DIGGER (2026)

Genre: Drama/Comedy
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed
Runtime: 2 hr 9 mins
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 1 October 2026

Synopsis: The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything.

Movie Review:

It takes someone like Tom Cruise to attempt something as audacious as Digger. This is a man who has been nominated for an acting Oscar three times — for Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996) and Magnolia (1999) — without taking home the competitive acting prize. He did receive an Honorary Oscar in 2025, but could this be the film that finally gives him a competitive acting win?

Award season is still to come, so we will have to wait and see. One thing, however, is certain: Cruise remains one really hardworking actor. And that goes beyond running around in the Mission: Impossible movies or doing his own stunts in the countless action flicks he has starred in.

Just look at him here, hidden beneath prosthetic makeup and a fat suit, fully embracing the larger-than-life character he plays.

Digger begins by telling audiences not to spoil the movie, so we will do our best to honour that request. The film follows Digger Rockwell (Cruise), a powerful oil tycoon whose business activities trigger an environmental catastrophe, sending him on a frantic mission to prove that he can somehow save humanity from the disaster he has unleashed.

Alejandro González Iñárritu directs, and anyone familiar with his filmography knows that he is not exactly interested in playing things safe. From the bleak human dramas of Biutiful (2010) and The Revenant (2015) to the inventive theatricality of Birdman (2014), his films have often examined the human condition through unconventional means. With such a track record, expectations are naturally high, and Digger certainly pushes boundaries — quite a bit.

That also means the film is likely to divide audiences. We found it inventive enough to keep us engaged for its 129-minute runtime. The supposed twist is not exactly out of this world, but it is enough to get you thinking, while the ending scene and end credits are particularly effective. The concept sounds great on paper, although there are moments when the execution leaves you wondering exactly where Iñárritu is taking all this.

Thankfully, the production values are lavish enough to keep you gawking. The production design and sets are suitably extravagant, while Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography gives the whole thing an appropriately grand scale. Cruise also gets a memorable centrepiece sequence that feels almost designed to make awards juries sit up and pay attention. It is a terrific scene, not least because beneath all the spectacle lies an uncomfortable reminder that none of us is entirely removed from the state of the world around us.

John Goodman is wonderful as the president, with his booming voice used to great comic effect. Riz Ahmed is equally good, bringing intelligence and restraint to the madness around him and reminding us once again what a fine actor he is. Michael Stuhlbarg and Sandra Hüller feel somewhat underused, but considering that this is very much Cruise's show, that is perhaps understandable.

You may love Digger or hate it, and either reaction is understandable. But perhaps, as one character suggests, that is not really the point. What matters is watching a filmmaker like Iñárritu take an audacious concept and push it onto the screen in ways that keep you guessing. Whether every swing connects is another question, but Digger is certainly the kind of film that makes you sit up, watch and see where it goes.

Movie Rating:

(Tom Cruise goes gloriously over the top in Alejandro González Iñárritu's unapologetically ambitious Digger, a divisive film that certainly gives audiences plenty to think about)

Review by John Li