Digger Reactions: Here's What Critics Are Saying About Tom Cruise's New Movie

Tom Cruise is taking the biggest risk of his career since 1999's "Magnolia" with "Digger." You might scoff at the notion that teaming with Alejandro González Iñárritu, who directed Leonardo DiCaprio to his first Best Actor Oscar, is anywhere in the neighborhood of risky, but have you seen the trailer? "Digger" looks like a gonzo, apocalyptic satire grasping for "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" greatness. The last time a major filmmaker tried this, we got a toilet tank lid smashed over our heads with "Don't Look Up."

Iñárritu is a skillful filmmaker, but he is not a subtle one. So when I see Cruise working in the broad, make-up coated register that worked in small doses in "Tropical Thunder," I get a tad concerned. Could these two remarkably talented artists actually bring out the worst in each other?

We're about to find out. "Digger," which stars Cruise as the most powerful man in the world rushing to avert an armageddon he's set in motion, opens on October 2 after skipping all of the awards season film festivals (another cause for concern). On the plus side, it's got a stellar cast that includes Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Lubezki, who won three consecutive Best Cinematography Oscars (for "Gravity," "Birdman," and "The Revenant"), is back behind the camera for Iñárritu. Warner Bros. executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy gave the filmmaker a hefty $125 million budget, and their auteur instincts have generally been spot on (see "Sinners," "Weapons," and the Best Picture-winning "One Battle After Another").

What's the early word? "Digger" just had its world premiere in London, and the first social media reactions are spilling out. Have Iñárritu and Cruise delivered the goods?

So, is "Digger" going to go down as one of the best Tom Cruise movies? Time will tell, but it's not looking good. Independent journalist Mike Ryan called the film "kind of generally unpleasant" and said he found "some plot choices baffling." Next Best Picture's Matt Neglia says it's a "bizarre, self-admittedly unfunny, and boisterous warning about the current state of the world, but with not enough depth or humanity to help us care or make any sense of it. Less of a bang and more of a hollow misfire." Award Radar's Joey Magidson called the film "a mess," noted that "not a lot works," and concluded that the movie "wasn't enjoyable."

Variety's Clayton Davis said that "not all the dots connect" in the end, while Jonathan Sim explained that "the stakes end up feeling much lower than they should, and you don't really care about any of the characters. Everything's cranked up to an 11, and it gets tiring after a while."

At least one person liked it, though: Good Day Chicago's Jake Hamilton said it's his "favorite film" of 2026. OK then!

"Digger" hits theaters on October 2, 2026, and then we'll all be able to see it for ourselves.