Dwayne Johnson’s leftfield career turn The Smashing Machine, from Benny Safdie, is arriving this autumn. More details here.
Almost everything about Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine has us curious.
We’ve encountered cinematic takes on mixed martial arts before that have been fun, but never a biopic. Then there’s the fact that this is Benny Safdie’s solo directorial outing. He’s made a couple of great films, co-directed with brother Josh, but just as with the Coens over the last few years, it’s fascinating to see where a director chooses to go when they have full autonomy.
There’s more too: the tone of this film is said to be weirdly offbeat, and it’s certainly not going to be your standard boilerplate drama. Adjectives like ‘gonzo’ and ‘indescribable’ have been thrown around. And let’s not forget the Rock factor either. This is the first of several big swings from Dwayne Johnson as he seeks to recalibrate his career path away from empty blockbusters and towards projects where he is isn’t just playing a two-dimensional tough guy.
In the promotional image we’ve seen for the film, the prosthetics he’s wearing make him look unrecognisable, and there’s been speculation that his performance is going to take quite the leap forwards from anything we’ve previously seen. Gaining some critical admiration won’t hurt, either, given that after this the star will be going head to head with Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Hawaii-set crime thriller.
The film is based on the life of UFC champ Mark Kerr, whose career hit a high during the early days of the UFC in the early 2000s. The fighter battled with substance abuse addiction and was the topic of an insightful 2002 documentary, The Smashing Machine: The Life And Times Of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.
We’re interested to see how A24 is going to market it, especially to Johnson’s huge fanbase. The studio has slated a release date for the film though, announcing it will be arriving in October of this year. The film will release in the US on the 3rd, hopping into the slot that Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic is widely expected to vacate. The Universal and Lionsgate co-production is reportedly being split into two parts and getting a fresh release date. A24’s movie looks to have acted quickly to land that new spot in the calendar.
We’re hoping to see a trailer for The Smashing Machine in the not-too-distant future. We’ll let you know when it arrives.
