Oct. 3 marked the release of “The Smashing Machine” and the film’s director, writer, producer and editor, Benny Safdie’s, first film without collaboration from his brother Josh Safdie.
The biographical film, shot like a documentary, depicts the good, the bad and the ugly of former mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr’s career and personal life between the years 1997 to 2000. Based on the 2002 documentary “The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr,” directed by John Hyams, the film recreates several scenes from the documentary and dramatizes several more.
The last time audiences saw Dwayne Johnson in a serious role was nearly 20 years ago in “Gridiron Gang” (2006). Johnson is brilliant alongside Emily Blunt, showing that he is capable of more than just being an action and comedy star; however, the lack of provoking and original material from Benny Safdie dimmed his performance.
While it is great to see Johnson expanding his horizons, this biopic fails to set itself apart from the abundance of them we have seen in recent years. Examples of other biopics include “Elvis” (2022) about Elvis Presley, “Blonde” (2022) about Marilyn Monroe and “A Complete Unknown” (2024) about Bob Dylan.
How deep are we into the crisis of creating original material that we have to tell stories that have already been told and in some cases, tell the stories of people who are alive and well enough to tell them on their own?
The film opens on a hazy highlight reel depicting Mark Kerr (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and his experience participating in an MMA tournament in 1997 São Paulo, Brazil. The footage is accompanied by a voice over of an interview discussing what goes through Kerr’s mind during a fight, where Johnson echoes Kerr’s words from the 2002 documentary. “You know, in the ring, my thoughts are pretty pure. I’m gonna hurt him before he hurts me, and if he hurts me, I’m gonna hurt him twice as bad.”
As the highlight reel ends, the interview continues in Birmingham, Alabama where Kerr is minutes away from stepping into the octagon and winning yet another fight, continuing his unbeaten streak.
The film then jumps forward to 1999 to one of Kerr’s post-fight doctor visits that is almost entirely replicated from the original documentary; from Kerr’s interest in the bottles of opioids sitting on his doctor’s desk to the questions asked from another patient about his condition and career.
Now at home in Phoenix, with his girlfriend, Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt), tension begins to rise as audiences get a first look at Kerr’s complex relationship with Dawn and his opioid addiction.
Kerr later travels to Japan to compete and discuss issues regarding his contract ending. Prior to the match, all participants were required to attend a conference regarding new rules. Kerr goes on to lose his first fight due to non-compliance with the new rules.
In addition to being under the influence in the days leading up to the fight, Dawn and Kerr have an argument about her importance in his life, both contributing to his recent setback.
In Phoenix once again, Dawn and Kerr have yet another argument, this time about his addiction to drugs. This altercation is followed by Kerr’s hospitalization due to an overdose. In the hospital, Kerr is visited by his friend, fellow athlete and coach, Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader). In his conversation with Coleman, Kerr recounts how he ended up in the hospital and discusses getting clean.
Freshly out of rehab, Kerr begins training with Bas Rutten. Under Bas’s guidance, Kerr reaches top physical shape and begins winning fights again. It is during one of these training sessions where Bas injures himself and Kerr provides him with an opioid shot, that Kerr truly displays how far he has come from the days of his usage.
Now in Japan for the Pride 2000 Grand Prix, Kerr wins his first round before his rekindled relationship with Dawn comes crashing back down. Following an argument between the two that ended in Kerr kicking her out of the house, Dawn attempts suicide twice and is eventually taken away to be assessed.
As the film comes to a close, Kerr loses in one of the final matches of the grand prix, meanwhile in the background, Coleman goes on to win the title and the $200,000 cash prize alongside it.
Fast forward to present day Scottsdale, Ariz., the film features a cameo by Mark Kerr himself where the onscreen text reveals that he officially retired in 2009 and that he and Dawn later reunited, got married and had one child together.
Despite Kerr’s appreciation for the film, which is a conclusion that can be reached by his comment: “When the movie showed at Venice, I couldn’t believe how emotionally impactful it was. It was like therapy with a thousand people in the room. It was a beautiful experience.” It’s more concerning how this film and others like it are reflecting our growing culture of no longer being able to think for ourselves.
In a world where AI tools like ChatGPT are taking hold of our arts, pushing out new and original content seems to be our saving grace; biopics based on documentaries that are still available for us to access are unnecessary and quite frankly unappealing.
