The Smashing Machine, the new Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson MMA movie that goes into wide release this Friday, presents heavyweight champion of the boxing world Oleksandr Usyk as you’ve never seen him before: somewhat fleshy around the middle, and clearly not in fighting shape.

Other than that – this is Usyk exactly as you’ve seen him before.

The movie is written and directed by Benny Safdie, co-stars Emily Blunt as Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn and has real Oscar buzz, and some are forecasting a $20 million opening weekend. 

I got to see a sneak preview of the film and, while I’d be mildly surprised if it gets a Best Picture nomination (even in this era of up to 10 movies in that category), I would be equally surprised if Johnson doesn’t get a Best Actor nom. The pro wrestling superstar turned thespian, primarily known for headlining silly action flicks, also happens to be able to nail serious drama – aided in The Smashing Machine by several moments of superbly written dialogue.

Quite possibly the most bombastic and charismatic promo-cutter in pro wrestling history, Johnson actually does play against type here, as the sensitive, often soft-spoken, sometimes drug-addled Kerr.

Usyk, in what will be his introduction to millions of moviegoers who don’t follow boxing, is walking in the footsteps of numerous boxers before him. He’s a fighter playing a fighter, specifically the rival of the protagonist, much like Andre Ward and Tony Bellew did in Creed, like Antonio Tarver did in Rocky Balboa and like Tommy Morrison did in Rocky V. 

He had the additional comfort of acting alongside his real-life manager, Egis Klimas, in every scene. Klimas, also not needing to stretch much as an actor, plays the role of “Igor’s Manager.”

Ultimately, it’s hard to say if Usyk has any kind of a future as an actor. Little range was required for this role, and in real life, the champ still speaks limited English.

This isn’t his first acting gig. He’s appeared in a couple of shorts, did some voice acting in a 2018 Ukrainian animated film and, according to IMDb, played “Professional Boxer” in 2016’s The Fight Rules. So, no matter what, The Smashing Machine doesn’t qualify as a one-and-done for Usyk.

What it does qualify as is a peek at Usyk pursuing other options and opportunities because the end of his boxing career is near.

Usyk is 38, and he appears unlikely to fight again before his 39th birthday in January. Prior to improving his record to 24-0 (15 KOs) by knocking out Daniel Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium in July, Usyk said he expected to only fight two more times – counting that Dubois rematch.

If he sticks to that script, it means he will defend the heavyweight championship of the world one more time – most likely, it would seem, against the winner of the October fight between Joseph Parker and Fabio Wardley – and then he’s out.

Whether he follows that exact plan or not, Usyk sure does seem like a guy who’s just about ready to get off of this ride and is thinking seriously about life after boxing.

Just last week, he posted a message to Jake Paul on social media that a heavyweight champion with a focus on remaining heavyweight champion a while longer wouldn’t have considered sharing. He posted, in a quote-retweet of a Paul video, with Paul tagged, “Soon, I’ll close the book on boxing, and after that, I’ll be waiting for you in the cage.”

A circus fight under MMA rules for presumably massive money against a social media influencer? It’s the kind of cash grab you make when there is nothing legacy-building left to grab that remotely inspires you.

One would think any chance of Usyk facing Paul in any combat sport vanishes instantly if Paul gets slapped about in the humiliating manner many of us suspect he will against Gervonta “Tank” Davis in November.

But whether there’s a likelihood of Usyk vs. Paul happening is not the point. That Usyk is even entertaining the notion tells us all we need to know about his state of mind vis a vis continuing on much longer as a boxer.

There are no indications that Usyk is physically slowing down. He is in the midst of the best run of his career. In his last six fights across the past four years, he is 2-0 against Dubois, 2-0 against Anthony Joshua and 2-0 against Tyson Fury. He’s not only the one, true heavyweight champion, but there’s a strong case to be made he’s the number-one pound-for-pound boxer on the planet.

There is nobody clamoring for Usyk to retire before he gets hurt or embarrasses himself. Nobody is pushing Usyk out the door.

But he sure seems ready to walk through it anyway.

He has a wife and four kids, he’ll be in his 40s before he knows it and, like Dwayne Johnson, he’s learning all about the upside of pretending to be a tough guy when the director says “action” without having to actually take any punches or, in rasslin’ parlance, any bumps.

Acting is a job you can do with a little jiggle around your belly. And it’s a job you can continue to do long after the fire inside that belly is out.

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Is a boxing website the right place for a review of a movie with no boxing in it? I’m not sure. But I mentioned earlier that I don’t expect The Smashing Machine to get nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and I may as well expound – and I promise to work in a boxing movie tie-in so nobody can say this doesn’t belong on BoxingScene.

The comparison we’re most likely to see and hear as reviews come out will be to Darren Aronofsky’s 2008 film The Wrestler, which did for one-time professional boxer Mickey Rourke’s reputation at age 56 something similar to what The Smashing Machine will do for 53-year-old Johnson’s.

The difference is Rourke was playing an over-the-hill wrestler hanging on long after his prime, whereas the Kerr that Johnson is playing over the 1997-2000 stretch is at the peak of his abilities, in his late 20 and early 30s.

But the two movies share a grittiness and a sadness and a look at how the physically grueling lives the main characters have chosen – whether involving real fighting or its performative, predetermined cousin – prove unavoidably deleterious.

To me, though, as much as The Smashing Machine may be seen as MMA’s answer to The Wrestler, in the scenes exploring the relationship between Johnson and Blunt, it often feels more like MMA’s Raging Bull. Kerr isn’t as loathsome as the Jake LaMotta of the Martin Scorsese movie, but he is every bit as pathetic in his own way.

Raging Bull is a character study disguised at times as a sports movie. So is The Smashing Machine. It’s a character study that just happens to eviscerate all records for most cauliflower ears shown in a single film.

Safdie’s movie is engrossing and realistic, with just enough thrills and laughs to maintain momentum throughout its two-hour-and-three-minute runtime. But it’s not the masterpiece Raging Bull is. Kerr’s story isn’t quite as compelling as LaMotta’s. And, pardon my bias, but MMA doesn’t lend itself to artful cinema the way boxing does.

It’s well worth seeing, whether you’re a fan of MMA or not. But remove Johnson’s performance, and it’s debatable whether that sentence would still be true.

The Smashing Machine is a solid sports movie with an exceptional lead performance. And the supporting performance by the best heavyweight boxer in the world makes for a fine bonus.

Eric Raskin is a veteran boxing journalist with nearly 30 years of experience covering the sport for such outlets as BoxingScene, ESPN, Grantland, Playboy, and The Ring (where he served as managing editor for seven years). He also co-hosted The HBO Boxing Podcast, Showtime Boxing with Raskin & Mulvaney, The Interim Champion Boxing Podcast with Raskin & Mulvaney, and Ring Theory. He has won three first-place writing awards from the BWAA, for his work with The Ring, Grantland, and HBO. Outside boxing, he is the senior editor of CasinoReports and the author of 2014’s The Moneymaker Effect. He can be reached on X, BlueSky, or LinkedIn, or via email at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.