BRAWL OR NOTHING

DWAYNE JOHNSON PACKS AN EMOTIONAL PUNCH IN BRUISING BIOPIC OF UFC FIGHTER MARK KERR

- REVIEWS BY DAMON SMITH

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.