Dwayne Johnson delivers a knockout in quite possibly the best role of his career, observes Mayur Sanap.
We love an underdog story.
The motivational journey from struggle to success that blends real-life heroism and inspiration is the stuff sports biopics are made up of.
All these human elements are packed into the real-life narrative of The Smashing Machine that tells the story of American wrestler and mix martial arts (MMA) fighter Mark Kerr.
Its formidable title aside, there's an extra edge of Dwayne Johnson's star image who gets into Kerr's boots with astonishing conviction in a serious acting showcase that's a far cry from his usual popcorn outings.
Directed by Benny Safdie, one half of the Safdie brothers who earlier made Uncut Gems, the film takes a modest approach to the subject matter with its unflashy quality that bypasses genre conventions like bombastic theatrics and a larger-than-life attitude towards the protagonist.
This is a refreshing change from the trite sport biopic template, but The Smashing Machine doesn't do it with complete success as the character drama in it never hits you hard like it should or give a rousing experience like the Rocky and Creed films did.
If you ain't familiar with Mark Kerr or the MMA, the film doesn't change that in any meaningful way or offer you new insights.
The film opens with an MMA contest in Sao Paulo, where we see Mark (Johnson) in the middle of a match.
He is at the peak of his career, enjoying immense popularity.
There are resounding cheers as Kerr defeats his opponent. The victory earns him the nickname 'The Smashing Machine'.
After the bout, a journalist asks Kerr how he would react to defeat.
This leaves Kerr perturbed and his happy expression suddenly changes to fear and confusion.
'I don't know,' he replies.
While the first half of the film is dedicated to Kerr's rise and fall and his addiction to painkillers and steroids, another half is about his insecurities and toxic relationship with his live-in girlfriend Dawn (a terrific but underutilised Emily Blunt).
These two halves feel like two different films that make the storytelling falter in consistency, failing to kick the drama into high gear that never arrives. Even the grandstanding finale lacks the tension or emotional heft that you would hope for in a story like this.
There are long passages that show the confrontation between Dawn and Kerr that play out like the reheated scenes between Jennifer Lawrence and Christian Bale in American Hustle.
Both actors are powerhouses here, but you wonder how much better these scenes could have been with better writing.
Dialogues like 'A day without pain is a day without sunshine' and 'There are tons of people who love you, but it gotta start with you' sound like they are lifted from a self-help manual instead of actual people communicating.
The film is shot in documentary style with a raw and grainy palate where shaky camera movements give us lingering view of the characters' psyche that often go with minimal or sometimes without dialogue.
This treatment feels interesting initially, but after a point, the storytelling turns painfully bland and slow and drags the film even with its less than two hours runtime.
It also hurts that despite Johnson at its centre, there are no high moments that would have made this film so much more interesting. Instead, the film takes the route of a straightforward redemption story that delves into the human side of the sports icon, but without the urgency and intensity it needed.
The Smashing Machine is inadequate in revealing the man behind the muscle, and that's frustrating for a biopic where you remain emotionally distant from the protagonist without the intimacy of character.
What keeps this film from getting out of hand is Dwayne Johnson's fierce and exciting performance.
He looks the part with a wig and prosthetics and explores the complexities of his character in a surprisingly emotional role. He gets a story that perfectly complements his brawny physique, but it's the emotional scenes that make him truly shine in a never-seen-before vulnerability on screen.
This is really his reinvention, and he delivers a knockout in quite possibly the best role of his career.
If only the film packed the same punch.
The Smashing Machine Review Rediff Rating: 
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