The Smashing Machine
2025 • TMDB 64% • 2h 3m • Drama, History, Action
Where to Watch
For the latest US streaming, rental, and purchase options for The Smashing Machine, see The Smashing Machine on JustWatch US. Availability changes by provider and date, so check the JustWatch US listing before you watch.
Overview
In late-1990s mixed martial arts, Mark Kerr is the fighter everyone fears and the man nobody quite knows how to help. Benny Safdie’s film follows Kerr at the height of his dominance, when victory in the ring brings money, attention, and a punishing training load, while away from the cage his life grows more fragile. Dwayne Johnson plays Kerr as a soft-spoken, physically imposing athlete whose confidence collapses under injury, painkiller use, and a volatile relationship with Dawn Staples, played by Emily Blunt. Around them, Mark Coleman, his family, and his team show both the loyalty and the pressure of a sport still finding its rules. The film avoids a simple rise-and-fall sports story, instead staying close to Kerr’s routines, doubts, and attempts to stay in control. It is a restrained, often uncomfortable portrait of greatness, addiction, and the cost of being called unstoppable.
Why Watch The Smashing Machine?
Watch it for Johnson’s most restrained and transformative performance, for Safdie’s intimate, documentary-like approach to fight life, and for a sports drama that cares more about what happens between fights than about who wins them. The result is tense, humane, and unusually honest about addiction and fame.
Director and Cast
- Director: Benny Safdie
- Dwayne Johnson (Mark Kerr)
- Emily Blunt (Dawn Staples)
- Ryan Bader (Mark Coleman)
- Oleksandr Usyk (Igor Vovchanchyn)
- Lyndsey Gavin (Elizabeth Coleman)
- Zoe Kosovic (McKenzie Coleman)
- Satoshi Ishii (Enson Inoue)
Official Trailer
An official trailer from a studio or verified channel was not verified for this post, so no trailer is linked here.
More Like This
Source for facts and images: TMDB. Streaming status checked on JustWatch US, October 30, 2026.
Leave a Reply