FILM
THE SMASHING MACHINE
IF YOU SMEEEEELL WHY THE ROCK IS CRYING
Muscling up some energy.
★★★★
OUT OCTOBER 3 / CERT 15 / 120 MINS
DIRECTOR Benny Safdie
CAST Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader
PLOT In the emerging UFC, Mark Kerr (Johnson) tries to overcome a devastating loss in the ring, with help from his girlfriend Dawn (Blunt) and friend Mark (Bader).
“WE, AS HUMANS, sometimes, we lose. What would that feel like?” This is the question put to Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) by a Japanese journalist at the beginning of The Smashing Machine. At the time of the interview, the mixed martial artist is undefeated, and the concept of losing seems alien to him. Flummoxed, he doesn’t have an answer.