johnson-knockout-benny-safdies-un-sensationalist-mma-fighter-biopic) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Jordan Mintzer 1 September 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the film a gritty, downbeat biopic that highlights Dwayne Johnson's most absorbing performance yet as the tormented fighter Mark Kerr, focusing on human vulnerability over athletic triumph. It singles out the realistic, documentary-style depiction of the early UFC world and the mix of raw humor and kinetic energy for praise, while noting some over-the-top domestic drama. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-delivers-the-blows-as-a-tormented-fighter-in-benny-safdies-gritty-and-downbeat-mma-flick-1236358361/) ## The Playlist — Rafa Sales Ross Rating B+. 1 September 2025. Festival review. Safdie’s solo debut subverts expectations with a focus on the person behind the fighter, highlighting Johnson’s transformative performance and the tender, sensitive portrayal amid the brutality; praises the emotional depth and cast. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-will-bring-you-to-tears-in-benny-safdies-solo-directorial-debut-venice-20250901/) ## /Film — Bill Bria Rating 8/10. 22 September 2025. Festival review. A complex, subversive take on the fighter biopic with a multifaceted Johnson performance and electric chemistry with Blunt; tender yet unpredictable, evoking catharsis through quiet moments rather than typical sports tropes. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1972883/the-smashing-machine-dwayne-johnson-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Linda Marric Rating 4/5. 2 October 2025. A tender character study of vulnerability over violence, with strong performances from Johnson and Blunt; falters slightly in giving Blunt more weight, but gripping and earnest. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-smashing-machine-review/) ## NME — Matthew Turner Rating 4/5. 5 September 2025. Festival review. Praises Johnson's incredible dramatic performance and the emotional depth, calling it a powerful, thoroughly entertaining sports biopic with a sentimental gutpunch. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-emily-blunt-3890169) ## Collider — Anna Miller Rating 7/10. 4 September 2025. Festival review. The critic highlights Dwayne Johnson's layered and vulnerable performance as Mark Kerr, noting his transformation and the film's positive depiction of masculinity. However, they criticize the tame, conventional storytelling, generic biopic beats, and one-dimensional supporting characters. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-emily-blunt/) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 October 2025. The critic commends Dwayne Johnson's successful sublimation of his star persona into a realistic, smaller-than-life portrayal of Mark Kerr and the film's empathetic approach. They single out the overly faithful adherence to the source documentary's realism as a flaw that results in a conventional and somewhat slow biopic lacking lyricism or risk. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2025/10/02/movies/smashing-machine-movie-review-dwayne-johnson) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 3/5. 2 October 2025. The critic finds the domestic scenes with Johnson and Blunt the strongest, praising their performances, but calls the overall film a fairly conventional and dull sports drama that doesn't quicken the pulse. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-emily-blunt/) ## Film Stories — Ryan Lambie Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2025. The critic finds it a well-meaning but conventional sports drama that lacks emotional depth in relationships and brutality in the ring, with Johnson’s performance committed but stiff. Praises the style but criticizes it for having style but no guts. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/news/the-smashing-machine-review-a-blunt-johnson-sporting-drama/) ## Deadline — Damon Wise 1 September 2025. Festival review. The critic highlights Dwayne Johnson's remarkable, unrecognizable performance as Mark Kerr and the film's abstract, zen-like approach to the biopic, comparing it to a Buddhist Raging Bull, noting its haunting effect and resistance to conventional structure. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2025/09/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-emily-blunt-venice-1236503010/) ## The Wrap — Steve Pond 1 September 2025. Festival review. The critic finds the film surprisingly gentle and introspective despite its fighting subject, praising Dwayne Johnson's transformative performance as the calm, addicted fighter Mark Kerr and Safdie's counterintuitive directorial choices like using an Elvis ballad for a training montage. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-smashing-machine-review-dwayne-johnson-anchors-raw-martial-arts-drama/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-smashing-machine.md