Cosmic Smash
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The Smashing Machine - Official Trailer
- Thread starter Cosmic Smash
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DKehoe
Member
The combination of the subject material and Benny Safdie means I'll definitely be watching.
I get that UFC is the brand people know. But I wouldn't really call Kerr a "UFC Legend" in the way that you would others. He fought on two events. If you were going to link him to a particular promotion, it would be Pride. But again, UFC is the name people recognise so they'll want to link it to that. The Rock is far too old to be playing Kerr at that point but they are using prosthetics to get him as close as they can. Kerr is only a few years older than him and this is set in the late 90s/early 2000s. But it will be interesting to see him not just play his usual persona.
The Smashing Machine documentary is a good watch. People should check it out if they can.
I spotted Ryan Bader in this and just saw that he's playing Mark Coleman. Oleksandr Usyk is playing Igor Vovchanchyn too.
I get that UFC is the brand people know. But I wouldn't really call Kerr a "UFC Legend" in the way that you would others. He fought on two events. If you were going to link him to a particular promotion, it would be Pride. But again, UFC is the name people recognise so they'll want to link it to that. The Rock is far too old to be playing Kerr at that point but they are using prosthetics to get him as close as they can. Kerr is only a few years older than him and this is set in the late 90s/early 2000s. But it will be interesting to see him not just play his usual persona.
The Smashing Machine documentary is a good watch. People should check it out if they can.
I spotted Ryan Bader in this and just saw that he's playing Mark Coleman. Oleksandr Usyk is playing Igor Vovchanchyn too.
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Represent.
Represent(ative) of bad opinions
Rock is going to knock it out of the park
Shaki12345
Banned
Rock has always been a great actor. He just chose projects where he couldn't show it off.
Clear
CliffyB's Cock Holster
True, but I guess it makes sense in the US at least where PRIDE is less known.
EverydayBeast
ChatShitGPT Alpha 0.001
I know details matter but this particular movie looks good, I want more movies on early UFC which is why I'll link these:
AJUMP23
Parody of actual AJUMP23
dem
Member
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SidViscous
Member
why Is he referring to himself in the third person asks Sid viscous
DKehoe
Member
DKehoe
Member
The Rock has previously claimed he considered going to fight in Pride around the time Kerr was fighting there
(I don't believe this is true, just a pro wrestler bullshitting)
(I don't believe this is true, just a pro wrestler bullshitting)
Going by the cast list on Wikipedia he's playing himself too.
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Coherenthy
Member
Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn? Such a weird casting. I mean Usyk is 6'3" while Vov is only 5'8" with a chunky frame.
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt
Biggest Trails Stan
I thought this was a Smashing Pumpkins movie, I was disappointed at first but watching the trailer made me more interested
Putonahappyface
Gold Member
I watched Mark Kerr fight in Pride and the UFC back in the day. If anyone hasn't seen the documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, I recommend doing so. Eye opening and horrific what fighters did to their bodies back then, let alone now.
Nice to see Bas Rutten in the film (huge fan)! I'm not a huge fan of Dwayne Johnson's acting, but his portrayal as Mark Kerr definitely has me intrigued going by the trailer.
Nice to see Bas Rutten in the film (huge fan)! I'm not a huge fan of Dwayne Johnson's acting, but his portrayal as Mark Kerr definitely has me intrigued going by the trailer.
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kpopSuperstar
Member
Kerr was my favorite fighter for a while and I watched that documentary 5-6 times back in the day. It's almost surreal to see this trailer. It's VERY faithful, I remember a lot of these scenes in the documentary.
calistan
Member
That's amazing! I mean, the game itself looks a bit shit, I'd have preferred a pixel art wrestling sort of thing, but A24's marketing is top notch. What a great idea.
DKehoe
Member
Yeh it's cool. Like you say the game itself doesn't look too amazing but it's got the right feel. I think that style does work better than pixels for what it's going for since it's that 2000 era. There was actually a couple Pride FC (the company Kerr fights for in the film) games for PS2.
DKehoe
Member
Anyone else seen this?
