Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
Get the MovieNight app
Add it to your home screen — faster & full screen
A24
Seven Bucks Productions
Not part of a collection.
The unforgettable true story of a UFC legend.
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.
JJ Rosales
Oct 24, 2026 · via TMDB
A well done fourth wall break? Sign me up. A slow burn but a good slow burn? I never thought I’d see real tears/misty eyes from Dwayne Johnson. I truly think this performance shows he has real potential. I’m not sure if he has zero range or he was really good at portraying someone who has no emotion. Either way, this was better than anything else he’s done. Ryan Bader was an incredible supporting actor. I’m impressed by Dwayne Johnson and I wasn’t expecting to be.
Marco-Hugo Landeta Vacas
Oct 18, 2026 · via TMDB
(CASTELLANO) Una mole rota dentro de una película que parece más barata de lo que es Me interesó más por Mark Kerr y por Dwayne Johnson que por la película en sí. Lo primero que llama la atención es evidente: Johnson está irreconocible. No solo por la caracterización, el pelo o el rostro, sino porque por momentos consigue borrar bastante bien la imagen de "The Rock". Aquí no está haciendo de estrella invencible, sino de un hombre enorme por fuera y bastante hundido por dentro. La película acierta cuando se queda cerca de esa contradicción. Mark Kerr puede parecer una máquina de destrozar rivales, pero fuera del ring transmite cansancio, dependencia, inseguridad y una fragilidad que no encaja con el cuerpo que vemos. Ahí es donde más funciona: cuando muestra a un tipo construido para aguantar golpes que no sabe muy bien qué hacer con los golpes que vienen de dentro. Johnson está, seguramente, en el papel más serio y más trabajado de su carrera. Me sorprendió para bien. Hay una contención rara en él, una forma de mirar que intenta no vender heroicidad. Lo mejor de su trabajo está en los momentos en los que parece perdido, apagado, como si el campeón no supiera dónde dejar todo lo que le duele. La relación con Dawn me resultó agotadora. Ella me pareció insoportable durante buena parte de la película, aunque entiendo que la intención no sea presentarla como "la mala" sin más. Emily Blunt está bien, pero la dinámica entre ellos es tan tóxica, repetitiva y áspera que por momentos cansa. En casa no hay descanso para Mark: hay otra pelea, otra presión, otro sitio donde tampoco sabe respirar. Ahí la película sí consigue algo incómodo: el ring casi parece más sencillo que la vida privada. En el combate hay reglas, dolor físico y un resultado. En la relación hay dependencia, reproches, adicción, miedo, ego y dos personas haciéndose daño sin saber salir del círculo. La idea está ahí y tiene fuerza. Mi gran problema es la forma. Esa estética de documental barato de los noventa, con grano, cámara sucia y luz feísta, me tiró bastante para atrás. Entiendo lo que busca Benny Safdie: autenticidad, época, aspereza, sensación de estar pegado a un mundo deportivo aún poco pulido. Pero una cosa es parecer real y otra parecer cutre. A mí muchas veces me pasó lo segundo. Esa elección visual hace que la película parezca más pobre de lo que probablemente es. Hay momentos en los que Johnson está haciendo un trabajo muy serio, y la imagen parece empeñada en quitarle valor cinematográfico. No siempre sentí crudeza; a veces sentí feísmo impostado. Como si la película estuviera demasiado preocupada por parecer un documental VHS de la época y no tanto por encontrar una belleza propia. La música tampoco me convenció. Tiene ese aire de pegote noventero, de banda sonora puesta para fabricar época más que para expresar algo verdadero. No me llegaba al dolor interior de Kerr. Por eso pensaba todo el rato en lo bien que le habría sentado algo como "Nutshell", de Alice in Chains: tristeza seca, derrota íntima, cansancio y derrumbe por dentro. Una escena silenciosa con Mark solo y esa canción habría sido bestial. La película parece querer huir del biopic deportivo convencional, y eso tiene valor. No busca la épica fácil, ni la gran remontada, ni el combate filmado como triunfo glorioso. Su camino es más apagado, más anti-Rocky, más centrado en el desgaste. Pero a veces, intentando evitar los clichés, se queda sin una emoción suficientemente fuerte. No todo lo seco es profundo; a veces solo es distante. La derrota ante Fujita funciona como final narrativo porque desmonta al invencible. No es solo perder una pelea: es perder una identidad. Si te han construido como una máquina, el día que la máquina falla ya no sabes qué queda debajo. Ese tramo tiene sentido, aunque la película no siempre me llevó hasta ahí con toda la fuerza que podía haber tenido. Lo que sí me gustó mucho fue el cierre con el verdadero Mark Kerr haciendo la compra. Me parece una imagen sencilla y muy bonita, porque rompe con toda la mitología anterior. Después de verlo como campeón, adicto, cuerpo enorme, icono de un deporte brutal y hombre perdido, terminar con él en una situación cotidiana lo devuelve a algo más humano: la vida sigue, incluso después de que el mito se haya roto. Al final, me queda como una película