The Smashing Machine Ending Explained: Inside Mark Kerr's Last, Brutal Fight With His Demons
After its theatrical world premiere, The Smashing Machine has viewers buzzing for an unexpected reason: Dwayne Johnson’s raw portrait of MMA legend Mark Kerr ends on a quiet note that hits like a gut punch. We unpack why that subdued finale makes this tale of addiction, recovery, and redemption one of 2025’s most uplifting surprises.
The Smashing Machine just had its world premiere in theaters, and the ending is not the big fist-pump you might expect from a Dwayne Johnson movie. It is quieter, smaller, and kind of sneaks up on you. That is also the point.
So... does Mark Kerr beat his addiction?
The movie tracks MMA standout Mark Kerr through painkiller addiction and the slow climb out of it. The last stretch plays things subtle enough that you might briefly wonder if he actually gets clean. The answer is yes: Johnson's Kerr does beat the addiction by the end. But the film treats it as a gradual, realistic recovery rather than a big, triumphant speech and a credits song. By the time the lights come up, he is clearly in a healthier place than where he started.
The final fight: not a triumph, but a release
In the closing sequence, Kerr fights in PRIDE Fighting Championship in Japan and loses a pivotal match to Kazuyuki Fujita. On paper, that is anticlimactic. On screen, the loss lands like a release valve. The movie reframes the defeat as freedom from the pressure to be the guy, the champ, the myth. In letting go of the belt chase, he also lets go of the crutch he has been using: the painkillers.
"It is better to be happy than to be successful."
That is the film's thesis, basically. It trades the sports-movie high for something messier and, honestly, more human: sometimes a loss is the way out. It is an ending that feels small in the moment and bigger the longer you sit with it — which is why, yes, this ends up being one of 2025's more uplifting movies.
Safdie keeps it real, even when the trailer teases a comeback
The trailer sells a rousing comeback story, but Benny Safdie sticks close to Kerr's real timeline instead of juicing it into a 'good guy wins' finale. In real life, Kerr did not ride off with a belt; he found some peace in defeat and personal growth instead. The movie honors that, focusing on what happiness actually looks like rather than who gets to be called champion.
Key facts
- Directed by: Benny Safdie
- Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader
- Year of release: 2025
- IMDb rating: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes score: 73%
- Production: A24
- Status: In U.S. theaters now