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57m ago

‘The Smashing Machine’ Enters Release Week With Praise for Dwayne Johnson and Mixed Reviews

Benny Safdie’s first solo feature prioritizes hard‑edged authenticity through real combat.

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Emily Blunt, right, and Dwayne Johnson in a scene from “The Smashing Machine.”
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Dwayne Johnson, center, portrays early MMA fighter Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine.”

Overview

  • The film opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, October 3, following a Los Angeles premiere earlier this week.
  • Early reviews single out Johnson’s transformative performance while raising concerns about the screenplay and overall energy.
  • Safdie directs without his brother for the first time, drawing on the 2002 HBO documentary to shape the film’s verité approach.
  • Johnson amplified realism by wearing 22 prosthetics, adding roughly 30 pounds of muscle, and taking at least one genuine punch on camera.
  • Real fighters appear on screen, including Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman and Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn, with Johnson publicly saluting Bader at the LA event.