Time: 129 Minutes
Age Rating: R13 – Offensive language & content that may disturb
Cast:
Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell
Riz Ahmed as Dr. Nirav Ganesh
John Goodman as Compson
Sandra Hüller as Emma Rockwell
Michael Stuhlbarg as Eddie
Jesse Plemons as Kenny
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Digger was one of my most anticipated movies of 2026. It was Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s latest movie, and it would star Tom Cruise in the lead role. The initial description intrigued me but the actual trailers had me a little confused. After the initial very divisive and mixed reactions from critics, I finally got to watch it myself, and it has actually ended up being among my favourite movies of the year so far.

Digger is an ambitious film that certainly takes some big swings and won’t work for everyone. It is a satire that is deliberately over the top, blatant and abrasive. Almost all the actors’ performances are larger than life and many of the characters come across as caricatures. It may be obnoxious for some people, but I personally vibed with the tone. Considering I had been hearing about how unfunny the movie was despite being a satire , I found it funnier than I expected it to be, and it had me invested and entertained in some way or other. One thing that some people won’t expect is a shift in the first act, which changes the movie into something you weren’t expecting it to be based on all the trailers and marketing. It’s bold and could make or break it for others especially with how jarring it is, but it worked for me (I have to disclose that I was aware of many of the movie’s reveals beforehand so I was somewhat prepared for the shifts). It makes it difficult to go into further depth about the movie in this review, but I can confirm that it’s not a musical as some were speculating it would be. It’s a meta satire about many things, humanity, climate change, the wealthy manipulating the public narrative, and even art, especially the limits of art’s impact on the world which was quite surprising to see. It’s bleak and depressing, but it also has a decent emotional component that makes it hit better and harder than other similar movies. It also ends on a very sobering note that leaves you with much to think about.

Tom Cruise gives one of his best performances. As main character Digger Rockwell, he is loud, grandiose, and absolutely committed. There’s a particular monologue around halfway in which ranks among some of the best work he’s done. It’s also a transformative performance, of course helped by the prosthetics and makeup on him, and his physicality is impressive. But there’s also a lot of nuance which added so much to his performance. Riz Ahmed is great and is a standout, particularly when playing off and clashing with Cruise, and I really liked what he added here. John Goodman is hilarious, bombastic, and unhinged playing the president, there are some scenes here which bring to mind his work with the Coen Brothers. While he’s not in the movie a lot, Jesse Plemons is really good in his scenes, and Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma D’Arcy, and Sophie Wilde also deliver solid performances.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s direction is top notch, there’s a lot of creative and inventive filmmaking on display here. Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography is amazing, I was really into the weird and stylised camera angles and close ups, and the deliberately grey colour palette (which admittedly looked a little off in the trailers) was really appropriate for this movie. The production design is outstanding too. The makeup is amazing, especially transforming Tom Cruise into Digger Rockwell, yet allowing him to retain enough resemblance to the actor. The sound design is very effective, and the score from Cosmo Sheldrake fits the tone and feel of the movie.

Digger is a surprising, captivating, and bleak absurdist satire, excellently directed and with a great cast, led by a fantastic and committed performance from Tom Cruise. I honestly recommend checking out the movie, even if there’s a chance that you really won’t like it.