The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson Transforms Into UFC Fighter Mark Kerr for Benny Safdie’s Solo Directing Debut

Fans of Dwayne Johnson sometimes lament that The Rock doesn't take on more serious films, and he has one in The Smashing Machine, the first feature film Benny Safdie has written and directed without his brother, Josh Safdie. The Smashing Machine finds Johnson transformed into Mark Kerr, who was a UFC fighter before UFC was a global sensation.

The beats, in the trailer, are familiar: Kerr is suffering for a little-respected sport, with a loving girlfriend, Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt), who he can't completely let into his violent world. His sacrifices include taking on an incredible amount of pain, which he treats first with Advil — and then much stronger remedies. But that creates more problems.

Frank Sinatra's "My Way" plays, perhaps ironically, as it has in many movies before. But it's all pretty mesmerizing, and seeing The Rock take on real drama is, itself, reason enough to be interested:

Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine

The casting is inspired: Johnson is just a few years younger than Kerr, who is now 56, and is one of the few people on Earth who could convincingly play the former UFC fighter and wrestler, who weights in at more than 250 pounds. Dwayne Johnson, of course, came out of the WWE before becoming one of our most bankable movie stars.

The film, written and directed by Safdie, also stars Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten and Oleksandr Usyk. It comes to theaters October 3 from A24. The release date suggests confidence in the film''s awards prospects.

With Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie directed a stellar run of films — Heaven Knows What (2014), Good Time (2017), and Uncut Gems (2019) — before taking a few years to focus mostly on acting. He stood out in both Licorice Pizza (2021), Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. 

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The Smashing Machine follows the 2005 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, directed by John Hyams, which, as you may have guessed from the title, also follows Kerr's extraordinary life and career.

The documentary follows Kerr his first MMA tournament, the no-holds-barred World Vale Tudo Championships in São Paulo, Brazil, through his struggle with pain medication. It also tracks his rivalry and friendship with fellow fighter Mark Coleman, who is played by Bader in Safdie's film.

The Smashing Machine arrives in theaters October 3 from A24.

Main image: Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. Courtesy of A24.