The Smashing Machine is a Smashing Success!
By: Francesco Defiore
I went to see this film solely to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s performance and left pleasantly surprised. This is easily one of the best films of the entire year, and I loved every moment of it.
Obviously the best part about this movie is The Rock’s performance as mix
martial artist Mark Kerr. This is hands down his greatest performance of his entire career. This film was The Rock’s redemption arc, and his attempt at reinventing his career worked. He is shockingly unrecognizable portraying Mark Kerr, and I have to give props to the makeup artists who pulled this off. For the first time, it feels like Dwayne is portraying a character that isn’t himself. In all of his movies he just plays the same character, but here it’s different. It finally feels like The Rock is taking acting seriously instead of just being a big blockbuster actor, and that is really refreshing to see.
Because The Rock took this role seriously, I genuinely was able to feel for his character. We got to see Mark Kerr’s highs and lows, his achievements and his struggles. Most importantly, we got to see him grow into the person he is today, and Dwayne portrayed all of that perfectly. Besides Dwayne, another standout is definitely Emily Blunt as Dawn Staples (Mark Kerr’s Girlfriend). She was phenomenal in this movie. Her chemistry with Dwayne was amazing and her performance was just so powerful. Just like with Mark Kerr we can also see her highs and lows and sympathize with her, and Emily Blunt portrays all of that perfectly in her performance.
Another thing I loved about this movie was the action sequences. They were really well choreographed and they had me at the edge of my seat the entire time I was watching them. The Rock and the people making this film really put a lot of effort into making these scenes very believable and the best that they can possibly be. I also thought this movie looked really good, especially the vfx. Now, the movie does have its issues. While I thought the pacing in the first and third acts was great, unfortunately, the second act isn’t the case. Its second act drags a lot and can be a bit boring at times. I feel that if the pacing was better, I would have definitely enjoyed the second act more. I also feel like the ending of the film was abrupt, and it didn’t feel like there was a proper conclusion to the story.
Overall, The Smashing Machine is a smashing hit in my eyes and is easily one of
the best biopics that I have ever seen. The Rock really went all out in this film, and I’ve gained so much respect for him. I really hope that he continues to do
more movies and roles like these in the future.
