Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt's film gets rave reviews at Venice Film Festival

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt left a mark at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.

Their new film together, The Smashing Machine, which hits theatres on October 3, debuted at the annual film festival on Monday with an incredible response from the critics.

The film, directed by Benny Safdie, follows the turbulent life of MMA legend Mark Kerr, played by Johnson, with Blunt portraying his longtime partner.

Writer-director Benny Safdie, 39, was also in attendance on the occasion.

"Johnson gives a performance of immense pathos, intensity and depth – one that looks bound to win him awards recognition,” wrote Geoffrey Macnab of The Independent.

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman echoed the sentiment, calling Johnson “extraordinary” and highlighting the raw rage and vulnerability the actor channels through Kerr.

Critics also noted the striking physical transformation Johnson underwent for the role. Rafa Sales Ross of The Playlist remarked that his facial prosthetics gave him “the spitting image of O.J. Simpson,” adding that Johnson “leans into the absurdity” with conviction.

The film also features appearances by real-life MMA fighters, including Bas Rutten, who plays Kerr’s coach, and Ryan Bader, whose performance as Kerr’s close friend turned rival Mark Coleman has been singled out as a standout.

“What [Kerr is] carrying around deep inside him — the thing that makes him a smashing machine — is a rage he scarcely knows what to do with. And that’s where Dwayne Johnson’s revelatory performance begins,” wrote Owen Gleiberman of Variety, calling the actor “extraordinary.”