‘Digger,’ which also stars Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller and Jesse Plemons is in theaters Oct. 2

NEED TO KNOW

• Tom Cruise stars as an eccentric oil tycoon in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ambitious apocalyptic satire Digger
• Critics are divided, praising Cruise’s performance and visuals but questioning the film’s ambitious satire and narrative cohesion
• The ensemble cast includes Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, and John Goodman

If there’s one thing critics can agree on about Digger, it’s that Tom Cruise has really dug in.

The 64-year-old actor’s first original film in nearly a decade is already making waves among early critics. First reactions to Digger, Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s ambitious apocalyptic satire, are split, with critics calling the film everything from “brave” and “audacious” to “baffling.”

The Warner Bros. film, which opens Oct. 2, stars Cruise as Digger Rockwell, a wildly wealthy and oblivious oil tycoon whose drilling operation in Greenland sets off an environmental catastrophe, leaving him scrambling to save the world from a crisis he helped create.

The film’s ensemble includes Riz Ahmed as a scientist, Sandra Hüller as Digger’s half-sister and business partner, John Goodman as the U.S. president, Michael Stuhlbarg as the vice president and Jesse Plemons in a mysterious role.

Iñárritu, 63, who won Oscars for directing Birdman and The Revenant, reunites with Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki for the film, which was shot entirely in VistaVision. The result, according to some early critics, is one of the movie’s biggest strengths.

IndieWire‘s Jim Hemphill called Digger “one of the most visually inventive, conceptually audacious, and unpredictable studio movies ever made,” while praising Cruise’s performance as his “best performance since ‘Magnolia.’”

IndieWire‘s Anne Thompson was similarly enthusiastic, calling the film “a brave and gorgeous art film that will not score with mainstream audiences but will play best for the Academy, especially crafts and actors.”

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Variety‘s Clayton Davis, meanwhile, praised Cruise and Goodman’s performances as well as the movie’s production design and cinematography, while opining that the film’s complex ideas do not always neatly connect.

“I respect the swing and what Alejandro González Iñárritu is going for,” the Chief Awards Editor wrote in his X review. “Tom Cruise and John Goodman are delivering stellar work, and the production design and cinematography are impressive. In the end, not all the dots connect, and I wish the film leaned harder into the absurdity and satire it kept reaching for. Shocker! The divide on this one is going to be wide.”

After spending much of the past decade playing blockbuster action heroes — from Pete “Maverick” Mitchell to Ethan Hunt — Cruise is seen in Digger acting beneath elaborate prosthetics at the center of a story that swings between environmental catastrophe and political satire and absurdist comedy.

Jake Kleinman called Cruise “great,” and the actors around him even better.

“Digger is definitely not for everyone, but I loved it,” the Deputy Entertainment Editor at Polygon wrote on X. “The big twists are going to piss off a lot of people, but the payoff is worth it. The vibe is much more Kaufman than Kubrick. Cruise is great, but he’s the least interesting actor onscreen next to John Goodman and Riz Ahmed.”

Other critics were even more taken with Cruise’s turn.

Variety contributor Courtney Howard called the movie “powder keg cinema” and praised Cruise for a “brilliant, boldly invigorated, tour de force performance,” while also singling out Ahmed as a standout.

“Digger RIPS! Iñárritu creates powder keg cinema, exploding in blistering heat & dazzling fireworks,” she wrote. “A masterfully compelling, electric & audaciously assured satirical farce. Tom Cruise gives a brilliant, boldly invigorated, tour de force performance. Riz Ahmed, a standout!”

Still, Digger has its skeptics.

Some critics questioned the film’s ambitious satire and big swings. Mike Ryan praised Cruise’s commitment to the role but found some of the movie’s choices “baffling.”

“Tom Cruise, as you probably expect, is *going for it* in DIGGER, which makes me want to like it. Though I find some plot choices baffling,” Ryan wrote on X “There are very interesting moments in a meta, Cruise’s career way, but MAVERICK did them better. (It’s also kind of generally unpleasant.)”

Still, Digger connected with those praising its ambition. “DIGGER is my favorite film of ‘26,” wrote Jake Hamilton, calling the film a “bit Kubrick, a bit BLACK MIRROR.” He added that Cruise’s “performance ranks among his career best.”

Digger hits theaters, including IMAX screens, on Oct. 2.

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