The Smashing Machine

If you want action that respects the story underneath it, The Smashing Machine is available in Australia on Foxtel Now, and in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV right now. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. With 652 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Dwayne Johnson is the obvious draw, but the supporting cast gives the action its context. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Foxtel Now.

There is a reason The Smashing Machine keeps coming up in conversation. The Smashing Machine understands that stakes only matter if you care who is at risk. In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt lead a cast that keeps the chaos grounded in who's actually at stake. The Smashing Machine came out in 2025. The Smashing Machine earns its bigger moments by making you care about the outcome before it happens. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

The genre has a long history of front-loading its best moments — The Smashing Machine is not one of those. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Dwayne Johnson's performance is the throughline that holds the bigger action elements together. Give it twenty minutes and decide — most viewers do not stop there.