American cinema has long been fascinated by professional fighters. Rocky, Raging Bull, The Fighter, The Wrestler, Cinderella Man, Creed, Million Dollar Baby, Girlfight, Ali, The Hurricane, Warrior — the list goes on and on. Within this sports subgenre, actors like Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Hillary Swank, Michael B. Jordan, and many more have made their mark, with rave reviews, big box office, award nominations, and big wins. So, it’s a shrewd move for Dwayne Johnson to prove he’s ready to leap from smoldering action-comedy star to dramatic heavyweight with The Smashing Machine.
The pro wrestler formerly known as The Rock has spent decades building broad appeal as a movie star, ranging from the lip-curling machismo in the Fast and Furious franchise, to the bouncy bravado of his voicework as Maui in Moana, to a swath of half-baked action movies that coast on his broad shoulders and signature smile. But with The Smashing Machine, Johnson sheds his larger-than-life persona to disappear into the role of UFC fighter Mark Kerr.
The ways he does this are laudable, but the results are mixed because of writer/director Benny Safdie’s challenging choices in constructing this narrative and reconstructing his leading man’s face.
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