The Smashing Machine
Movie, 2025, The 2020s, Set in Mark Kerr, MMA
The Smashing Machine is #35 of 35 in release order and #35 of 35 in chronological order in the Sports Movies.
The story
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.
The Smashing Machine recap
The Smashing Machine (2025) follows Mark Kerr, an early MMA and UFC champion, through the painkiller addiction and stormy relationship that shaped his career. Benny Safdie writes and directs the mixed martial arts drama, released by A24 and shot largely on 16mm film. Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) is interviewed in 1997 about his success in the UFC, then seen in 1999 fighting for big purses in Japan with his friend Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) in his corner. At home he lives with his girlfriend Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt), and their fights grow worse as his drug use does. After a crushing loss he sobs in the locker room, then overdoses at home. He goes into rehab, which strains things with Dawn until she leaves, and trains with Bas Rutten (as himself), getting into peak shape and winning his next fight. He takes Dawn back and leaves camp, but breaks up with her over her partying, and she attempts suicide. The Smashing Machine comes last in this list, after F1.
The Smashing Machine ending explained
The Smashing Machine ends with the real Mark Kerr in 2025, shopping in Scottsdale before driving away. Distracted by Dawn, Mark loses badly in Japan at the 2000 Pride Grand Prix, which Coleman goes on to win with his encouragement. Getting stitches, Mark sits in the shower, smiling at the loss. Closing text says he and Dawn married ten days later, stayed married six years and had a son, and that he retired in 2009. The film won the Silver Lion at Venice.
Where to watch The Smashing Machine
The Smashing Machine is streaming on HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 71%
Where it fits
Cast
- Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr
- Emily Blunt as Dawn Staples
- Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman
- Bas Rutten as Bas Rutten
- Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn
- Lyndsey Gavin as Elizabeth Coleman
- Zoe Kosovic as McKenzie Coleman
- Satoshi Ishii as Enson Inoue
- James Moontasri as Akira Shoji
- Yoko Hamamura as Kazuyuki Fujita
- Paul Cheng as Masaaki Satake
- Andre Tricoteux as Paul Varelans
Directed by Benny Safdie.