The Smashing Machine Reviews: Dwayne Johnson Stuns Critics in Benny Safdie’s Venice Biopic

The Smashing Machine, the first solo directorial effort from Benny Safdie, premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and has already sparked a wave of mixed but passionate reviews. Starring Dwayne Johnson as real-life UFC fighter Mark Kerr and Emily Blunt as his partner Dawn Staples, the film avoids the clichés of traditional sports dramas in favor of a raw, intimate portrait of ego, addiction, and vulnerability.

The critical consensus so far is clear: Johnson’s career-defining performance is the film’s greatest strength. Deadline’s Damon Wise called it “truly remarkable,” praising Johnson’s total transformation beneath Kazu Hiru’s prosthetics and noting how early fight sequences look indistinguishable from real archival footage.

The Independent went so far as to headline its review “Dwayne Johnson is a real actor, and potentially a future Oscar winner.” While praising his performance as “the most raw and vulnerable Johnson has ever been on screen,” the outlet criticized the film’s pacing, arguing the narrative “begins to seem very hollow.”

Indiewire hailed Johnson as “an ideal match for Safdie and the material,” noting his ability to bridge the contrast between Kerr’s brutal dominance in the octagon and his wounded insecurity outside of it.

Little White Lies admired the film’s rejection of formulaic sports biopic tropes, emphasizing Safdie’s influences from the 1997 documentary The Smashing Machine and praising its condensed, vérité-inspired storytelling.

Not all reviews were glowing, however. Vulture critiqued the film in a piece titled “The Smashing Machine Is Too Soft for Its Own Good,” arguing that Johnson is “kind of the only thing in the movie.” The review highlighted the lack of depth given to Blunt’s Dawn, stating her frustrations receive “lip service but little depiction.”

On the other hand, Variety described Johnson’s work as a “revelation” and praised Safdie’s subtle exploration of fame and identity, noting: “The Smashing Machine isn’t a sports movie that wants to jerk a Pavlovian response of triumph out of us. It’s after something subtler and more moving.” By the end, the outlet wrote, Kerr “has won in the most transformative way. He has found the man buried inside the machine.”

Produced by A24, The Smashing Machine will be released theatrically on October 3, 2025, and is already positioning Johnson for serious awards consideration.