Digger: Early Reactions are Polarizing!
One of my most anticipated movies of 2026 and certainly of 2026 was Digger, the latest Tom Cruise vehicle doing a big ambitious role and his first non-franchise film in about a decade. There was so much about this movie that had me extremely excited to check it out, and early today we got the first reactions to the film, and it is an understatement to say they are polarizing. We are just going to dive into the reviews and my thoughts on them and how it changed my excitement for the film. Let us talk about it!
The Reviews
- “Digger is my favorite film of 2026…A bit Kubrick, a bit Black Mirror but also feels original. A surreal, weird, and funny study on (human) nature and storytelling. Tom Cruise’s performance ranks among his career best.” - Jake Hamilton (Jake’s takes)
- “Digger is not at all what it seems on the surface. What begins as an over-the-top comedy of gigantic satirical proportions suddenly turns into a meta, somber commentary on the bleak state of the world we’re inevitably heading toward…This is Tom Cruise’s most dynamic and interesting role in years, and it provides him plenty of space to preach to back row but enough to dig deeper and deliver a performance that could’ve had far more power and nuance had Alejandro Gonzâlez Iñárritu’s ambitious spirit narrative not been so imbalanced in favor of its zany but empty theatrics…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 band more of a hollow misfire.” - Matt Neglia (NextBestPicture)
- “Digger is a mess. Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu are taking a massive swing here, but despite some great production design and a commitment to their big choices, not a whole lot works here. Cruise is good but Riz Ahmed is a highlight, but man this was not enjoyable.” - Joey Magidson
- “Digger is not for everyone, but I loved it. The big twists are going to pin off a lot of people, but the payoff is worth it. The vibe is much more [Charlie] Kaufman than [Stanley] Kubrick. Cruise is gate, but he is the least interesting actor onscreen next to John Goodman and Riz Ahmed.” - Jacob Kleinman
- “Digger is not what people are expecting and how audiences react may be the ultimate test of Tom Cruise’s star power. I respect the swing and what Alejandro G. Iñárritu is going for. Cruise and John Goodman are delivering stellar work…In the end, not all the dots connect, and I wish the film leaned harder into absurdity and satire it kept reaching for…The divide on this one is going to be wide.” - Clayton Davis
My Thoughts: Whenever they put out the first trailer for this movie, and not just of Tom Cruise dancing but the actual full-length trailer I knew this movie was going to be polarizing. When the reviews for the film are calling it polarizing and everybody has a different opinion on the film, I am not at all surprised. Honestly, the fact that the movie is so polarizing is what makes me even more excited to see the film. Based on these reviews, I do not know where I am going to land on it. I do not know if I am going to love this movie or hate it. One review I saw for the film that I did not include said that they predict the CinemaScore for the film is not going to be good. If you do not know what CinemaScore is, it measures what audiences thought about the film coming out of opening night. Films that had bold swings like Joker: Folie A Deux had a “D” which is the lowest ever for a comic book movie. I do not know if Digger will get that low, but based on the reviews, I do not see that film having a particularly high CinemaScore either. Critics are polarized on the film, and the polarizing nature is not good for ticket sales. The opening weekend is going to be low, and it will end up being one of 2026’s biggest box office bombs. Another thing to factor about all of this is how polarizing nature affects the awards season race. I think most of us went into 2026 thinking Digger was going to be a major awards contender for Tom Cruise in Best Actor. He gets nominated, but at this point we will see if he wins. I plan to see this movie next Thursday and I am very curious to see what I think about it and see if I love it or if I hate it like many of the critics seem to be.
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