It would be wrong to suggest that Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine shows Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in an entirely new light. Johnson is playing a professional wrestler – and so the new role is a chip off the old block. Safdie, though, is forcing one of Hollywood’s most popular mainstream stars to grapple with parts of his personality that are usually left untouched. Johnson gives a performance of immense pathos, intensity and depth – one that looks bound to win him awards recognition.
Co-star Emily Blunt (who previously worked with Johnson in the goofy action comedy Jungle Cruise) is likewise a long way out of her comfort zone as the wrestler’s loyal but emotionally unstable girlfriend. She is both his biggest support, and, at times, the agent of his destruction.
