Directed by Benny Safdie, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, The Smashing Machine is the story of mixed-martial arts and UFC champion Mark Kerr.
I’d never heard of Kerr before. I briefly looked him up to see how much Johnson resembles him. Johnson’s facial structure is certainly a great place to start. Still, the seemingly subtle prosthetics are impressive.
It’s also good to see Johnson and Blunt sharing the screen again. I already like the cadence of the former’s ‘gentle giant’ voice. As for Blunt, well, she’s always great, isn’t she?
Were you aware of Kerr before now, and will you be watching this one, or have you seen too many sports biopics at this point?
Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk, Marcus Aurelio, Ismail Elfallahi, Lyndsey Gavin, Yoko Hamamura, Paul Lazenby, Adrianne Lovato and Yûki Kedôin also star.
A career of fighting in the context of sport has never been for me. I’ve always known this as the kind of person who in high school, refused to head the ball in football (soccer), simply because I didn’t want a headache afterwards. It’s no wonder then that I’m curious about the ‘brave ones’ who don’t give a second thought to putting themselves in ‘harm’s way’ for sport’s sake.
Directed by Vlad Yudin and with narration by Kevin Costner, The Hurt Business offers a comprehensive look at the world of Mixed Martial Artists of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Along with learning about the history of the sport and its increasingly bright-looking future, we get to watch interviews with the UFC’s biggest names. Names including Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, Jay Hieron and Chuck Liddel to name just a few.
The Hurt Business (2016), Holly Holm, Jon Jones
I enjoyed The Hurt Business because it answered all the questions I had about the MMA and UFC world, especially as I’m someone who has never watched a single match and probably won’t anytime soon. Why? I was one of the very few people who didn’t race to the scene when someone rushed into the high school cafeteria to shout ‘fight, fight, fight, fight!’ to announce that a massive fight had started outside’ I can confirm that my decision had nothing to do with how badly I wanted to finish my food.
What I like most about The Hurt Business is the fact that one of the UFC’s biggest names, Jon Jones is featured quite prominently throughout. It still didn’t feel like quite enough though – because who doesn’t want more time to look at greatness up close?
On another note, I’ve basically forgiven Yudin for not featuring the very charismatic Conor McGregor more. He couldn’t, really, because The Hurt Business was made in 2015 and McGregor was yet to have his big record-breaking 2016. Now I want a Ronda Rousey documentary.
To watch The Hurt Business or not to watch The Hurt Business? Do it if you’re curious like I am. It’s also good for anyone contemplating a future as an MMA fighter or anyone who knows someone who is because the documentary offers a balanced look at what life can be like; the highs, the lows and everything in between.
If you know about the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), then you know what Mix Martial Arts (MMA) is, the increasingly popular sport that has just sold to a group of investors for $4bn, making it the largest franchise sale in sports history.
About the topic of today’s trailer; directed by Vlad Yudin, The Hurt Business looks at the rise of Mix Martial arts through the eyes of its biggest stars, including Chuck Liddell, Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones, Kenny Florian and Tito Ortiz.
Firstly, well done, trailer maker! Second, I’m actually not a watcher of MMA myself but I am curious about the fighters and what makes them tick.
The Movie My Life 