By far the craziest movie of the year, Digger takes absurdity to the next level. Written and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the film follows Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise), an obsessive, powerful man whose insatiable thirst to dig can’t be quenched. In this hilarious, off-the-wall satire, Rockwell ignores years of environmental and safety warnings, culminating in a massive Arctic explosion. In an act that hits too close to home, he convinces political leaders that he’s the only one capable of solving the problem that he inevitably created.
One of the funniest and most underrated films of the early 2000s is Tropic Thunder. Widely inappropriate for most audiences, there are so many places where comedy presents itself that it can be hard to track. One often overlooked character out of the laundry list of A-listers in the film is Les Grossman, a short-tempered studio executive played by Tom Cruise. Wearing a fat suit, bald cap, and prosthetic hands for the character, a similar reprisal was done for Digger Rockwell. Just swap the title “film exec” for “oil baron” and Southern California regionalisms for those of Texas, and you have yourself a Digger.
The calmest moment of the film is the opening scene when Digger wakes up for the day. After that scene, it’s nonstop stimulation until the credits. Tom Cruise, John Goodman, and Riz Ahmed all deserve awards for their performances. Tom Cruise was so good… (takes deep breath) We may never see Tom Cruise this good again. There’s a scene towards the middle of the film where he’s in a courtroom pleading to the masses. This man went on what seemed like a 15-minute monologue that, beyond impressing the socks off of me, seemingly formed a bridge to the Oscars nominations list.
John Goodman as President Compson and Riz Ahmed as Ganesh are equally impressive in their respective ways. Compson and his cabinet loosely reflect an uneducated, pro-American version of this administration. From dismissing climate warnings to war-on-the-brain resolutions to all problems, it’s a hilarious satirical take on saving the world from the damage they caused. Ganesh is the head of environmental safety. Instead of taking interest in what he has to say, the cabinet took more interest in his country of origin. When that didn’t satisfy, his parents’ origin was questioned. The dim-witted, ICE-like approach was familiar, daunting, and walked a fine line between downright offensive and absolutely hilarious. Iñárritu & Co. got it right.
Digger was a man who embodied everything people despise about corporate greed. Safety warnings? Ignored. Employee treatment? Deplorable. Human safety? Pssh, oil rigs, baby. “Drill baby drill” is a phrase we all know too well, and Digger Rockwell embodied that. So imagine this: an oil baron ignores decades of warnings, which results in a methane explosion in the Arctic. The leaks were so bad and the explosion so massive that an entire ice shelf shifts into the sea. There’s nobody more fit to tackle this kind of problem than the CEO of an oil company and the President of the United States; a move we know all too well in this administration. Rather than heeding the advice from Ganesh, the President gives the floor to Fitzgerald (Robert John Burke), a military general who pushes blame and prefers violent assaults to verbal peacemaking.
You can’t watch this film without thinking of the current climate in the U.S. We live in a country where its leader caters to the rich and claims he’s the only one who can fix “things”. Those things end up being mostly problems that he creates. The film reflects this in a variety of ways, from President Compson taking advice from an oil CEO instead of a scientist to solve an environmental crisis, and concluding that bombing China is the solution to the world’s problems. We’ve never lived in a time like this with such greed, corruption, and lawlessness. Therefore, a satirical take as unhinged and as bold as this has yet to be done. If one were to try and reflect our current political climate onscreen, they would have to veer off into the inconceivable, which was beautifully done here. Take the dystopian theme from Fallout, sprinkle a bit of Tropic Thunder on it, and mix it with Birdman and you have one of the best films of the year.
The film is weird, amazing, overstimulating, and worth every penny at the box office. You’re watching a performance of a performance… of a performance? (Inception anyone?) Without spoiling anything, the film goes left really quickly. Had those moments that stepped away from the main plot been removed, the film would probably be a 10 (and leave the ending as is because that should’ve been the big reveal). The subplot with Rockwell’s daughter went nowhere and wasn’t necessary, and the same goes for his wife. Jesse Plemons’ character Kenny was initially weird, but turns out to be the most important piece in making sense of the story. Seemingly every room in the film has a leaky ceiling; Next to nobody actually likes Digger; and the satire felt a little too real for comfort. I mean, the surreal moment a shoddy pastor gathered the cabinet and laid hands on Compson was bloody genius.
Digger gets a 9 out of 10. I haven’t seen Tom Cruise in a role like this since 2009. A man who has almost exclusively been in sci-fi and action films breaks the mold and steps into a role that might dig him up an Oscar. Honestly, Goodman, Ahmed, and Burke deserve acknowledgment as well. The film is a beautifully vulgar piece of art that everyone should see. No need to worry about nudity or ill-placed relationship arcs. Greed, poor temperament, and absurdity make for a great time at the movies.
Digger premieres in theaters on Oct. 2.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Satire
Rating: R
Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins
Trailer: Watch
U.S. Release Date: October 2, 2026