Dwayne Johnson is well-known for his pro wrestling career, as well as being the smoldering action star in fun franchises like Jumanji and Fast & Furious, but his next project is a whole different animal. The Rock stars in A24’s The Smashing Machine, a biographical sports drama about MMA fighter Mark Kerr, and while I wasn’t sure what to expect from the actor in possibly his most interesting role yet, critics have me hyped with their comments from the Venice International Film Festival.
The Smashing Machine premiered at the film festival a month before it hits the 2025 movie calendar, and critics sure had a lot to say about the Benny Safdie movie that reunites Dwayne Johnson with Emily Blunt, who he starred alongside in 2021’s The Jungle Cruise. This movie was definitely not a Disney theme park ride, said Nicholas Barber of the BBC. In fact, don’t be surprised if we see Johnson’s name on the Oscars ballot, the critic says, rating the film 4 out of 5 stars and saying:
