‘The Smashing Machine’ Review: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Is Coming for That Oscar Nomination

Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine is refreshingly different from the conventional sports biopic, opting for a style that’s more observational while still allowing a revelatory Dwayne Johnson and a superb Emily Blunt to shine.

Overall Score: 9/10

Image: A24

No disrespect to Dwayne Johnson, but he isn’t exactly one of those actors you’d automatically associate with prestige awards. The Rock, a SAG, Golden Globe, or Oscar nominee? A year or so ago, most people would’ve dismissed and laughed at such a notion.

Enter The Smashing Machine. Something of a passion project for Johnson, the film sees him teaming up with director Benny Safdie (one half of the Safdie brothers directing duo and of Uncut Gems fame) and fellow Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt for what is without a doubt the biggest swing of his career.

The Smashing Machine follows real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr — who, according to the film, despite being relatively unknown today, remains one of the biggest pioneers and trailblazers in the world of MMA — as he attempts to achieve greatness and success while struggling with addiction, failure, and a tumultuous relationship.

The role of Mark Kerr is unlike anything Dwayne Johnson has ever tackled before. After all, the man keeps churning out big-budget studio blockbusters of varying quality, in most of which he’s simply playing some variation or version of himself. In The Smashing Machine, however, Johnson is easily a revelation. Now, you might be thinking, “Well, with the bar so low, that’s gotta be an exaggeration.” But the truth is — and I kid you not — this praise is no hyperbole.

Johnson really is nothing short of phenomenal in this film. He completely disappears into the role, and his performance is as raw, emotionally vulnerable, haunting, and heartbreaking as they come. And impressively, he’s able to go toe to toe with someone as versatile as Emily Blunt without having the spotlight stolen from him. It’s the sort of career-pivoting transformation that Hollywood loves to celebrate and audiences love to see, and given Johnson clearly has the acting chops, I hope this isn’t the last time we’ll see him attempt something like this.

And speaking of Blunt, the A Quiet Place and The Devil Wears Prada alum — who is no stranger to heavy material — once again knocks it out of the park with her on-screen work. She plays Mark Kerr’s girlfriend, Dawn Staples, and boy does she do a great job of making you hate her. Her performance is strongest when she’s acting opposite Johnson, with the two sharing several raw, emotionally charged scenes that rank among the most intense I’ve seen in years.

Lastly, I’ve gotta give a massive shout-out to Benny Safdie’s direction. Though The Smashing Machine is still very much a biopic, Safdie finds clever ways to break free from the usual genre hallmarks. Interestingly, he opts for a more artistic and observational — almost documentary-styled — approach that plays more like a character study than a conventional sports film. This gives The Smashing Machine a more grounded and realistic feel, which helps set it apart from other movies that feel too much like, well, movies.

Anyway, despite being a small-scale indie drama, The Smashing Machine is easily one of 2025’s most powerful and unforgettable films. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt both deserve to be recognized for their respective work here — Johnson in particular for turning in what’s without a doubt the finest performance of his career. And though some may need time to adjust to the idea of an A24–The Rock collaboration, I sincerely hope this film paves the way for more dramatic turns from the WWE-star-turned-actor.