The Smashing Machine (2025) poster
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FilmR2025

The Smashing Machine

DramaHistoryAction

In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn. From TMDB

205 reactions from 4 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy, TMDB reviews) · newest Aug 19, 2026 · last updated Oct 9, 2026 · How this works

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The Experts
66%
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The People
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audience score

Reactions

60 of 205 · most liked first
  • David Cooper @davidbcooper.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 3, 2025

    I think “The Smashing Machine” should have been a title for a Wallace and Gromit film instead.

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  • Ken Jennings @kenjennings.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 6, 2025

    I waited through two hours of movie for them to build the Smashing Machine for the Rock to fight. They never built the Smashing Machine. :(

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  • rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 17, 2025

    i wrote about The Smashing Machine, which is not a sports movie but a sobriety movie

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  • Letterboxd @letterboxd.socialBluesky · Apr 29, 2025

    The official trailer for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine is here 👀 Starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, the film will be released in theaters on October 3.

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  • DiscussingFilm @discussingfilm.netBluesky · Apr 29, 2025

    Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr in ‘THE SMASHING MACHINE’, his first A24 film. Directed by Benny Safdie.

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  • DiscussingFilm @discussingfilm.netBluesky · Dec 8, 2025

    Golden Globes Nominations — Best Actor in a Drama Film: • Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams • Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine • Michael B Jordan, Sinners • Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent • Jeremy Allen White, Springsteen • Oscar Issac, Frankenstein See the full nominees list: bit.ly/GGNoms25

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  • DiscussingFilm @discussingfilm.netBluesky · Aug 25, 2025

    Dwayne Johnson says he’s been scared to make a serious raw & gritty film like ‘THE SMASHING MACHINE’ “I realized that maybe these opportunities weren’t coming my way because I was too scared to explore this stuff” (Source: www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...)

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  • The Bulwark @thebulwark.comBluesky · Dec 28, 2025

    "If I taught cinema, I’d spend a couple of classes on Uncut Gems, The Smashing Machine, and Marty Supreme. It’d be a perfect way to demonstrate the importance of pace, the energy that a camera move can bring to a motion picture." ICYMI @sonnybunch.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4scLMNr

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  • Pop Base @popbase.tvBluesky · Dec 8, 2025

    Nominees for Best Actor in a Drama film at this year's #GoldenGlobes: Joel Edgerton - Train Dreams Oscar Isaac - Frankenstein Dwayne Johnson - The Smashing Machine Michael B. Jordan - Sinners Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent Jeremy Allen White - Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

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  • rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 21, 2025

    icymi last week i wrote about The Smashing Machine, a film i found to be startlingly clear-eyed about codependency and sobriety flaminghydra.com/repairing-th...

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  • dannyodwyer @dannyodwyer.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 18, 2026

    I loved the F1 movie but I just watched The Smashing Machine and it’s such a better film. It’s nuts it didn’t get that Best Picture slot. So human and grounded. Rock and the supporting cast are wonderful. It fails the Bechdel Test real hard but then I suspect that world does, especially back then.

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  • Brian Altano @brianaltano.bsky.socialBluesky · Aug 15, 2025

    Here is a photo I took six years ago of the Safdie brothers competing on a Pong machine and now one of them is making a movie called The Smashing Machine and the other is making a movie about ping pong. @a24movies.bsky.social

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  • UNITED24 @u24.gov.uaBluesky · Apr 29, 2025

    The official trailer for The Smashing Machine has been released, featuring our ambassador, Oleksandr Usyk. The film tells the true story of the rise and fall of legendary mixed martial arts fighter, Mark Kerr. It will hit theaters in October 2025. We are proud of our ambassador💙💛

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  • ᴛʜᴇ 𝕍𝔼ℝℕ𝕀𝕊ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾 @outlawvern.bsky.socialBluesky · Apr 30, 2025

    I'm not sure what to think about how much that Safdie/The Rock movie THE SMASHING MACHINE seems to just re-enact John Hyams' excellent 2002 documentary of the same name. Check that one out - it helped get him the gig on UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION and therefore made the world a better place.