interesante, irregular y más valiosa por su protagonista que por su forma. Dwayne Johnson sorprende de verdad y Mark Kerr es un personaje con mucho peso, pero la estética de falso documental barato y la música me alejaron bastante. Me interesó el hombre más que el estilo. Tiene momentos potentes, un final humano y una interpretación que merece respeto, pero no me parece una obra redonda. (ENGLISH) A broken giant inside a film that looks cheaper than it is I was more interested in Mark Kerr and Dwayne Johnson than in the film itself. The first thing that stands out is obvious: Johnson is unrecognizable. Not only because of the makeup, the hair or the face, but because at times he manages to erase the image of "The Rock" quite well. Here he is not playing an invincible star, but a man who is enormous on the outside and quite broken inside. The film works best when it stays close to that contradiction. Mark Kerr may look like a machine built to destroy opponents, but outside the ring he conveys exhaustion, dependence, insecurity and a fragility that does not match the body we see. That is where it functions most strongly: when it shows a man built to take blows who does not really know what to do with the blows that come from within. Johnson is probably giving the most serious and worked-through performance of his career. He surprised me in a good way. There is an unusual restraint in him, a way of looking that tries not to sell heroism. The best of his work is in the moments when he seems lost, dimmed, as if the champion did not know where to put all the pain he carries. The relationship with Dawn felt exhausting to me. I found her unbearable for much of the film, although I understand that the intention is not to present her simply as "the bad one". Emily Blunt is good, but the dynamic between them is so toxic, repetitive and rough that at times it becomes tiring. At home, Mark finds no rest: there is another fight, another pressure, another place where he cannot breathe. There the film does achieve something uncomfortable: the ring almost seems simpler than private life. In a fight there are rules, physical pain and a result. In the relationship there is dependence, reproach, addiction, fear, ego and two people hurting each other without knowing how to leave the circle. The idea is there and it has strength. My big problem is the form. That cheap nineties-documentary aesthetic, with grain, dirty camera and ugly lighting, pushed me away quite a bit. I understand what Benny Safdie is looking for: authenticity, period, roughness, the feeling of being glued to a sports world that was still unpolished. But one thing is to feel real and another is to look cheap. Too often, for me, it was the second. That visual choice makes the film seem poorer than it probably is. There are moments when Johnson is doing very serious work, and the image seems determined to take away cinematic value from it. I did not always feel rawness; sometimes I felt forced ugliness. As if the film were too concerned with looking like a VHS documentary from the time and not enough with finding a beauty of its own. The music did not convince me either. It has that pasted-on nineties feel, like a soundtrack placed there to manufacture period rather than express something true. It did not reach Kerr's inner pain. That is why I kept thinking how well something like Alice in Chains' "Nutshell" would have fitted: dry sadness, intimate defeat, weariness and inner collapse. A silent scene with Mark alone and that song would have been brutal. The film seems determined to escape the conventional sports biopic, and that has value. It does not chase easy epic, the big comeback or the fight filmed as glorious triumph. Its path is flatter, more anti-Rocky, more focused on erosion. But sometimes, in trying to avoid clichés, it is left without a strong enough emotion. Not everything dry is deep; sometimes it is just distant. The defeat against Fujita works as a narrative ending because it dismantles the invincible man. It is not just losing a fight: it is losing an identity. If you have been built as a machine, the day the machine fails you no longer know what remains underneath. That stretch makes sense, although the film did not always carry me there with all the force it could have had. What I did really like was the closing with the real Mark Kerr doing the shopping. It is a simple and very beautiful image, because it breaks with all the mythology before it. After seeing him as champion, addict, huge body, icon of a brutal sport and lost man, ending with him in an everyday situation returns him to something more human: life goes on, even after the myth has broken. In the end, for me it remains an interesting, irregular film, more valuable because of its protagonist than because of its form. Dwayne Johnson truly surprises and Mark Kerr is a character with real weight, but the cheap faux-documentary aesthetic and the music kept me at a distance. I was more interested in the man than in the style. It has powerful moments, a human ending and a performance that deserves respect, but I do not see it as a fully rounded work.
