The Smashing Machine

The Smashing Machine Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Lyndsey Gavin, and Ryan Bader

Director: Benny Safdie

What’s Good: The performances and the overall production value are quite high, with great sets and costumes.

What’s Bad: The film’s structure and pacing are all over the place, and it doesn’t feel like it adds anything to the narrative.

Loo Break: Like it is usual with films that have a bit of structural problems, the second act can become a bit heavy and boring at times, so there is your opening.

Watch or Not?: Yes, this is a watch, especially if you are a Dwayne Johnson fan, and you would like to see him do something different.

Language: English (with subtitles).

Available On: Theatrical Release.

Runtime: 123 Minutes

User Rating:

When the Safdie Brothers delivered Uncut Gems not long ago, viewers understood that the brothers could basically turn anyone into a fantastic actor, with Adam Sandler delivering a career-best performance and, for some, being the best actor of that year. Now, it is the time for Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, who has become one of the biggest movie stars in the world, but hasn’t really proved that he is a good actor, until now, delivering like Sandler before him, a career best that will surely open a lot of doors for him in cinema.

The Smashing Machine Movie Review: Script Analysis

Sadly, we have to start with one of the most negative aspects of the film. Don’t get me wrong, the film is not bad, not awful, but it has several issues that stop it from being great, and one of those issues is the script and its structure. We understand that the Safdie Brothers have separated themselves from a directorial duo to now working on their own films, with Josh Safdie delivering his solo movie, Marty Supreme, later in the year. Both directors have a lot to prove, but it seems Benny is lacking in some particulars of the writing department.

The dialogue feels very unnatural at times, like not only the delivery but also the words themselves, which is strange because in previous films, the delivery of the dialogue was one of the best things about Safdie movies. However, it is the structure and the back-and-forth in time that really hurt the film. It feels like our main character’s story isn’t the most interesting. This also makes you feel like others should be the protagonist, which hurts even Dwayne Johnson’s fantastic performance.

The Smashing Machine also seems to want to be more of a classic drama than a film that can be both a sports film and a drama as well. Sadly, it took me out of the film a couple of times, with visions of Warrior with Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton coming to my mind, and I wished I was watching that film with this sense of style and performances. Will see what happens with Josh and Marty Supreme, but let’s hope his movie doesn’t suffer from these same issues.

The Smashing Machine Movie Review: Star Performance

The Smashing Machine will mostly be remembered for Dwayne Johnson’s performance. The movie star has finally found a sense of belonging on the screen when playing someone different from himself, which seemed to be a problem for him for most of his career, or at least, if this movie is evidence of it, a lack of trying and playing it safe. Johnson is not playing it safe here in The Smashing Machine, and the film is better for it. He probably won’t receive an Oscar or anything like that, but this is huge for him.

Emily Blunt also smashes the screen, but this is usual for her; she feels like she is ready to be the lead on something big, but Hollywood keeps presenting her as a secondary character to others. It’s a shame, but she is amazing here.