Digger Review

Tom Cruise is an actor who doesn’t need an introduction. He is arguably the last true movie star whose presence has been enough to sell a film. He takes one of his biggest gambles in a long time by playing against type in a climate change satire directed by the acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Digger Rockwell (Cruise) is a tycoon who owns one of America’s biggest oil companies. When his rig in Greenland explodes, it causes an iceberg the size of Washington, D.C. to break off and start a chain reaction of environmental catastrophes that Digger and the US administration need to solve or at least manage.

Digger was a big swing for Cruise, and looking at the critical and commercial reaction, it was a miss. It received a mixed reception, with criticisms ranging from shallow satire and political commentary to Cruise’s ‘poor’ performance. It earned $8 million at the North American box office on its opening weekend, with a budget estimated between $160 million and $180 million. It was beaten by the re-release of Avengers: Endgame and the critically slated Verity. Digger made half the amount of money on its first weekend than Coyote vs. Acme, the film Warner Bros. tried to make into a tax write-off. Digger was arguably an attempt to get Cruise an Oscar, and those early signs make that outcome unlikely.

The political satire lacked any sense of subtlety. It was a climate change story where the American reaction was a combination of ignoring the issue/hope for the best, media management, and blowing shit up. The American President was a dying, decaying old man who had used politics to enrich himself, and his administration was made up of self-interested tycoons and Christian zealots. It was particularly fitting considering events in 2026, which have blown up the world’s economy because of its dependency on oil, the use of force to solve any problem, but have made things worse and shown how political and business leaders are in league with each other as they orchestrate our destruction.

The character Dr Nirav Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) lays out the stark reality of what the world’s facing. We’re past the point where we dampen the effects of climate change, and because of corporate lobbying to prevent meaningful action, things are about to get a lot worse. For a film marketed as an over-the-top comedy, it will make audiences feel bad and hopeless. The film milked some comedy from Ganesh as he witnessed the absurdity of the crisis management and developed a ‘fuck it’ attitude.

Politically driven films, especially environmentally themed ones, risk being overly preachy and condescending. This was the fate that befell Don’t Look Up. Even people who agree with the message want more than their views validated. A scene that showed Digger’s greatness and issues was the 10-minute-long speech at the European Parliament. It was a superb piece of direction, and Cruise showed off his charisma and showmanship, but it was a speech saying everyone was hypocritical because of our system and wealth depended on oil.

Iñárritu reteamed with his Birdman writers. In hindsight, it made the film’s framing device seem obvious: that it was a historical play about events that had already happened. This meant there were two contrasting styles. The events about Digger were grand and theatrical, whilst the behind-the-scenes actions were more grounded and sedate. Cruise wasn’t just an over-the-top villain; he was playing Curtis Markson, a seasoned stage actor who was concerned about his daughter after her plane disappears. Cruise comes with a lot of baggage, but he can be a great performer; he has been nominated for Academy Awards before and in Digger, he was able to play two drastically different people at the same time.

The use of the play was designed to make the audience reflect on our current situation. The final scene was aiming to be poignant. When Curtis interrupted the rehearsal and got into an argument with his director and producer, Hannah (Sophie Wilde) and Kenny (Jesse Plemons), they spelt out the themes and intent of the play, just so people watching the film would know what it’s about.

Digger can be simply summed up as Birdman meets Dr. Strangelove. Iñárritu used similar techniques to those he used in his theatre-set film, whilst Dr Strangelove was also an absurdist comedy about humanity’s impending destruction. Dr. Strangelove looked at the issues of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. There was a little bit of Black Mirror because of its mix of advanced communication technology and dark future, whilst the use of a theatrical framing device and visual techniques was similar to Wes Anderson’s sci-fi flick Asteroid City.

Digger was grand and ambitious, which is appreciated in our cinematic climate. It was earnest, with fantastic performances and craftsmanship, but it was a shame that message was so full-on and pessimistic.