"So, here's a sentence I never thought I would write: The new Dwayne Johnson movie is better than the new Daniel Day-Lewis movie. The artist formerly known as The Rock makes his biggest bid for thespian legitimacy in The Smashing Machine, and it's a successful one. Ironically, the former WWE megastar and action-movie icon transcends his cartoonish image by tackling a role that has huge echoes of his career in the squared circle."
"When defeat eventually comes, he simply can't process it, and a reliance on opioid painkillers threatens to derail his career and even his life. When he takes time off to deal with his addiction, his best pal, Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) ascends the rankings, and when he returns, they end up on a collision course with a world championship bout against each other. This is based on a real story, though, so a Hollywood ending is far from assured."
The Smashing Machine recounts the career of Mark Kerr, an early mixed martial arts star in the late 1990s whose ferocious ring work helped popularize the sport. Benny Safdie directs his first solo feature, following familiar boxing/wrestling formulas rather than reinventing them. Kerr rises rapidly through single-minded focus and declares, 'Winning is the best feeling there is,' but defeat triggers an inability to process loss and a turn to opioid painkillers. Addiction jeopardizes his career and life while teammate Mark Coleman ascends the rankings, leading to a real-life championship collision. Dwayne Johnson undergoes a striking physical and emotional transformation, with Emily Blunt and Ryan Bader in key supporting roles.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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