Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson deliver their Iron Claw in The Smashing Machine trailer

The Smashing Machine tells the story of MMA fighter Mark Kerr.

By Emma Keates  |  April 29, 2025 | 9:33am
Screenshot: A24/YouTube
Film News The Smashing Machine
Benny Safdie and Dwayne Johnson deliver their Iron Claw in The Smashing Machine trailer
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There’s been a lot of talk about Josh Safdie’s curious, Timothée Chalamet-led table tennis project Marty Supreme, but relatively less about his brother’s sports-centered film, The Smashing Machine. That may change today with the release of the film’s first trailer, which features Dwayne Johnson in a far more serious light than we’ve seen him in years (or perhaps ever). A24—which will also distribute Marty Supreme—is really cashing in on the concept of sports biopics lately. The new trailer for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine has some undeniable The Iron Claw resonances, as Safdie presents his portrait of the MMA fighter as a young man.

“Before it was a worldwide phenomenon… there was UFC legend Mark Kerr,” a text overlay in the trailer reads, before it goes on to hit all the classic sports biopic beats. Johnson depicts Kerr, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion, as a relatively gentle giant (emphasis on the giant—Johnson is fittingly imposing throughout), constantly pushing himself to be the best. He “absolutely” doesn’t hate his opponents when they fight, as he tells a fellow emergency room visitor at the beginning of the clip, but he may intermittently hate himself. He also has a complicated relationship with his wife, Dawn (Emily Blunt), whom he alternately snaps at and turns to for comfort. Now, he has to fight “a good friend for a life-changing amount of money,” which probably won’t be emotionally charged or confusing at all. We’ll see when The Smashing Machine enters the octagon on October 3.

 
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