While Dwayne Johnson looks unrecognizable in his new A24 movie The Smashing Machine, this proves that the star is finally addressing the oldest criticism about his choice of movie roles. Since his movie career began, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been pulled in two divergent directions. While the star has appeared in many major blockbusters like Fast Five, the Jumanji movies, and Black Adam, he also balanced these out with smaller projects like Southland Tales, Pain & Gain, and Fighting With My Family. Ranking Dwayne Johnson’s movies proves that these personal movies don’t always fare better with critics than his blockbuster hits.

However, they address a criticism that has frequently been leveled at the actor. Dwayne Johnson has historically been criticized for always playing the same character in every movie, and it is tough to deny that there is some veracity to this claim. The sheer number of movies that put Dwayne Johnson in the jungle, not to mention the many movies where he plays a cop, an FBI agent, a soldier, or a bounty hunter, lend some credence to this claim. Luckily, the earliest images from the actor’s upcoming collaboration with director Benny Safdie prove this won’t be an issue for long.

Dwayne Johnson Looks Unrecognizable In A24’s The Smashing Machine

The Rock’s Role As Mark Kerr Saw Him Transform Completely

The first look at Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine looks radically different from the actor’s most famous characters. A24 will produce this biopic of MMA legend Mark Kerr, with Johnson playing Kerr for writer-director Benny Safdie. Although many of Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming movies are reboots or sequels, The Smashing Machine is an original drama based on the acclaimed 2002 HBO documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr. The first images of Johnson as Kerr see the actor donning extensive facial prosthetics to complete his psychical transformation into the fighter.

Dwayne Johnson’s portrayal of Mark Kerr looks nothing like the actor’s usual persona, which is fitting since the movie is a far cry from the star’s recent output. Since 2019, every Johnson movie has been a big studio blockbuster. From Hobbs & Shaw to Fast X, to Black Adam and Shazam, to Jungle Cruise and Jumanji 2: The Next Level, to Red Notice, Johnson’s work has skewed massively toward big-budget, action-forward stories. Johnson’s movies from this recent era have received mixed reviews, but the common claim that the actor always plays bombastic action movie leads is increasingly hard to dismiss.

The Rock’s Transformation For The Smashing Machine Answers To An Old Criticism

Dwayne Johnson’s Upcoming Role Will Be Nothing Like His Earlier Movies

In contrast, The Smashing Machine looks like a radical departure for Dwayne Johnson as the biopic will be a gritty biopic. Kerr struggled with injuries and painkiller addiction throughout his fighting career, and Safdie’s earlier movies make it clear that the director won’t shy away from the dark side of the fighter’s life. Uncut Gems and Heaven Knows What both grappled with the lows of addiction. Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming A24 movie promises to do the same, allowing the actor to display a level of vulnerability that he hasn’t brought to a movie role in years.

Johnson’s tenure in WWE made his comedic timing and considerable charisma obvious, but his human side has rarely been on display. Even his more ambitiously weird projects like Pain & Gain and Southland Tales, while underrated, relied on his larger-than-life persona to anchor their wild stories. In contrast, The Smashing Machine will succeed or fail depending on Dwayne Johnson’s acting talents, as the star’s ability to make Kerr a sympathetic figure will shape its story. Safdie’s earlier movies refused to sugarcoat their morally dubious antiheroes, and The Smashing Machine is likely to take the same approach.

The Smashing Machine Is Dwayne Johnson’s Most Exciting Movie In Years

Benny Safdie’s Involvement Makes The Smashing Machine Thrilling

Johnson’s slate of upcoming projects includes a lot of spinoffs and remakes, but it is The Smashing Machine that stands out as the actor’s most promising upcoming project. The Smashing Machine’s depiction of Kerr will allow Johnson to humanize a troubled subject, while the movie’s themes allow the WWE star to wrestle with the ethics of professional fighting. Like WWE, the world of MMA has been plagued by controversy over athlete safety for decades.

In The Smashing Machine, Johnson can offer a more human performance than he has in years while casting off his image as a blockbuster action hero. Johnson has proven to be a versatile actor with range, but he hasn’t pushed himself in the last decade. This project lets The Rock touch on themes that are relevant to his own career as an entertainer while also proving his mettle as a serious dramatic actor. In the process, The Smashing Machine can show that Dwayne Johnson can be more than an action hero.