The Rock, Emily Blunt, more react to ‘The Smashing Machine’ premier
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Emily Blunt, Mark Kerr and Ryan Bader speak about “The Smashing Machine” movie after the TIFF premier in Toronto.
- Dwayne Johnson stars as UFC Hall of Famer Mark Kerr in the new A24 film “The Smashing Machine.”
- The movie, directed by Benny Safdie, explores the highs and lows of Kerr’s career and personal struggles with addiction.
- Emily Blunt co-stars as Kerr’s wife, portraying the difficulties faced by the inner circle of a professional fighter.
- The film is based on a 2002 documentary and focuses heavily on the PRIDE FC era of mixed martial arts.
TORONTO – When I bumped into Dwayne Johnson at the reception party just hours prior to the North American premier of “The Smashing Machine” at the Toronto International Film Festival, I told him I would be watching from the perspective of the hardcore fan. We’re MMA Junkie, after all, so I assume if you’re stumbling upon this review, it’s because you are just that.
Johnson’s eyes lit up with a genuine degree of glee. He told me his goal was to make the film an ode to those with a deeper understanding of the complex layers of mixed martial arts – both in and out of the arena.
By now, you’ve probably seen at least one clip or headline of Johnson explaining why he embarked on this project. He’s felt like he’s typecasted himself into a particular role, and he had a craving for something more, something that would push his boundaries and test his limits. He chose the avenue of an MMA movie, and if you’ve followed what the genre historically has delivered, it’s far from an easy win.
I’ve seen pretty much every MMA movie out there. The bar for greatness isn’t exactly high, and that’s because MMA movies are complicated to execute, and fans are protective of the integrity of the sport.
With all that in mind, “The Smashing Machine” is a film to appreciate.
Sure, first-time solo director Benny Safdie was given a blueprint to build off from the 2002 documentary highlighting a critical period in the career of UFC Hall of Famer Mark Kerr. To see that niche documentary dramatized and elevated by “The Rock,” Emily Blunt and a bevy of notable combat sports characters, it hit many impactful notes for anyone who claims to respect this sport.
Will it set box office records like Johnson is accustomed to? Does he deserve the Oscar buzz surrounding his name? I won’t pretend to know those answers. I’m a combat sports reporter, not an entertainment or film critic.
What I will say, though, is that the style of shooting done by Safdie felt raw in a good way. The performances of Johnson as Kerr, Blunt as his partner/wife Dawn Staples, and Ryan Bader as MMA legend Mark Coleman resonate hard if you value the highs, lows, hardships and jubilation that not only touch these athletes, but those within their inner circles.
If a person with no understanding of high-level combat sports watches this film, they may get lost in the intricacies. This is not “Road House,” “Bruised” or “Here Come’s the Boom,” where the UFC brand does the heavy lifting. Kerr’s stint in the UFC is only a spec of the overall story. PRIDE FC occupies a far greater portion of the storyline, and how much of the viewing audiences will even know how much that organization truly meant?
Many in the audience during the TIFF premier laughed during scenes where Johnson showcased Kerr’s struggle with substance abuse, addiction and attempted recovery. That was only because his delivery and comedic timing lightened the very real and serious nature of those issues that not only plagued Kerr, but have plagued many others. Those scenes will surely hit differently depending on your environment while watching.
Blunt’s performance as a woman in a relationship with an MMA fighter perhaps felt the most real of all. She attempts to cope with neglect from a partner with tunnel-vision on his career, while also trying to walk the balance beam of inclusion and understanding into a world that is difficult to fathom for those who aren’t in there throwing the punches. If you’ve heard the stories I have about the turmoil that has gone on behind the scenes for some of these fighters with wives, girlfriends, friends, family, and everything in between – even up to the last moment before walking out in front of the world – it’s the portion of this film that spoke loudest to me.
While the power behind Johnson and Blunt’s efforts stand on their own, the sheer surprise of longtime UFC contender, former Bellator champion and current RIZIN FF athlete Bader as a prominent part of the film was a pleasure to witness.
I remember seeing Bader win Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in December 2008. I’ve interviewed him countless times since then. To fast forward and see him share the screen with several of the most notable actors of this decade is almost surreal, and although he’s naturally not as polished with his acting, his authenticity in trying to replicate Coleman in fight scenes and interviews as a key figure in Kerr’s life, was respectable.
There will be some MMA historians out there who do a side-by-side comparison with the documentary and poke holes in the film. Or they’ll say the scenes are too close to the original. If you weren’t expecting some of that for a production of this magnitude with the figures involved, then your experience might be distorted.
What I saw, however, was a spotlight on the sport we love on a scale that wouldn’t be possible without Johnson’s support for this project, or his influence to put it on this level. Were his fight scenes as smooth as Bader’s or Oleksandr Usyk’s? Of course not. But they didn’t need to be, especially if you take it through the lens of him portraying a wrestling-based competitor at a time when the sport was 25 years less refined than it is today.
Johnson’s realistic reflection of an MMA fighter’s pursuit of the euphoria attached to victory, and the emotional pitfalls of failure, were far more important than any fight scene. Kerr’s story is not an isolated struggle, and many fighters before and after his career have experienced similar turbulence.
On a different note, if you relish the history of MMA, the nostalgia elements did their job. The attention to detail toward the PRIDE FC era, the nods to Japanese corruption during that period, and the repeated reference and inclusion of foundational names who built MMA into what it is today, brought constant smirks to my face.
I firmly believe the history of our sport is not acknowledged nearly enough by top-level promotions, the fans and even media outlets like the one you’re reading this on. There was a time when being invited to a premier at one of the world’s biggest film festivals, with fans wrapped around multiple blocks to get in the venue, would be unfathomable. That alone makes this movie a macro-scale success for MMA.
For those outside our bubble, the hope would be that “The Smashing Machine” makes even one person grow a deeper appreciation for what fighters have endured. Maybe even better, it pushes that person down the same rabbit hole I once found myself in of watching early PRIDE FC and UFC events and working forward in history.
If Kerr’s story, retold on this scale, does that, I would count that a win for the growth of MMA.
