The wrestler turned Hollywood superstar gets vulnerable in this bruising indie drama about mixed martial arts fighting. He’s “touching” and could well be nominated for awards.
Dwayne Johnson may not use his professional wrestling nickname on his film credits, but every time he’s on the big screen, it still feels appropriate to call him The Rock. That’s how sturdy he seems to be. It’s not just that his heroic characters can shrug off punishment that would pulverise the rest of us, it’s also that they grin pearly white grins while they’re doing so. Johnson’s Hollywood career is built on the impression he gives of being indestructible. The Smashing Machine, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival today, is our first opportunity to see that The Rock can crumble.
An arthouse dramatisation of a 2002 HBO documentary, this sensitive film tells the true story of Mark Kerr, a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who was a pioneer of the bloodily violent sport in the years before its champions were rich and famous. Johnson is probably the only actor alive who could play Kerr convincingly: his colossal, sculpted bulk fills the screen, and because he has a full head of hair for a change, his towering appearance raises the question of why Marvel used CGI for the Hulk in the Avengers films. If they had just painted Johnson bright green, they could have saved themselves a lot of bother.
