Tom Cruise’s Digger has played for its first group of film journalists, and the response is anything but tidy. Some viewers see one of the actor’s boldest performances in years. Others admire the effort but find Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s black comedy exhausting or difficult to follow.
That disagreement fits a film that looks determined to take Cruise somewhere unfamiliar. He plays Digger Rockwell, a powerful man racing to prove he can save humanity from a catastrophe he helped create. The official synopsis keeps the details spare. Early viewers have also urged people to avoid spoilers, so the most useful conversation right now is about tone and performance, not plot reveals.
The praise is real — and so are the reservations
Writing after the screening, IndieWire’s Jim Hemphill called it Cruise’s best performance since Magnolia and praised the film’s visual invention. Anne Thompson, also of IndieWire, saw a bold art film, though she warned it may be a difficult sell to mainstream audiences. Their enthusiasm is not just for a famous actor wearing prosthetics. It is for a star allowing a director to pull him into a strange, riskier register.
Next Best Picture’s Matt Neglia was more conflicted. He called the part Cruise’s “most dynamic and interesting role in years,” but felt the film’s frantic story left too little room for the character. Variety’s Clayton Davis praised Cruise, John Goodman and the craft while saying the satire never fully comes together. His short prediction: “The divide on this one is going to be wide.”
There are harder rejections, too. Awards Radar’s Joey Magidson called the film a mess despite its production design and committed performances. Mike Ryan described the experience as unpleasant. Those are not minor differences over an ending or a score; they are opposing reactions to the kind of movie Iñárritu has made.
Why this role matters for Cruise
For years, many audiences have mostly seen Cruise as the person who saves the day by running, flying or jumping into danger. Digger asks him to play a man whose own power is part of the problem. The actor’s altered appearance drew early attention, but these first reactions suggest that the bigger surprise is the film’s odd, satirical shape.
The supporting cast includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. Iñárritu directed from a screenplay he wrote with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman. Emmanuel Lubezki shot the film in VistaVision, which helps explain why even some doubtful viewers single out its images.
These are first-screening reactions, not a settled verdict or an audience score. There is a clear split in this early group: praise for Cruise taking a chance, mixed feelings about how the story uses him, and strong disagreement over whether the film’s satire works. That is more revealing than declaring it a triumph or a disaster before wider audiences can see it.
Warner Bros. lists the North American theatrical and IMAX release for October 2, with international openings beginning September 30. Once full reviews and public screenings arrive, we will know whether the early divide holds or whether the film finds a wider audience than its first reaction suggests.
