Film Review: Digger

Digger
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Legendary Pictures
In Theaters: 10.02.2026

I have turned Digger over in my head. I’ve looked at it from every conceivable angle. I have days of pure admiration, pure ambivalence and pure hatred. I have felt this way about Iñárritu’s other works, as well. I had my ups and downs with Birdman, but at some point, I decided I loved Birdman. I don’t know what to do here. I don’t even know where to begin. I want to get into the weeds of this story. I want to thoroughly examine its nuance. But this review must be spoiler-free. That’s all very vague, but this whole review will be vague, so try to read between the lines on this one.

I guess I should start with the summary. What you saw in the trailers was this: The world’s most powerful oil producer, Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise, Collateral, Eyes Wide Shut (did you really need related works to know who Tom Cruise is?)), triggers a world-ending catastrophe. Before the apocalypse comes, he must find a way to clear his name. That’s not even a third of what happens in Digger, but we’ll leave it at that.

Digger is very intentionally abrasive and annoying. That’s a tough line to walk. On one side, you have a film like Fight Club, which successfully lands its irritation. On the other side, you have Freddy Got Fingered, which may be the most intentionally annoying movie ever — to the point of being unwatchable, at times. Digger is somehow in the middle of that spectrum. It is endlessly entertaining while somehow begging you to shut it off. Every twenty minutes, it begins to wear you down, only to totally change everything you thought you knew.

Cruise is at his most bohemian here. You’ll quickly grow tired of his Foghorn Leghorn impression, but he manages to keep it fresh, even after two hours of it. This is possibly the best role he could’ve picked to come off his eight-year love affair with action movies that always manage to “save the cinema.” Digger leapt from the pages of Tom Wolfe. He’s a real Charlie Croker. John Goodman (The Big Lebowski, Monsters, Inc.) plays a grim reminder of the quality of men in power. He, too, gets on your nerves with his aggressive caricature of a United States president that lugs around a priest to prove his holiness, but again, it remains fresh. Riz Ahmed (The Sound of Metal, Nightcrawler) is a fantastic highlight that will grate on your attention, but he keeps it fresh. I don’t know how well I’ve illustrated this, but each of these roles stands as a landmark on these actors’ careers. 

Digger is a painting. I mean that very literally. You’ll just have to see it to get what I’m trying to say, but trust me, it’s a painting. Each set is unique and beautiful and huge and so thoughtfully constructed that it frequently reminds me of what I’ve seen on theater stages. Everything feels so tactile while still being deeply surreal. Iñárritu’s cinematography is always the peak of his works. He’s great at making impossible things feel natural.

I love Iñárritu’s work. He may very well be the best working visionary. He’s leagues above Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve. I’m not saying that to be controversial, mind you. They’re both fantastic filmmakers, but it’s just that Iñárritu is that much better. Iñárritu is always saying something, and he doesn’t bother spelling it out for you. He makes films without compromise. He makes stuff you won’t always like. Digger is maybe his least approachable film. Maybe his least enjoyable film as well? I have no fucking clue. Really, I’ve got nothing. I can tell you that Digger is necessary viewing if you want to get into his work. This is his biggest, and I didn’t know it got bigger than Birdman.

It’s not unlikely that Digger will be nominated for Oscars, but it’s more likely to win Razzies. That said, in a year of original films like Obsession or The Drama, Digger is somehow the most original. You need to see this movie. You will either love it or hate it. Personally, I love it, I think. I’m not entirely sure. Whatever, my point stands. Go see Digger and support original films, and all that other stuff I say at the end of reviews of movies I like. I really mean it this time, though. You HAVE to see this movie. Skip Resident Evil and Primetime. You can see those later. Digger needs you.

What am I talking about? –B. Allan Johnson

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