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  • Benny Safdie @bowedtie.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 24, 2025

    It’s truly incredible to have the world premier for The Smashing Machine at the Venice Film festival 🎞️☄️. I’m just really excited for every one to see it… We really put everything we had into it

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  • Pop Base @popbase.tvBluesky · Dec 8, 2025

    Nominees for Best Supporting Actress in a Film at this year's #GoldenGlobes: Ariana Grande - Wicked: For Good Emily Blunt - The Smashing Machine Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value Amy Madigan - Weapons Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another

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  • natalie watson @nataliewatson.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 6, 2025

    i find it really disappointing that THE SMASHING MACHINE performed so poorly this past weekend. i think it's a remarkable film and without a doubt, the rock as mark kerr is a performance to be witnessed

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  • detren @[email protected]Lemmy · Mar 18, 2026

    A rant about these STUPID ads on Prime Video. TLDR; Oh my god who thought it’s a good idea to put ads in the middle of a movie and then TWO in the middle of a 27 minute long episode of a show!?!?!? I was watching _Fleabag_ on Prime last night (great show) and there were no ads, everything was going great, and then when watching _The Smashing Machine_ (Safdie) right afterwards I got an ad in the beginning. I think okay, I can still deal with that, standard prime is super cheap anyway here, so…

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  • Kermode and Mayo's Take @kermodeandmayo.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 4, 2025

    "I want neurotic chatterboxes falling in love!"❤️ Aimee Lou Wood joins us in this week's Take 🎬 She's bringing back the spirit of classic romcoms in her new series FILM CLUB 📽️🍿 + 🎞️ THE SMASHING MACHINE A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE URCHIN 🎧 Listen pod.fo/e/3358cf 📺 FULL SHOW www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiI_...

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  • Jacob Oller @jacoboller.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 2, 2025

    The Smashing Machine is like the awards bait version of one of Disney's "live-action " remakes. Wrote about it: www.avclub.com/the-smashing...

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  • Rolling Stone @rollingstone.comBluesky · Sep 1, 2025

    “I’ve been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now.” The Rock spoke at the Venice Film Festival about breaking out of his action-hero comfort zone with the new biopic ‘The Smashing Machine.’ www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...

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  • Richard Newby @richardlnewby.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 11, 2025

    Social media is not the world. We don’t need to do this “oh, my precious whites!” routine. It simply comes down to the fact that this was a small movie about a figure most aren’t familiar with. Even The Smashing Machine with The Rock and Emily Blunt didn’t do well at the box office. Let’s move on.

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  • natalie watson @nataliewatson.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 30, 2025

    i also really need to shoutout The Smashing Machine, which i saw over the weekend brilliant movie, maybe one of benny safdie’s bests???? looked and sounded gorgeous one i really hope everyone sees if only to witness how transformative dwayne johnson is as mark kerr. truly a singular performance

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  • Mark @markw.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 5, 2025

    I'm now seated for The Smashing Machine. Then, once my pathetic dick and balls are nice and flat, I'm going to go to the cinema to see the new Dwayne Johnson movie

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  • Benny Safdie @bowedtie.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 15, 2025

    This is a scene I couldn’t figure out where to put in The Smashing Machine but I love it as another moment in Mark’ Life. Enjoy! “And a diet Sprite” Movie is available to watch at home. Link to Apple in Bio with my director commentary and other stuff too. Let the movie 🌊over you!

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  • ᴛʜᴇ 𝕍𝔼ℝℕ𝕀𝕊ℍ𝕀ℕ𝔾 @outlawvern.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 9, 2025

    The Rock is genuinely great in THE SMASHING MACHINE (2025), a movie I find pretty fascinating even though (or because?) I have no idea why writer/director Benny Safdie stuck so closely to the style and content of John Hyams' excellent 2002 documentary of the same name.

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  • Cinefeast33 (demon version) 📽📺📚 @cinefeast33.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 9, 2026

    My ⭐️⭐️⭐️ review of THE SMASHING MACHINE boxd.it/d43CGP With such vivid title, film feels strangely inert. So low-key, so matter-of-fact, even fight scenes lack urgency. Johnson, Blunt, & UFC fighter Ryan Bader are good, but to what purpose? Screenplay never answers "why" we should care. #filmsky 📽

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  • Mathew Buck @filmbrainbmb.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 19, 2025

    New Projector review! Dwayne Johnson makes a dramatic comeback of his own in a career-best performance as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, about a man learning from defeat, but this biopic is far too indebted to the documentary that inspired it. youtu.be/i5vYFwfz-uo

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  • When To Stream @whentostream.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 19, 2025

    THE SMASHING MACHINE (2025) Streaming: November 4, 2025 PVOD (Apple, Amazon, Fandango at Home, etc.) #TheSmashingMachine www.whentostream.com/news/the-sma...

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  • Dan Thomas @itsdanthomas.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 4, 2025

    I’m sure it’s very good film, but the first time I heard the name, I assumed “The Smashing Machine” was the title of a new Wallace and Gromit.

