In The Smashing Machine, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson dons facial prosthetics to play a pro fighter whose thoughtful, kind, patient disposition is the exact opposite of the star’s brash, antagonistic, trash-talking WWE persona.

Nonetheless, the wrestler-turned-actor can’t fully disappear into the role of Mark Kerr, an early ultimate-fighting pioneer, as the film’s fixation on his gargantuan physique, when coupled with a paper-thin script, calls incessant, distracting attention to his real-life identity. With nothing lurking beneath his character’s brawny exterior, and even less to his up-and-down tale, Johnson proves merely an adequate contender in his bid for dramatic credibility, incapable of transforming this hollow sports biopic into a knockout.

Helmed by Benny Safdie (who won the best

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