GNOME CINEMA
WHILE bear-baiting and cockfighting are seen as beyond the pale, the few-holds-barred brutality of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is deemed acceptable to civilised society, even though at its finest it is a spectacle that struggles to match the dignity of a pub brawl. In the US, its main governing body, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), has proved to be a bedrock of MAGAdom and launch pad for Joe Rogan.
The Smashing Machine is a biopic of an early mixer, Mark Kerr, set between 1997 and 2000. The posters call him a UFC legend, but the film concentrates on his exploits in the then more lucrative but now defunct Japanese championship, Pride.