Though he doesn't appear in Benny Safdie's new A24 film, few people are as important to the story of The Smashing Machine as Kurt Angle.
One of the most prolific mat athletes of all time, Angle is one of the few men alive who can say they actually shared the stage with both Mark Kerr, the film's inspiration, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who played him in the film's titular role.
Taking to social media to give his review of the time, Angle couldn't hide his joy, calling the film “Oscar caliber.”
“Just watched The Smashing Machine. What a fantastic film that I believe will be considered a classic. Mark Kerr was “The Guy” I had to beat to qualify for the Olympic Games, which pushed me to transform into a version of myself I never thought I could be. Your story, beyond wrestling, is truly inspirational, my friend,” Kurt Angle wrote.
“For Dwayne Johnson to take on such a role and elevate it to another level in his career makes me consider him one of the greatest performers today. Watching Dwayne transform into Mark Kerr through this film was like deja vu…..no words, just applause. This movie deserves an Oscar, and I believe it will receive the recognition it merits. Well done, my brothers.”
The kind of supreme athlete who really deserves an Oscar-caliber biopic of his own, if anyone knows how it feels to see wrestling, MMA, and combat sports portrayed on film, it's Angle. He also knows all too well what it's like to be around “The Rock,” as they've shared the ring 63 times according to Cagematch and interacted hundreds, if not thousands, of times during their shared years on the road together in WWE. If Angle believed Johnson in the role of Kerr, then the performance really might be of award-winning caliber.