CinemaSerf
Oct 9, 2025 · via TMDB
Mickey O’Rourke had a go in 2008 and Orlando Bloom earlier this year in “The Cut”, so now it’s the turn of Dwayne Johnson to bulk up and out to deliver a biopic of UFC pioneer Mark Kerr. This is all set at a time when he can make a living for himself and girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt) but there are no Ferraris and swimming pools for them. For that he has to win the Grand Prix in Japan and that involves his embarking on the ultimate in fitness and endurance regimes, aided by his own chemical romances that frequently seem to render him little better than catatonic. Domestic dysfunction ensues as he has to face up to his responsibilities and settle his priorities before what he has comes crumbling down. It’s a true story, but it just didn’t engage me at all. Johnson comes across well as the amiable and dedicated athlete, but a film about any sport that requires a rule change to ban eye gouging was probably never really going to work for me. The fight scene are sparing, occasionally graphic, and they do convey just how brutal this mixed martial arts combat can be, but the characterisations here are just all too sterile to engage. Whilst Kerr comes across as a decent human being, Blunt’s performance doesn’t really make anything like enough impact as it trundles along without much from the dialogue to make me care. Tangentially, it does quite enjoyably poke some fun at the inanity and banality of sport’s broadcasting punditry and I didn’t hate it, but I’ll probably never watch it again.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
HBO Max Amazon Channel
YouTube TV
HBO Max
Amazon Video
Apple TV Store
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
FlixFling
Dwayne Johnson
Mark Kerr
Emily Blunt
Dawn Staples
Ryan Bader
Mark Coleman
Bas Rutten
Bas Rutten
Oleksandr Usyk
Igor Vovchanchyn
Lyndsey Gavin
Elizabeth Coleman
Zoe Kosovic
McKenzie Coleman
Satoshi Ishii
Enson Inoue
Yoko Hamamura
Kazuyuki Fujita
Paul Cheng
Masaaki Satake
Andre Tricoteux
Paul Varelans
Marcus Aurelio
Mestre Hulk
Randi Lynne
Receptionist
Paul Wu
Pride Referee (2000)
Joshua Mazerolle
HGE Sparring Partner
Jason William Day
HGE Sparring Partner
James McSweeney
Varelans' Cornerman
Nick Toren
UFC 1977 Photojournalist
Jill Basey
Peggy
Bethany Brown
Nurse
Yasuko Mitsuura
Pride Director
Takeshi Kurokawa
Flight Attendant
Takao Osawa
Nobuyuki Sakakibara
Whitney Moore
Jaqueline
Yuki Kedoin
Pride 2000 Photographer
Stephen Quadros
Stephen Quadros
Tomoyasu Hotei
Tomoyasu Hotei
Nala Sinephro
Star Spangled Banner Performer
Paul Wu
Pride 2000 Referee
Lance Gibson
UFC Contender
Yushin Okami
Alexander Otsuka
Shawn C. Orr
Demolition Derby Driver
Hugo Steele
Firefighter
Ismail Elfallahi
Derby Fan (uncredited)
Charles Chi Soo Kim
Tokyo Dome Wrestling Fan (uncredited)
Paul Lazenby
Hans Nijman (uncredited)
Jasper Salon
Cutman (uncredited)
Jason Tremblay
Arizona Police Officer (uncredited)
James Chinlund
Production Design
Randall Balsmeyer
Title Designer
Maceo Bishop
Director of Photography
Kazu Hiro
Prosthetic Designer
Greg Rementer
Stunt Coordinator
Rasmus Kröger
Stunt Coordinator
Tanoai Reed
Stunt Double
Hugo Steele
Stunts
James Coupland
Stunts
Jason William Day
Stunts
Paul Lazenby
Stunts
Paul Wu
Stunts
Satoshi Ishii
Stunts
Yoko Hamamura
Stunts
Benny Safdie
Director
Benny Safdie
Editor
