# ‘Digger’ First Reactions Split Over Tom Cruise’s ‘Baffling,’ ‘Unpleasant’ and ‘Brave’ New Movie: ‘The Divide on This Is Going to Be Wide’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/digger-first-reactions-split-over-tom-cruises-baffling-unpleasant-and-brave-new-movie-the-divide-on-this-is/
- Published: 2026-09-22T21:35:45+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-23T03:40:41+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/digger-first-reactions-tom-cruise-baffles-1236871935/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Film

## Key points

- Early critics are sharply split over the film’s ambition and execution.
- Cruise returns to dramatic cinema after a decade of action roles.
- “Digger” reaches cinemas on 1 October.

## Summary

Tom Cruise’s new film “Digger”, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, has received sharply divided early reactions from film journalists. Some praised its ambition, visual style and Cruise’s performance, while others called it confusing, unpleasant or unsuccessful, suggesting the satirical black comedy may struggle to appeal to mainstream audiences despite possible awards interest.

Cruise plays wealthy tycoon Digger Rockwell, who attempts to save the world after an oil-rig disaster causes a global environmental catastrophe. The supporting cast includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons; the film marks Cruise’s return to adult drama after years dominated by action roles. Attention has also focused on his prosthetic-heavy transformation, which reportedly took six hours initially before being reduced to one hour, ahead of the film’s 1 October cinema release.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.