‘The Smashing Machine' First Look: Dwayne Johnson Goes for Oscar in Benny Safdie's Biopic

It looks like cameras are rolling on Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine,” being produced by A24. A first look image has been unveiled by the studio. There is a very slight chance that we might get to see this one in late 2024, potentially during awards season. I wouldn’t put it past A24 to sneak this one in.

“The Smashing Machine,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, is based on the life of MMA fighter Mark Kerr. This is said to be Johnson’s Oscar role, it’s his first independent film since 2005’s “Southland Tales.”

Johnson previously told Variety that he’s at a point “where I want to make films that matter, that explore humanity, struggle and pain […] I’m at this point where I want more. I don’t mean I want more box office. I mean I want more humanity.” Good for him.

“The Smashing Machine” will be a reunion of sorts for Johnson and Blunt, they both starred in 2021’s “The Jungle Cruise” and have remained friends ever since. This will be Benny’s solo directing debut — a biopic based on the life of MMA fighter. Kerr’s career peaked during the “no-holds-barred era of the UFC,” in the early 2000s. His life — filled with substance abuse addiction — sounds like it could be prime material for Safdie’s brand of visceral cinema.

I’ve always said that, with the right script, Johnson can be a good actor. Beyond the muscular physique, he’s got the chops to pull it off. It’s always been a disservice to him to have the public believe that he can’t act — the problem is that he’s being stereotyped to play the same character in every action movie he’s starred in.

His best work still remains his turn as the psychotic, coked out bodybuilder in Michael Bay’s “Pain and Gain,” a total guilty pleasure set in the dark underworld of Miami bodybuilding. It’s easily his best performance. I also thought Johnson was hilarious with the 10 minutes of screentime he was given in “The Other Guys.”