Jakarta. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is back on the big screen with “The Smashing Machine” -- a movie in which the wrestler-turned-actor proves that he is not just some macho guy. The Rock plays as ex-amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Directed by Benny Safdie, the biographical sports film is a touching tale of when wrestlers get vulnerable as they deal with their personal hardships.

Inside the wrestling ring, these heavily built fighters look intimidating and ready to knock out anything that comes their way. Off-ring, they are just humans who want to be the best at whatever craft they are pursuing. The movie starts with Kerr’s interview as a voice-over with his fight playing on screen. We then get to learn of Kerr starting from his complicated relationship with his charming girlfriend Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt), painkiller addiction, to the rising star’s struggle to accept defeat. 

The movie shows that Safdie has a knack for writing dialogue that feels real. The audience also gets to see a different side of The Rock, who reportedly has a “no-lose” clause written into his film contracts. In other words, he demands that the characters he plays must win every fight. While “The Smashing Machine” breaks this clause, The Rock indeed comes out victorious in the acting department.

The scores -- composed by jazz musician Nala Sinephro -- set the tone for the film. It is not the usual adrenaline-pumping music that one might find in a wrestling movie. It’s the kind of sound that puts you in self-contemplation mode. Like Kerr’s journey, it’s the sort of music that tells the audience that it is indeed okay to fall, but the most important thing is to bounce back.

“The Smashing Machine” is now out in Indonesian cinemas. The film’s toughest competitors would be the remake of the popular Indonesian coming-of-age film “Rangga & Cinta” and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “One Battle After Another”. But it’s still possible for “The Smashing Machine” to win the hearts of Indonesian moviegoers.

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