For years, Dwayne Johnson has been Hollywood’s most reliable walking bicep. He’s fought earthquakes, jungles, gorillas, and logic. He’s headlined everything from G.I. Joe: Retaliation to Moana, Central Intelligence, and Baywatch. He even made us believe in the emotional range of a guy who wears the same khaki shirt in every movie. But for all his box office dominance, critics (and let’s be honest, the internet) haven’t let up on one thing: he always plays Dwayne Johnson playing someone else. Until now. Enter The Smashing Machine—a gritty A24 biopic that somehow manages to include The Rock, prosthetics, wigs, and still be taken seriously.
Directed by Benny Safdie (yes, the Uncut Gems guy, now flying solo), the film tells the story of Mark Kerr, a UFC legend whose career from 1997 to 2009 was as brutal as it was tragic. If you watched HBO’s 2002 documentary of the same name, you’ll know this isn’t just another sports movie. It’s messy, it’s human, and—this is where things get weird—it might just earn The Rock some awards buzz.
Is Dwayne Johnson seriously gunning for an Oscar with The Smashing Machine? Very possibly. He’s said as much in interviews, telling Variety that he’s done being the indestructible tough guy. He wants roles that “explore humanity and struggle and pain.” That’s a far cry from tossing helicopters with one arm.
So what’s different this time? For starters, there’s Safdie, a director who made Adam Sandler cry on screen without it being played for laughs. Then there’s the cast: Emily Blunt (always a win), UFC fighter Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk. And yes, Johnson has actual prosthetics on his face and a very un-Rock wig. He looks… different. Vulnerable, even.
Is it still kind of The Rock playing a wrestler? Technically, yes. But this time, he’s playing a fighter with a deeply flawed, spiraling life—not one saving the world with eyebrow raises.
Will it work? Time will tell. But if The Smashing Machine pulls it off, Dwayne Johnson might finally get people to stop talking about his shirt. And that, friends, would be his biggest flex yet.
The Smashing Machine could be the film that changes everything for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. And we’re ready for it.
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The Smashing Machine arrives in movie theaters on October 3. Watch the trailer below.
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