‘The Smashing Machine’: Packs solid punch

The fans will be pleasantly surprised to see a transformed Dwayne Johnson in an Oscar-worthy role. He certainly seems to have come a long way — from doing solo action-oriented roles to graduating to comedy and now an action drama that received a 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.

We’ve seen many sports biopics, some of them really great experiences (‘Rocky’, ‘Million Dollar Baby’, ‘The Iron Claw’, to name a few), but this one tries to be different. This is a Verite-styled drama-heavy action film, a biopic about mixed-martial arts and UFC champion, Mark Kerr.

Writer-director Benny Safdie clearly attempts to make this sports movie minus the expected cliches. The docu-drama approach is what makes this film give out a different vibe. The audience is made an uninvolved observer of Kerr’s unravelling and fightback. The presence of real-life figures from the world of MMA makes it all feel real.

Mark Kerr’s under-the-radar MMA turn comes in for a different treatment. John Hyams’ (who is credited as a producer here) documentary ‘The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr’ forms the basis for this movie.

The narrative opens with Kerr’s first MMA tournament in Sao Paulo. Johnson plays Kerr with a wig and some face-changing heavy make-up. The movie concentrates around 1997-2000 at a time when the UFC wasn’t considered popular enough.

Kerr’s first MMA tournament, the World Vale Tudo Championships, has him slam down and smash Paul Varelans (Andre Tricoteux), Mestre Hulk (Marcus Aurelio) and Fabio Gurgel (Roberto Abreu) and it’s quite a sight. His winning all three matches, throwing his opponent down and smashing his head with his huge fists — it all generates quite an adrenaline gush.

In order to get somewhere in the MMA, Kerr has to fight in Japan, in the Pride Fighting Championships. In one of his fights, when an opponent uses an illegal move, Kerr’s protest leads to a no-decision, and this causes him to lose control over his career and life for a brief spell.

The high-maintenance girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt) adds to his troubles. He battles his opioid dependency, and finds himself constantly arguing with his long-term girlfriend. It takes several months for Kerr to go clean, but Dawn doesn’t and his home-life takes a beating. In the meantime, his buddy Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader) has risen up the MMA ranks, and has come close to setting up a potential showdown with him at the Grand Prix. The film follows Kerr as he works through these hiccups to ascend to the top.

Kerr is vicious in the ring but out of it, he is a gentle lamb. Kerr doesn’t feel any animosity towards those he fights and Johnson portrays Kerr quite appropriately. When he is addicted, he just looks dazed and unlike himself. But when he is in the ring, he epitomises a smashing machine. This is probably a career-defining performance from Dwayne Johnson.

The film, like all sports movies, has an inspiring, against-all-odds comeback story. It’s the over-concentration on the Mark-Dawn relationship that drags it down a bit. But you won’t leave the theatre dissatisfied. The overall effect is stirring enough to pack a sucker punch.