Digger review: Tom Cruise is utterly captivating in a film that will annoy as many people as it delights

What a movie to write about, and indeed, what a movie to watch… The screening of Tom Cruise’s latest, and weirdest, movie to date began with a strongly worded notice to critics – do not spoil the secrets of Alejandro G Iñárritu’s bizarre farcical satire.

So it will have to be enough to say that there are twists, precisely two massive ones, that unfold at different points in the film. Whether the movie as a whole ends up devouring itself with its own cleverness is for the audience to decide. What’s certain is that it will annoy as many people as it delights, so while we have decided to land on the side of awed rather than bored, don’t blame us if it’s not for you.

Tom Cruise is utterly captivating as oil magnate Digger Rockwell, the old, fat and filthy rich businessman whose practices set off a chain of events in Greenland which dislodges an ice shelf that threatens to destroy Europe.

Want to see this content?

This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as Google reCAPTCHA may use cookies and other technologies. To view this content, choose 'Accept and continue' to allow Google reCAPTCHA and its required purposes.

Digger, his close personal friend the president (a larger than life John Goodman), and a range of hapless political bods have to decide what course of action to take – are they going to focus on a minimum loss of life, or is controlling the narrative the prime directive?

Though there are plenty of on-the-nose political jabs here (there’s a pretty good gag in the war room scene where an admonishment for using a cuss word "there are women present!" is met with laughter – because of course, there are not), at heart this is a film about storytelling.

That is, stories we tell ourselves, stories told to us, and our tendency to interpret the world through a narrative lens. It’s never more explicit than in a scene where a room full of the most powerful men in America watch footage of the decimation of Europe. We don’t see what they see, we just see their reactions: the president shouting "f**k me!"; someone is sick; the head of the military is eating popcorn.

It’s tinged with brilliance, but this is a film that is so rich and dense with references that at times it's overwhelming. Love it or hate it, it’s undeniable that Cruise delivers a barnstorming performance which contains nods to his past work: Digger’s rallying speech in a room shot like a courtroom crossed with the Roman Senate recall his "I want the truth" speech from A Few Good Men, only here it’s a few bad men, with Digger proclaiming he doesn’t stop drilling for oil despite the impact on the planet because "you don’t want me to!"

It’s Cruise’s movie, though the supporting cast is strong. Riz Ahmed stands out as scientist Ganesh, a man committed to sticking with the facts, he’s a spec of humanity in this bleak world, but even he is corruptible. Sandra Hüller as Digger’s sister is captivating but rather underused, and Jesse Plemons in his mysterious role really only gets about five minutes of screen time.

Meanwhile, there’s a subplot involving a family member of Cruise’s character that doesn’t land and appears to only be there to further confuse viewers as to what is real and what isn’t, and although the runtime is fairly lean at 2 hours 9 mins, the film feels long, perhaps because there’s so much going on.

Something of a companion piece to Iñárritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), though less cohesive, Digger suffers from being too smart for its own good and lacking emotional resonance. As a thought experiment and a love/hate letter to our desire to impose narrative and memorialise reality, though, it’s fascinating.

Digger is released in cinemas on Friday 2 October 2026.

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.