The Smashing Machine Reviewed by an Autist

As someone who was too young to see the old pioneer days of UFC, I thought this movie paid decent homage to the legendary Mark Kerr. The Smashing Machine is a biopic about the life and mixed martial arts career of Mark Kerr. It's full of dramatic twists and turns, which show the battles that can go on internally for a professional fighter outside the fighting ring. 

I thought Dwayne Johnson was a good embodiment of Mark Kerr, given that he and Mark have a similar background in wrestling. They even look strikingly similar to one another around each other's age. Dwayne's acting performance shined when he used his wrestling expertise to shadow Mark Kerr's legendary wrestling fighting style. There were some intense acting moments that surprised me, like his rage when he fights with his then-girlfriend (Emily Blunt).

As much as this movie is a drama film, it had decent fight scenes that felt more like WWE-esque wrestling than balanced MMA fights. It makes sense given the fact that Mark Kerr's specialty was wrestling to prove it's the best fighting style. If I wanted to watch fights that are a complete package, I'd want to see that in Warrior. The action is not bad, but there's more to be desired in my opinion.

As far as the drama aspect of Mark's life goes, his life is a truly emotional roller coaster. He was giving himself steroids, which even affected his emotional well-being too. His toxic relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn, even made me deduce their marriage would've lasted 5 years tops, and I was right, as they were no longer together in real life. Those emotional drains on his emotional state make you question what's worth fighting for at all.

All in all, this movie was okay as a biopic for an MMA legend like Mark Kerr, and I hope people watch this to know his name for generations to come. The fight scenes were decent, and the drama was something else. The highest honor this movie is nominated for is an Oscar for best hairstyling and makeup, which should tell you how flat the direction of the movie really is compared to the surrounding hype. I'd give this film a 6 out of 10.