Overview

• Recent festival notices highlight Dwayne Johnson’s profound physical and emotional transformation as a standout performance.
• Benny Safdie’s solo feature favors 16mm, documentary‑style framing and brutally realistic MMA sequences to stress the sport’s physical cost.
• Reviewers cite narrative unevenness, underdeveloped side threads and a troubling portrayal of the central relationship with Dawn Staples.
• The film draws on John Hyams’ HBO documentary to follow Mark Kerr’s late‑1990s MMA career across the UFC and Japan’s Pride organizations.
• FAZ reports Safdie received the directing prize at Venice, as the film completes festival play and heads into general release in early October.