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  • lichtmetzger @[email protected]Lemmy · Jan 23, 2026

    Dieses Jahr kommen sehr viele Kinofilme raus, ich werde vermutlich fast jede Woche mindestens 1x im Kino sein. - der Januar ist bisher recht trashig, mit so Quatschfilmen wie "Greenland 2" und "Mercy", aber "Send Help" könnte es vielleicht noch retten - im Februar kommt eine restaurierte 4K-Version von Prinzessin Mononoke in die Kinos 🥰 - mit "Marty Supreme" hat A24 nach sehr vielen Misserfolgen (The Legend of Ochi, The Smashing Machine) endlich mal wieder einen sehr gut bewerteten Film…

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  • Eric Szyszka @szyszka.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 15, 2025

    On Screen Live! Returns today at 12 pm/noon EST and I'm going Full Pretentious for our coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival. Reviews of Sacrifice, No Other Choice, Lost Bus, Nuremberg, Dead Man's Wire, Normal, The Smashing Machine, & more. www.youtube.com/live/69tZ1WA...

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  • Patrick Bromley @patrickbromley.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 17, 2025

    Finally caught up with THE SMASHING MACHINE, the year’s most two-star movie

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  • STARLOG Da7e Gonzales @da7e.comBluesky · Sep 29, 2025

    Seated for my THE SMASHING MACHINE screening. I don’t know much about the subject matter, but I am wary that at some point in this movie my reaction would be: “See, there, that’s where I would have quit.”

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  • Tom & Lorenzo @tomandlorenzo.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 9, 2025

    The #TIFF premiere red carpet for #TheSmashingMachine was all about the shirts. Dwayne Johnson ditched his and Emily Blunt wore the dumbest one we've seen all year tomandlorenzo.com/2025/09/toro...

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  • Courtney Howard @lulamaybelle.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 1, 2025

    Since it’s THE SMASHING MACHINE day at the Venice Film Festival, it’s worth noting that John Hyams’ documentary of the same name is exceptional and worth watching.

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  • Bill Chambers @flmfrkcentral.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 6, 2025

    ICYMI, @amuredda.bsky.social reviewed THE SMASHING MACHINE, which I had no idea was already in theatres, which might explain why it flopped this weekend. Anyhoo. filmfreakcentral.net/2025/09/tiff...

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  • Siddhant Adlakha @siddhantadlakha.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 6, 2025

    Some notes on The Rock's performance in "The Smashing Machine," where it fits into his career, and how it's the latest, arguably necessary business calculation for his floundering brand image—none of which is a bad thing given where he goes emotionally joysauce.com/the-rock-reb...

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  • Hallenbeck77 @hallenbeck77.bsky.socialBluesky · Jul 11, 2026

    Kinda hard to be nostalgic for a film that came out barely a decade ago, and a sequel that came out just last year. I still think Dwayne Johnson pushed for this because his last three films tanked HARD (Black Adam, Red Zone, and The Smashing Machine), and is desperate for a hit.

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  • CrossRaven @crossraven.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 7, 2025

    #LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched 1 Hollywood, 3 Japanese. Not the best week. 1) For a guy knowing as The Smashing Machine he didn't actually smash anything in this movie. Not even his wife. 2) How the pacing of the previous movie can kill the sequel 3) Barry Allen made this 4) God wants you dead

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  • Paul Putner @realpaulputner.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 7, 2025

    There's a new film out now called 'The Smashing Machine'. Is it about? 1) An eccentric prof who invents a contraption that's really rather super? 2) An eccentric prof who invents a demolition bulldozer robot that goes haywire and kills people? 3) Another film about boxing?

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  • Justin Sevakis @worldofcrap.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 4, 2025

    I wanna go see a movie this weekend but am really not interested in The Smashing Machine, which basically looks like the male equivalent of The Last Showgirl: aging populist actor not known for acting ability does a serious movie where they sad and that's pretty much the only point, oscar pls

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  • When To Stream @whentostream.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 1, 2025

    The Venice Film Festival world premieres continue today with Benny Safdie's THE SMASHING MACHINE, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. A24 will launch the film in US theaters on October 3rd. Here are the first reactions: www.whentostream.com/news/venice-...

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  • 𖤐 Bri 𖤐 @brianimator.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 6, 2025

    The Rock was so great in this! An excellent performance, though this was a very basic biographical film. Cinematography is great of course. I would suggest this to people interested in the sport or like Dwayne Johnson. #filmsky My ★★★½ review of The Smashing Machine on @letterboxd: boxd.it/bhNj9Z

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  • Alonso Duralde @aduralde.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 3, 2025

    Reviewing The Smashing Machine for The Film Verdict #filmsky 📽️

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  • Ian Rennie @theangelremiel.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 7, 2025

    The Rock is in a movie called The Smashing Machine, and even though I know it's a film about MMA fighter Mark Kerr in my head it's just a film about a really good machine.

