Tom Cruise is set to make one of his first Academy Award plays in years with Digger, a satirical black comedy directed by Alejandro Iñárritu. The film has looked offbeat from the start, with the actor wearing head-to-toe facial prosthetics, a thinning gray hairpiece, and a full-body fat suit to portray Digger Rockwell, the eccentric and wealthy oil tycoon at the center of the story.
Cruise has primarily been acting in action-driven vehicles such as the Mission: Impossible films and Top Gun: Maverick, so it’s great to see him flexing his acting muscles again and working with an auteur director who has an impressive, and sometimes polarizing, filmography. There has been speculation about what Digger is actually about because the trailers have been purposefully vague, but knowing that it comes from the mind of Iñárritu, audiences should expect to not get something familiar or basic.
The film has just had its world premiere in London at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square, and the first reactions are pouring in as the social media embargo has been lifted. Will Digger entice audiences, or will it be too out of the box for casual movie fans?
What Are The First Reactions Saying?
Digger is being called something audiences won’t be expecting. The big takeaway is that Tom Cruise gives it his all and turns out a dynamic and powerful performance that stretches his acting muscles in ways we haven’t seen in years. It’s also being a true test of his star power as this won’t be a movie that’s for everyone but it should be interesting to see if his name alone will make people take a chance on it. Also of note is John Goodman, whose work is reportedly worthy of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.
In the end, it’s being called a bold swing for Cruise and director Iñárritu. Whether that bold swing is accepted by the masses, remains to be seen. It’s clearly ambitious, audacious, and maybe a bit of a mess but it’s bound to get people talking. You can check out the first reactions below!
What Is Digger About?
Co-written by Iñárritu, Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Nicolas Giacobone, with story credit going to Iñárritu, Berman, and Jez Buttworth, Digger follows the titular character, described as the most powerful man in the world, who has to race against time to prove he’s the savior of humanity before a disaster of his creation destroys everything as we know it. The film also stars Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons.
Digger was first conceived after Iñárritu wrapped work on 2015’s The Revenant, but it would take him years to begin properly executing the project because he described it more like an obsession about who the character was rather than a complete story. It would take him some time to determine the right way to convey the story, and this led him to discuss the project with Cruise in 2019 while he was filming Top Gun: Maverick. Being a longtime fan of Iñárritu’s, Cruise made the film a priority and was officially cast in 2024.
What’s to be determined is whether Digger will light up the box office when it opens on Oct. 2, given Cruise’s name recognition, and if it will be the Academy Awards play that Warner Bros. is hoping for. Movie fans have been declaring that Cruise may be headed for a Best Actor Oscar nomination before they even saw a single frame of the film because of the potential of him teaming up with Iñárritu and, given the Academy’s track record of recognizing performances that coincide with an unrecognizable transformation, the actor could see himself receiving his first nomination since his stellar work in 1999’s Magnolia. As for box office, Digger carries a reported budget of $125-130 million, which means Cruise will need to flex his movie star muscles to carry it to profitability. The movie entered tracking for a $20 million+ opening weekend, which does seem low, but good critical reviews could boost interest ahead of its nationwide opening.
Digger hits screens nationwide on Oct. 2.
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