Jennifer Venditti
Casting
Benny Safdie
Co-Producer
Beau Flynn
Producer
Dany Garcia
Producer
David Koplan
Producer
Dwayne Johnson
Producer
Eli Bush
Producer
Hiram Garcia
Producer
Nala Sinephro
Original Music Composer
Skip Lievsay
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Skip Lievsay
Supervising Sound Editor
Benny Safdie
Screenplay
Drive for the Future
DCW: THE MOVIE
Angel Dusted
Before I'm Dead
UFC Fight Night 268: Moreno vs. Kavanagh
Malcolm X, la justice quel qu'en soit le prix
Herstory
Forrest Gump
O.J.: Made in America
A Brighter Summer Day
CM Punk: Best in the World
The Elephant Man
The Last Days of the USSR
Victor Hugo, un siècle en révolutions
UFC on ESPN 73: Royval vs. Kape
Bohemian Rhapsody
Rope
Freedom Writers
Tokyo Godfathers
Mirror
Raging Bull
Truth & Treason
Rocky
Misery
Selena
Inherit the Wind
Viridiana
BPM (Beats per Minute)
Chang'an
Mississippi Burning
October Sky
A Season of Giants
WWE: DX: One Last Stand
Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992
The Sea Inside
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Beautiful Boy
Rise
Until Forever
Malcolm X
Moon
Flying Colors
Au Revoir les Enfants
The Eddie Cantor Story
H: The Story of a Teen-Age Drug Addict
Ray
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
The Swimmers
Frida
Blow
Komang
Minority Report
The Set-Up
Christiane F.
Becoming Jane
An American Crime
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Lady Joker
Conspiracy
Halim
The Last Full Measure
Bloody Sunday
Spare Parts
The Patriot
Crash
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Operette
UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2
Jules Verne. A Life Long Journey
Becket
Riceboy Sleeps
The Afternoon of a Torturer
Woman of Darkness
Lorenzo's Oil
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
A Tale of Two Sisters
UFC 2: No Way Out
Heikos Welt
The Cider House Rules
Seabiscuit
Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story
Mr. Holland's Opus
Dev.D
Crusty 4: God Bless the Freaks
The Flight of the Eagle
Without Warning: The James Brady Story
Joan the Maid I: The Battles
Joan the Maid II: The Prisons
UFC Fight Night 39: Nogueira vs. Nelson
Geschminkte Jugend
Sabuhi
Dragons and Snakes at Waitan
Sitaare Zameen Par
Wingless
UFC Fight Night 248: Yan vs. Figueiredo
Antwone Fisher
Bronson
Starman
Michael Collins
The Dam Busters
The Heroes of Telemark
Reds
Ammonite
Hard Miles
Girl in Room 13
Escape to Victory
Cars 3
The Bank Job
Death Proof
Not Without My Daughter
Danton
Che: Part One
Tyson
Paid in Full
Clara Immerwahr
Against the Law
Tomorrow We Are Free
The Duchess of Cancun
Panic Room
Chopper
Owning Mahowny
Swimming Upstream
Newsies
Exodus
The Return of Martin Guerre
Bully
The Harmonists
Bride Flight
Body and Soul
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
County Lines
Kuduz
The Soloist
Breach
Che: Part Two
Lionheart
Brittany Runs a Marathon
Forever the Moment
Notre-Dame on Fire
The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Private Parts
Genius
The Perfect Storm
Over the Top
The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
Unhinged
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi
The Recruit
Days of Thunder
Bluebeard
I Love You Phillip Morris
Gods and Generals
Sins of the Mother
The Karate Kid Part II
You Are God
Rogue
Supercross
The Hitler Gang
Hacker
Jeffrey
Nightwatching
Godforsaken!
