Sticks, stones, body blows and multiple knees to the head may break his bones, but names are what do real damage to pioneering UFC fighter Mark Kerr, a beast of a man who could crush opponents in the ring and fall apart as soon as he stepped outside it.

In Benny Safdie ’s compellingly gritty and offbeat biopic, The Smashing Machine , Kerr wavers between hot and cold, passive and aggressive, chilled-out on the couch and pulverizing a door in his living room, showcasing a fragility that’s way bigger than his ballooning biceps. Played by Dwayne Johnson in the wrestler-turned-actor’s most absorbing turn yet , the mixed martial arts champ anchors a rise-and-fall fight flick that takes many cues from the genre but never delivers a Rocky -style knockout — nor does it even try to.

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