Digger (2026) - Spoiler Free Film Review

Film Details

Director: Alejandro Inarritu 

Run Time: 2hr 9m

Cast: Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, Sandra Huller, John Goodman, Jesse Plemons, Emma D’Arcy

Synopsis

After unleashing a disaster that threatens everything, one man embarks on a frantic mission to solve the issue, proving he is humanity’s saviour.

My Review

Digger is undoubtedly a polarising film that has caused quite the divide among audiences, but there is no denying that there are pockets of absolute brilliance throughout this daring satire, albeit, presented in a style choice that won’t be for everyone. I had low expectations, the trailer felt reminiscent of Don’t Look Up, a comedic approach that really doesn’t appeal to me. But I found the film to be far more enjoyable and what a fantastic job they did at hiding the true storyline for the film, a twist I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is by far my favourite performance from Tom Cruise, captivating and electric, complimented by the aforementioned twist, allowing for a real contrast in range. This ultimately leads to two truly great scenes, the first, a Cruise one-take monologue that puts him inside his own colosseum, taking the bull by the horns and lifting the entire audience with Digger’s energy. The second moment I won’t explain in any detail, to maintain the element of surprise, but it leads to a discussion on satire and its use to explore serious themes and I found that moment to be truly profound, piercing through the outlandish characters to trigger a really interesting debate. Both moments helped elevate the film drastically and softened the impact of the slower periods that dragged.

This next part includes spoilers, so skip if you haven’t seen the film!

The concept of the entire film being a theatre production that depicts the disastrous acts of a careless oil-billionaire and his recklessness that jeopardises the entire planet, was nothing short of genius from Inarittu! It broke up the film and provided much needed breaks from the characters and the comedy that could get rather draining after a while. More importantly I thought it was a brilliant way to dissect the films themes. But what I really enjoyed, was that in this dystopian world, set after the disaster, humanity still found room for art, for that communal experience, a chance to look back on disaster and laugh together and that links back to the earlier moment in the film that discussed the satire approach to telling Digger’s story.

I can see why some people didn’t enjoy the film, it all comes down to if you think those great moments are rewarding enough to justify the periods that simply aren’t up to the same standard. That style can be a lot to digest and if you don’t appreciate that humour, then it’s going to be a painful 2 hours! But I enjoyed it and the cinematography and musical score were consistently impressive for the entire duration, setting the scene tone perfectly, which was a difficult task!

My rating: 7 out of 10

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