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BRAWL OR NOTHING
The Chronicle
|October 03, 2025
DWAYNE JOHNSON PACKS AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH IN BRUISING BIOPIC OF UFC FIGHTER MARK KERR
DWAYNE Johnson muscles his way into possible Oscar contention in writer-director Benny Safdie’s lightweight biopic of a sports star considered one of the fiercest bare-knuckle fighters on the planet in his heyday.
Focusing on the period between 1997 and 2000 when Ohio-born wrestler and mixed martial artist Mark Kerr rose to fame, The Smashing Machine is an underdog story elevated by Safdie’s trademark documentary-style direction and stellar performances.
With the aid of impressive prosthetics, Johnson vanishes completely beneath the sweat-glistened facade of his flawed trailblazer, who becomes addicted to opioids as he punishes his battered and bruised body beyond the normal limits of human endurance.
This story is from the October 03, 2025 edition of The Chronicle.
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