Digger First Reviews: An Ambitious but Muddled Satire Led by a Fully Committed Tom Cruise
Critics say Alejandro G. Iñárritu's latest is unlike anything we've seen from him before, but it's sure to divide audiences.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the Oscar-winning writer and director of The Revenant and Birdman, is back in the awards conversation with Digger, a dark political satire starring Tom Cruise, arriving in theaters this weekend. The first reviews of the highly anticipated movie are now online, calling it everything from the best of the year to a disappointing misfire. Cruise’s over-the-top cartoonish performance as the title character is also up for debate, while comparisons to Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove abound, whether out of praise or derision.
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Here’s what critics are saying about Digger:
Does it live up to expectations?
It’s a veritable masterclass in filmmaking.
– Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
Nothing could have prepared me for the 129-minute entertaining ride I found myself on.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Digger unfortunately feels as arrogant and pompous as its protagonist, with Iñárritu committing one of the greatest sins a director can commit: believing his film will always be smarter than its audience.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
It’s not a complete failure, more of a fascinating misstep because it’s rarely dull.
– Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
[It’s] such a dull and outdated endeavor that has all of Iñárritu’s most frustrating sensibilities on full blast.
– Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
It would not surprise me in the least if this movie receives an F CinemaScore.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Is it this generation’s Dr. Strangelove?
The Dr. Strangelove of the still youthful (but aging fast) 21st century… To my mind it’s every bit as good as Kubrick’s satire.
– Tim Cogshell, Alt Film Guide
Digger’s biggest, broadest comedic swings naturally draw a lot of comparisons to the Kubrick classic Dr. Strangelove. That said, Iñárritu is operating on his own singular level here.
– Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Digger borrows the doomsday architecture of Strangelove but leaves out the slyness, replacing it with a lavishly overscaled spectacle of browbeating.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
While Digger’s screenplay is crafted in a similar fashion, it too often comes across as a “try-hard.”
– David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Will it remind us of any other movies?
Iñárritu seems to think he’s made another Dr. Strangelove, but if anything, Digger comes off as an even more heavy-handed and dire Don’t Look Up.
– Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
It’s almost impossible not to view this as a shallow amalgamation of two of Academy Award winner Paul Thomas Anderson’s most acclaimed films, There Will Be Blood and One Battle After Another.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
At one point, Cruise wanted to make a Les Grossman movie, and in a certain way Digger is that movie.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
I was reminded of colossal misfires like Damien Chazelle’s Babylon and David O. Russell’s Amsterdam, bloated movies by directors so drunk on their exalted reputations they forgot there was an audience to consider.
– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Is it an important movie for today?
Digger, in its full breadth of context, is a masterpiece that should be recognized as such in its current era, rather than years down the line after folks collectively decided our worsening situations (ecological, governmental and corporate) are indeed outlandish and worth laughing at.
– Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
It speaks to the current world and its politics, all while delivering a timeless retrospection on the responsibility of art and the harrowing realities of a changing world.
– Brandon Zachary, Screen Rant
It ultimately isn’t the timely, radical work of satire it believes itself to be.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
[It] exposes the alarming quagmire of our 21st-century world. Unless that anxiety is not already entrenched in your recurring thoughts — and if not, wake up — it’s unlikely this film has much to tell you.
– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Does it effectively deliver its message?
The commentary can feel like it’s screaming at you rather than trusting you to find it.
– David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
[It] makes its point and makes it again with a thudding lack of nuance, and what we’re left with is less pointed satire than it is despair-riddled doomscrolling.
– Alonso Duralde, The Film Verdict
Like other entries in Iñárritu’s filmography (Birdman, Babel), the auteur once again succumbs to his worst impulses, over-explaining the film’s themes without trusting the audience.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
The film is saying that the situation we face is so dire, so on the precipice of disaster, that if you watch this movie and somehow fail to embrace its “visionary” message of apocalypse now, you’re contributing to the problem.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
[It’s] a climate crisis satire so smug and bombastic it makes Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up seem almost innocuous.
– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
It’s the kind of movie about evil billionaires that evil billionaires would enjoy, which makes it the worst kind of movie about evil billionaires.
– William Bibbiani, TheWrap
Will it also make us laugh?
Here’s the real problem: Digger isn’t funny.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
It’s not even funny, and the sweaty clumsiness of its punchlines and sight gags only serve to make the script’s galaxy-brained satire feel more like the stuff of an IMAX-sized JibJab cartoon.
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Comedic bits about the metric system being un-American or women not being present in a boardroom are low-hanging fruit that doesn’t even inspire nervous laughter from an audience.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
Bits… aren’t funny or clever, no matter how many times the film tries to convince you they are through the occasional meta jab at its own satirical farce.
– Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it isn’t funny.
– Philip De Semlyen, Time Out
What is Iñárritu’s biggest mistake?
