{"id":271059,"date":"2025-09-10T05:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/?p=271059"},"modified":"2025-09-10T08:12:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T12:12:49","slug":"the-smashing-machine-new-trailer-watch-the-rock-become-mma-pioneer-mark-kerr-in-benny-safdies-acclaimed-biopic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maxim.com\/entertainment\/the-smashing-machine-new-trailer-watch-the-rock-become-mma-pioneer-mark-kerr-in-benny-safdies-acclaimed-biopic\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Smashing Machine’ New Trailer: Watch The Rock Become MMA Pioneer Mark Kerr In Benny Safdie’s Acclaimed Biopic"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest trailer for The Smashing Machine <\/em>continues to show typically unseen range from star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson<\/a>, who plays troubled two-time UFC heavyweight champ Mark Kerr in the A24<\/a>\u00a0biopic directed by Benny Safdie, one of the two Safdie brothers behind gritty indie hits\u00a0Uncut Gems<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Good Time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film focuses on Kerr’s rise as a dominant force in the early days of the UFC and his struggles outside the octagon. It explores his battle with a painkiller addiction and the toll the lifestyle takes on his career and his personal life, including his volatile relationship with his then-girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt). As an ambient mix of Phill Collins’ uplifting ballad “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” plays, the rift between the two is distilled in a couple of lines of dialogue. “A day without pain is like a day without sunshine,” Johnson’s Kerr says, to which Blunt’s Dawn responds, “This is getting bad, this is getting insane.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviews have already started to arrive following early screenings from critic, culminating in a solid 83 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>. BBC<\/a> <\/em>declared that “Johnson is probably the only actor alive who could play Kerr convincingly: his colossal, sculpted bulk fills the screen, and\u2026his towering appearance raises the question of why Marvel used CGI for the Hulk in the Avengers films. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
(YouTube\/A24) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

New York <\/a> <\/em>magazine similarly praised Johnson: “One couldn\u2019t blame Safdie for trying to avoid conventionality, but sometimes the conventions are there for a good reason. In the end, though, he understands that his greatest weapon here is his star. A weapon, and a gift.” And Deadline<\/a> <\/em>wrote, <\/em>“It\u2019s that rare beast, a biopic that\u2019s light on the bio and resistant to being a pic. It\u2019s a film about a human being, and its effect is strangely haunting, since Dwayne Johnson seems to do everything while doing nothing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not every critic has lavished such praise upon the film. The Contending<\/em>‘s<\/a> reviews summary reads, “The Smashing Machine<\/em> is a definite showcase for Johnson. The character he portrays, Mark Kerr, was a groundbreaking Mixed Martial Arts fighter, but in execution the result feels more like a decent 1980s TV-movie\u2014or an unnecessary reworking of The Wrestler<\/em>.” Meanwhile, The Times UK<\/a> <\/em>opined that the film is an “awards season equivalent of a ‘fugazi’ diamond. It looks like an Oscar contender, it sparkles like an Oscar contender, but on closer inspection it\u2019s entirely plastic and mostly worthless.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n