I liked it, maybe not quite as much as I hoped but still enjoyed it. It's good to see The Rock go for something different than his standard persona he's been trotting out for years. I hope this isn't a one and done experiment and he continues to stretch himself. With the prosthetics he looks different enough that you don't just look at him and think it's The Rock. It also helps cover up the age difference between the actor and the character. It can still feel a bit odd that Kerr is meant the younger fighter out of him and Coleman. He doesn't change his voice and so him sounding the same can break the immersion a bit. There's also a part later in the film where Kerr shaves his head and so The Rock ends up looking like an uncanny valley version of himself. Also, The Rock talking about his tummy being sensitive is fun.
The fight scenes are really well done. It really captures the feel of a Pride fight. My girlfriend was a bit shocked at how violent those were.
It plays it really close to the documentary, pretty much recreating a lot of parts 1:1. There's also some scenes added in that I think work well like the demolition derby in which you can see Kerr relating how the audience reacts to that to how they react to his fights. I also liked the ending, with Kerr's apparent relief at having lost, the man who once couldn't comprehend defeat now freed from the burden of being the unstoppable Smashing Machine. It's then contrasted to Coleman, the tournament winner, shown alone and melancholy after his celebration, still in that cycle. Kerr seemingly finding peace in having lost then works well leading into the final section where we see the real Kerr now seemingly happy living a quiet, normal life..
In the documentary, a lot of the personal drama happens off screen, whereas they're able to depict it in this and I think that helps fill in some of the blanks with the story. Emily Blunt is great as ever playing Kerr's girlfriend.
When I saw they had cast Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman I figured he wouldn't play that large a part and he was mostly just there as someone who can play out fights and training scenes in a convincing manner. But he's actually got a substantial role and surprised me by managing to hold his own. He did a really good job for someone who, as far as I know, doesn't have an acting background. Although, as someone who used to watch MMA, I will say that Coleman has a pretty distinctive look and voice and so it was odd to see another fighter I was also familiar with playing him. It kinda felt like it was taking place in some alternate reality. Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros playing themselves also maybe added to that sense of real but not quite real.
I liked the soundtrack a lot too. Going for contemporary jazz isn't what you would expect from that kind of film but it complements it well.
I liked it, maybe not quite as much as I hoped but still enjoyed it. It's good to see The Rock go for something different than his standard persona he's been trotting out for years. I hope this isn't a one and done experiment and he continues to stretch himself. With the prosthetics he looks different enough that you don't just look at him and think it's The Rock. It also helps cover up the age difference between the actor and the character. It can still feel a bit odd that Kerr is meant the younger fighter out of him and Coleman. He doesn't change his voice and so him sounding the same can break the immersion a bit. There's also a part later in the film where Kerr shaves his head and so The Rock ends up looking like an uncanny valley version of himself. Also, The Rock talking about his tummy being sensitive is fun.
The fight scenes are really well done. It really captures the feel of a Pride fight. My girlfriend was a bit shocked at how violent those were.
It plays it really close to the documentary, pretty much recreating a lot of parts 1:1. There's also some scenes added in that I think work well like the demolition derby in which you can see Kerr relating how the audience reacts to that to how they react to his fights. I also liked the ending, with Kerr's apparent relief at having lost, the man who once couldn't comprehend defeat now freed from the burden of being the unstoppable Smashing Machine. It's then contrasted to Coleman, the tournament winner, shown alone and melancholy after his celebration, still in that cycle. Kerr seemingly finding peace in having lost then works well leading into the final section where we see the real Kerr now seemingly happy living a quiet, normal life..
In the documentary, a lot of the personal drama happens off screen, whereas they're able to depict it in this and I think that helps fill in some of the blanks with the story. Emily Blunt is great as ever playing Kerr's girlfriend.
When I saw they had cast Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman I figured he wouldn't play that large a part and he was mostly just there as someone who can play out fights and training scenes in a convincing manner. But he's actually got a substantial role and surprised me by managing to hold his own. He did a really good job for someone who, as far as I know, doesn't have an acting background. Although, as someone who used to watch MMA, I will say that Coleman has a pretty distinctive look and voice and so it was odd to see another fighter I was also familiar with playing him. It kinda felt like it was taking place in some alternate reality. Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros playing themselves also maybe added to that sense of real but not quite real.
I liked the soundtrack a lot too. Going for contemporary jazz isn't what you would expect from that kind of film but it complements it well.