Digger first reactions: Tom Cruise film splits critics

Early press reactions to digger show Tom Cruise's new film with Alejandro González Iñárritu has split critics more sharply than any Cruise movie in years, with praise for a brave, audacious swing colliding with claims it is baffling, unpleasant, or a hollow misfire ahead of its early October release.

Key Takeaways

• First looks at digger call it Tom Cruise's most polarising film yet, by design from Birdman director Alejandro González Iñárritu.
• Cruise plays oil tycoon Digger Rockwell facing a planet-scale environmental catastrophe, with heavy prosthetics and an all-in performance.
• Praise cites audacity and career-best work; detractors call it a mess, unfunny, or unpleasant, predicting a wide audience divide.
• Warner Bros. opens the film in early October, with Oscar chatter focused more on acting and crafts than directing.

When the trailer for digger landed, something already felt off. The clip teased an absurd farce about a megalomaniacal tycoon whose hunger for power sparks a global catastrophe he cannot contain. Rumours that more was being withheld have proved true: Iñárritu asked early viewers, including The Independent, to keep the film's surprises sealed, and critics largely have.

That secrecy matters because digger almost dares audiences to dislike it for long stretches. According to first reactions gathered by Variety, IndieWire, and The Independent, the divide is intentional and already wide. The story also sits in the same cultural lane as extreme wealth and power — a theme readers of our Wealth Hacks & Passive Income coverage will recognise, even when the satire itself is contested.

What is digger actually about?

Cruise, 64, stars as Digger Rockwell, an outsize oil baron cast in what IndieWire described as a Dr. Strangelove mode. In the film, drilling linked to his empire — including in Greenland, per IndieWire — triggers a dire methane release and dislodges an ice shelf barreling toward Europe, with tsunami and cataclysmic disaster on the table.

Variety summarises the premise as a wealthy tycoon who must save the world when one of his oil rigs malfunctions and sparks an environmental catastrophe. The Independent framed it as a farce of power and containment failure. Supporting players singled out in early coverage include Riz Ahmed as scientist Ganesh, John Goodman as a dictatorial U.S. president, Michael Stuhlbarg as a feckless vice president, Sandra Hüller as Digger's half-sister and business partner, and Jesse Plemons as a mystery figure who comes into focus late.

The Independent notes the film is reminiscent of Adam McKay's Vice and Todd Phillips's Joker: Folie à Deux in its willingness to defy expectations — but stresses digger is not the musical many predicted. Production design and cinematography are repeatedly praised; Emmanuel Lubezki shot the film and Dennis Gassner handled production design, IndieWire reports.

Why are first reactions to digger so divided?

IndieWire's Jim Hemphill called digger Tom Cruise's best performance since Magnolia and one of the most visually inventive, conceptually audacious studio movies ever made. Anne Thompson of IndieWire labeled it a brave and gorgeous art film that may not score with mainstream audiences but could play for the Academy, especially in crafts and acting.

Jake Hamilton went further, calling digger his favorite film of 2026 and ranking Cruise among his career best. Scott Menzel found the Iñárritu-Cruise pairing engaging and one of a kind. Tomris Laffly said she loved Cruise and the film's audacious existential strangeness after it pivots from Strangelove-like satire into territory Iñárritu navigates with panache.

The other camp is blunt. Awards Radar's Joey Magidson called digger a mess where not a whole lot works and said it was not enjoyable. Mike Ryan found plot choices baffling and the movie generally unpleasant. Edward Douglas said he could not call digger very good and expects a horrendous CinemaScore. IndieWire editor Ryan Lattanzio called it a self-indulgent miscalculation from end to end. David Ehrlich quipped that watching Iñárritu try to construct a joke is like watching Frank Gehry try to draw a straight line.

Even mixed voices land in the middle with force. Variety's Clayton Davis respected the swing and praised Cruise and Goodman, but said not all the dots connect and the divide will be wide. Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture called Cruise's role his most dynamic and interesting in years, yet argued the ambitious narrative favored zany, empty theatrics over power and nuance. Kristen Lopez found the concept interesting but said the film does not trust the audience enough.

Could digger still deliver awards heat for Tom Cruise?

Cruise is hoping for a fourth acting Oscar nomination after Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia. The Independent says that, on the evidence of his committed digger work, a nod looks like a likelihood. IndieWire notes he has never won a competitive Oscar despite an honorary award last year, and that digger is already part of a fall Oscar push alongside other Warner Bros. titles.

For Cruise, digger marks a return to adult-oriented drama after more than a decade of action heroes. Variety notes his only non-action movie in the last ten years was 2017's American Made. He appears under heavy makeup and prosthetics that originally took six hours to apply; Cruise has said he drilled the process down to about an hour.

Iñárritu, a two-time Best Director winner for Birdman and The Revenant, looks less likely to add a third directing Oscar here, The Independent suggests, with stronger prospects in technical categories. IndieWire previously reported a budget of about $125 million or higher, with an insider estimate that the film may need upwards of $300 million worldwide to break even once marketing and awards spend are included.

Warner Bros. is releasing digger in early October, including IMAX and VistaVision in several locations, per IndieWire. Whether audiences embrace the swing may be the ultimate test of Cruise's star power — and of whether a studio satire about catastrophic wealth can still cut through when reality already feels absurd.