Too much of everything

Simply A Masterpiece

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Mixed Martial Arts appeals to me and that is why I enjoyed watching The Smashing Machine: The Life And Times Of Mark Kerr. I think Mark was a really exciting fighter to watch. His power was incredible, strength was overwhelming and his physique was intimidating.This movie also presented Mark Kerr from a personal standpoint. From his addiction to drugs and his subsequent rehabilitation to breaking up with his girlfriend, who he later married. I also liked the fact that they included footage of Mark Coleman. This gave the video a variety. I would like to see Kerr vs Coleman one day (if it hasn't already happened). I'm sure it would be (or was) an exciting match. All in all, I think that Mark Kerr is a great fighter and those of you who are into MMA tournaments would agree with me that he is exciting to watch.This only thing I disagreed with is the tournament Kerr fought in where they made elbows and knees illegal. This makes the tournament seem like less of a shoot fight and more of a pure grappling exhibition, in which people like the Gracies would win all day long.

This film was first and foremost, a beautifully choreographed work of humanity, featuring blood, violence, drugs, sweat, tears, drama, pain, love, enthusiasm, and pure adrenaline pumping action. Mark Coleman is seen in the last scene of the film in the Championship match as the undetermined underdog of the film made so because of his old age, and a long-time friend of Mark Kerr, the lead character of this documentary expedition. Coleman is pitted against the man who gave Mark Kerr his first loss of his career in a fascinating, moving, enrapturing and brilliant explosion of violence and desperate animalistic passion. The scene is quick and tense. The camera pans and cuts to Coleman in the ring and to Kerr who had just lost his initial fight and is having his chin stitched. This juxtaposition is forceful and the brutality experienced by the loser in the ring, not Coleman, captured through the camera's lens structured close enough to catch the blood feeding off the fighter's faces. Coleman repeatedly knees his opponent in the head from behind and his opponent panicked, in severe pain, and trapped, with only a weak arm to shield from his opponent's aggressive blows, chooses, through utter disparity to tap out, which is a rare UFC decision. His opponent does so and Coleman springs to his feet with avid and enthusiastic delight, for not only winning 200,000 dollars in cash for his wife and kids but also for winning the respect of those who doubted his return to victory. 9 out of 10.

The Reality of Ultimate FightingJohn Hyams' film 'The Smashing Machine,' comes across in the way few documentaries really do: Presenting the real-life struggles of ultimate fighter Mark Kerr in a captivating narrative. The film follows Kerr's career over the course of one year, from 1999 to 2000. It explains how he first was an amateur wrestler at the collegiate level, and was later drawn into ultimate fighting in an attempt to use his talent in the ring to earn some money. After his first public appearance, Kerr became a celebrity overnight, eventually finding his way to the Japan-based Pride Fighting Championship promotion. Here, the crowds were huge, and the prize money was impressive. Kerr quickly became one of the top competitors in the promotion, making him truly one of the best fighters on the globe. In the scene where Kerr is in a doctor's waiting room, discussing the sport with an older woman who sees the sport being unreasonable and brutal, he shows his confidence in his sport and does his best to defend it. Hyams however shows also the other side of Kerr's story which is filled with problems. After years of sustaining extremely bad beatings in the ring, Kerr has become addicted to pain killers which led to serious health problems and difficulty with his home life. While it is easy to accept Kerr's defense given to the woman in the doctor's office, the film's unhesitating look into the sport suggests that the woman is right. The camera never shies away from the violence and gruesomeness of the sport, but also reveals the side we never get to see: That Mark Kerr and other fighters depicted in the film, are not inhuman, barbaric beasts whose main reason for existence is to harm their opponents. Instead, we see that they are normal guys who are just doing this to make a living. We may notice that Kerr is not a man who wants to hide anything. He never asks that the camera man be shut off. He is completely honest in his interviews and conversations. He does not even mind showing his pain killer injection and letting us see the scene in the hospital where he breaks out in tears, realizing that his life has to change. That is why Hyams did not choose a soundtrack that is loud, angry and fast, but instead we here music that provides an atmosphere against anger, really allowing the visuals to speak for themselves. Hyams film has therefore turned into a successful documentary that tries to balance the views which are for and against ultimate fighting and the people involved. 'The Smashing Machine' is not only extreme violent, but also emotional, and at times heartbreaking. Yet it is definitely not a film for all viewers because of the intense brutality shown.

"The Smashing Machine", which follows mixed martial arts competitor Mark Kerr's career from late '99 until the Pride Grand Prix 2000 tournament in Japan, is a stunning and provocative look at a man whose fights with his own personal demons rival those he encounters in the ring (or in the octagon). Also featured in the documentary is Mark Coleman, who at the time was coming off a two-year slump in the sport.I think what struck me the most was the dramatic aspect of it. Kerr, for one, surprised me with his willingness to bare his soul before the camera. The movie goes a long way to dispell many stereotypes that many people have of shootfighters, as both Kerr and Coleman come across as genuinely good people (and in Coleman's case a devout husband and father). John Hyams provides the audience with an extremely candid look at the life of Kerr, who deals with a drug abuse problem and a potentially dysfunctional relationship. For those who aren't fans of MMA, the access Kerr grants to Hyams will shock and move you. For those who are fans, the bouts that are shown (through clips) become even more pivotal and dramatic.For fans of Mixed Martial Arts the documentary will forever change the way you'll look at Kerr and Coleman, while also adding an added dimension to the drama that occurs within the ring (or octagon). "The Smashing Machine" provides a moving glimpse into the lives of people whose weaknesses make them more identifiable to the audience than any other documentary subject or film character, despite their profession and physiques.Highly recommended for fans and non-fans alike,, and especially for those who view MMA as barbaric and its fighters as testosterone-driven madmen.