Alejandro G. Iñárritu never fully gets a handle on tone here.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Iñárritu lost his way in pursuit of a point that it simultaneously can’t make any real clarity of and is not as smart as it thinks it is, no matter how many meta jabs are made.
– Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
Iñárritu’s storytelling tries very hard to come across as deep and introspective, but is ultimately shallow and reeks of self-importance.
– Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
Iñárritu seems to want to look in that mirror only to catch a glimpse of his own reflection.
– Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch
How is Tom Cruise’s performance?
Tom Cruise delivers a masterful, completely committed performance that reminds you just how damn good he is when asked to step outside the action-star persona that has defined this stage of his career.
– David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Perhaps his best acting turn yet…He’s better here than even in his great turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. That is saying a lot.
– Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
Cruise commits to the role – he is very, very funny – with a depth he has not displayed since his radically different Oscar-nominated portrayal of the wheelchair-bound Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone’s 1989 drama Born on the Fourth of July.
– Tim Cogshell, Alt Film Guide
It’s a terrific performance that highlights the versatility he rarely gets to show off in big-budget action movies, ranging from hilarious to unexpectedly quiet and resolutely defiant. It comes together in a way only Cruise could make work.
– Brandon Zachary, Screen Rant
There’s no denying the thrill of watching him apply his signature intensity to a role as strange as this one.
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire
In his most inherently transformative dynamite role in a long while. What starts as what could initially be called just a role where the prosthetics are doing more acting than Cruise itself begins to unveil new layers of interiority to them as the film goes on beyond its twist.
– Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
To see him overcome the makeup to deliver a strong performance is quite pleasing.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Essentially a Saturday Night Live caricature, only executed with Method fullness. On its own terms, Cruise’s acting in Digger is well-played and skillfully etched. It’s fun — or, theoretically, it should be — to see him cut loose.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Is the movie just a big excuse for him to ham it up?
The movie, however unintentionally, seem[s] to be about nothing so much as Tom Cruise taking on this role, and Iñárritu erecting the edifice for him to stand on.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Regardless of where you land on Digger as a whole, his commitment is never in question.
– David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
I wish the movie had let him dig deeper.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Are there any other noteworthy performances?
Cruise isn’t close to the only standout, however, as Riz Ahmed stands toe to toe with him, and his Dr. Ganesh remains a highlight.
– Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
If there’s a true standout among the supporting ensemble, it’s Riz Ahmed. Ahmed matches Cruise’s intensity at full throttle.
– David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Riz Ahmed is best in show amongst the supporting players.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Riz Ahmed is the best of the supporting players with a captivating performance that is unlike anything you’ve seen him do before.
– Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
Riz Ahmed [is] worthy of best supporting actor consideration.
– Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
John Goodman is equally as strong as President Compson, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he were nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
– Allison Rose, FlickDirect
How does the movie look?
Some visuals are actually stunning.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Every frame is a painting. Every scene a moment to look at the cinematography, the costuming, and the production design and go “This is what cinema looks like.”
– Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Lubezki once again demonstrates his remarkable understanding of color, movement and scale, crafting images perfectly suited to Digger’s own grandiose ambitions.
– David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
It looks suitably big and imposing but is less interesting for its visual textures than for Dennis Gassner and Richard Johnson’s elaborate production design.
– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Dennis Gassner’s production design speaks volumes about the characters who inhabit these textured environments…Jacqueline West’s wardrobe is show-stopping.
– Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
The production design is a truly exceptional element of the crafts.
– Josh Parham, Next Best Picture
Does it get a little too theatrical at the end?
Digger is overbearing, complete with a Brechtian twist that’s both jaw-dropping and head-scratching. (You think, “Are they really doing this?” Then you think, “Why are they doing this?”)
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
It’s the kind of choice that may ultimately make or break the entire movie for people, and I’m still trying to figure out exactly where I land on it, but the sheer boldness of the swing alone may be worth the price of admission.
– David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
After the initial “wait, what just happened?!” impact wears off, it becomes clear it doesn’t add as much to the movie as you’d hope. If anything, it leaves you wondering if the movie would have been better off without this extra element.
– Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
Their gimmick’s twist works, furthering their urgent commentary that satire is what we need to grapple with harsh realities and mind-numbing insanity.
– Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction
The ending actually lands really well.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
Is it like anything else we’ve seen?
The film lets you know in every way that it’s offering audiences something different from what they’re used to seeing.
– Owen Gleiberman, Variety
How frequently do we go out to the movies and then walk out saying, “Wow, that was something incredibly different and surprising?” Not often enough. Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s insane satire qualifies as something rare like that.
– Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
It’s also the sort of interesting failure that’s eminently worth seeing.
– Joey Magidson, Awards Radar
It’d be a mistake to judge Digger by the standards of a normal film…While I don’t entirely love this strange comedy, I’m giddy that it’s lurched into existence.
– Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times
Digger is in theaters on October 2, 2026. Buy tickets on Fandango.