Worlds Apart
Benched
The Acrobat
Julia
Kartini: Princess of Java
World Trade Center
Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters
Airborne
The Delta Force
Kung Fu Dunk
The Lost Battalion
Sarı Zeybek
Free!: Timeless Medley - The Promise
A Mother's Touch
UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane
Goya in Bordeaux
Bump in the Night
Song of Granite
UFC 5: Return Of The Beast
Apple Mortgage Cake
Grey Eyes
Folle d'amore - Alda Merini
Escape from Japan
Lucky You
A Wolf Teeth Necklace
The Abdication
Something to Talk About
Roe v. Wade
Bud and Lou
Francisco Brennand
Rembrandt
Käthe Kollwitz – Pictures of a Life
No Good Deed
Daredevil
The Dead Season
The Borgia
12 Steps to Recovery
The Busher
Against the Ropes
She Walks by Night
Dadah Is Death
Torrey Pines
American Johns
Nirvana
Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story
The Ballerina
Nights of Farewell
America's Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story
I Still Remember
Johanna
Lover Divine
James Dean
Prometey
Superdome
Game 6
The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky
Tsoy
Panda
Iron Eagle III
Imperial Venus
Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu 2
Shutout
Verity
The Swimmer
Katherine of Alexandria
The Reality of Bob Burnquist
Crusty Demons of Dirt 2
Crusty Demons 14: A Bloodthirsty Saga
Ethir Veechu
Hattrick
Cocaine: History Between the Lines
Como alas al viento
UFC on Fox 21: Maia vs. Condit
The Greatest
Oliver Cromwell: Ritratto di un dittatore
Uloupené dětství
The Last Artisan
Billion Dollar Spy
The Chocolate Soldier
Synonymous With
Postup
Andersonvillský proces
Bellator 256: Bader vs. Machida 2
UFC Fight Night 190: Gane vs. Volkov
Santiago Apostol
UFC Fight Night 198: Vieira vs. Tate
Robin
Profesor na bielom koni
Aye Zindagi
Doom Island
UFC Fight Night 221: Yan vs. Dvalishvili
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford
Bosom
For My Role Models
Gino: A Child of War
NAYAB
Donut Boy
Dutch & Razzlekhan
Kalkutún, Trial of the Witches
Život a smrt malíře Petra Jana B.
"Lights, Camera, Action!"
In Thy Name
Forever and Ever, Amen
East Did Meet West
Luiz
Confidential Informant (proof of concept)
Frequency of Fear
Burn Boston Burn
UFC Fight Night 270: Evloev vs. Murphy
UFC Fight Night 271: Adesanya vs. Pyfer
El confidente
Untitled JJ Velazquez Project
FRAGMENTATION
Warrior
Beast
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing
Blood and Bone
Boyka: Undisputed IV
Never Back Down: No Surrender
Life After Fighting
El padrino: The Latin Godfather
Bloodsport
The Enforcer
Christy
Born a Champion
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Outlaws - For Greater Glory
Bruised
All Eyez on Me
Embattled
A Prayer Before Dawn
In Hell
Queen of the Ring
Convict
The Principal
The Perfect Weapon
State Property
Silverton Siege
The Quest
Jawbone
Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher
Run
The Krays
Code of Silence
Oct 3, 2025
Nov 4, 2025
Jan 23, 2026
HBO Max
© 2025-2026 MovieNight. All rights reserved.
Versus
Sign in to play →
When The Sunflowers Bloom
2024
NYC Tips and Tricks
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
Versus
Sign in to play →
When The Sunflowers Bloom
2024
NYC Tips and Tricks
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
Trivia
Leaderboard →Playing as a guest — sign in to save your score and rank on the leaderboard.
Movie Trivia
Guess the movie from a clue — tagline, plot, cast and more. Pick from four posters.
What movie experience do you prefer?
What is your favorite movie genre?
We use essential cookies to run MovieNight, plus analytics (Google Analytics) and advertising (Google AdSense) cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to this — or click No and we won't. See our Terms & Privacy Policy to learn more.