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  • Kevin Miranda @kevinmiranda.bsky.socialBluesky · May 21, 2024

    First look at Dwayne Johnson in his A24 film THE SMASHING MACHINE.

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  • Tobias Carroll @tobiascarroll.bsky.socialBluesky · Nov 14, 2025

    It's been odd seeing movies like "Christy" and "The Smashing Machine" getting fairly wide releases from the outset as opposed to building buzz with a limited release. (And it's been frustrating seeing a movie like "Americana" treated as a huge disappointment solely because of its box office.)

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  • Eryk @peregrinecoast.pressBluesky · Oct 20, 2025

    The state of the arts in the North is having a MUBI subscription and the film of the week being The Smashing Machine three weeks in a row because the other films aren’t being played up here

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  • Jiggety Jatters. The worst name. @jessefuchs.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 7, 2025

    things would be much less confusing if the Chalamet ping-pong champ movie was called “The Smashing Machine”, the new Scorsese doc was called “Marty Supreme”, and the new Dwayne Johnson Oscar Play was called “Untitled Dwayne Johnson Oscar Play”

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  • Out of Context Simpsons Treehouse of Horror 🎃 @ooccouchgags.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 4, 2025

    Watched The Smashing Machine I can appreciate Dwayne Johnson for trying to perform which he does a great job with as well with the rest of the cast but unfortunately the script plays all of the beats seen in bio-pics that it makes the movie decent to watch but not great

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  • Dan Whitehead @danwhitehead.netBluesky · Oct 3, 2025

    My brain when I heard Dwayne Johnson was starring in a movie called The Smashing Machine:

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  • Gary Bainbridge @garybainbridge.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 1, 2025

    The Smashing Machine could be the title of every Wallace & Gromit film.

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  • Breakfast All Day @bfastallday.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 1, 2025

    Christy @christylemire.bsky.social and Alonso @aduralde.bsky.social were not knocked out by The Smashing Machine #filmsky 📽

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  • Chris will ramble about movies @outtothemovies.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 6, 2026

    #LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched: • The Smashing Machine was too staged • One Battle After Another rewatch clarifies my strong favor for this tale of 4 very different parents. • The Bride was audacious and messy. Annette Bening 😍 • Prey was the pandemic’s best action movie. #FilmSky

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  • Willow Catelyn Maclay @willowcatelyn.bsky.socialBluesky · Oct 24, 2025

    A few words on The Smashing Machine and why I think it doesn't work. letterboxd.com/catelyn/film...

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  • Richard Smyth @rsmythfreelance.bsky.socialBluesky · Sep 24, 2025

    I keep seeing ads for a film called The Smashing Machine and I'm choosing to believe it's meant to be said in the same way as you'd say The Splendid Contraption or The Marvellous Gizmo.

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  • Multiple Rovert Theory @mongoebooks.bsky.socialBluesky · Mar 27, 2025

    Very curious about the Smashing Machine and Rock's performance in comparison to the style of the film after reading this. www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/3/...

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  • Blackmist @[email protected]Lemmy · May 14, 2026

    I watched The Smashing Machine because I heard they made the Rock actually act in it. They didn't, they just stuck a wig on him.

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  • Cinefeast33 (demon version) 📽📺📚 @cinefeast33.bsky.socialBluesky · Feb 9, 2026

    #NowWatching THE SMASHING MACHINE (2025). Director: Benny Safdie. Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt. Biopic about early UFC fighter nabbed Blunt & Johnson Golden Globe noms. One question...does it Rock? #filmsky 📽

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Official Trailer

Top Cast

Dwayne Johnson actor profile photo
Dwayne Johnson
Mark Kerr
Emily Blunt actor profile photo
Emily Blunt
Dawn Staples
Ryan Bader actor profile photo
Ryan Bader
Mark Coleman
Bas Rutten actor profile photo
Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Oleksandr Usyk actor profile photo
Oleksandr Usyk
Igor Vovchanchyn
Lyndsey Gavin actor profile photo
Lyndsey Gavin
Elizabeth Coleman
Zoe Kosovic actor profile photo
Zoe Kosovic
McKenzie Coleman
Satoshi Ishii actor profile photo
Satoshi Ishii
Enson Inoue

Cast from TMDB.

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