First reactions to Digger have landed, and they are anything but tidy. Alejandro G. Iñárritu's English-language comedy, starring Tom Cruise as a megalomaniacal power broker scrambling to rebrand himself as the planet's deliverer, drew a genuinely split response from early viewers, with praise for its ferocious ambition colliding against complaints that the film's tonal juggling act never quite lands. The movie opens in U.S. theaters on September 30.
A TMDb rating of 8 out of 10 suggests the early sample skews warm, but the written reactions tell a messier story. The phrase circulating fastest is "brave gorgeous misfire" - a verdict that captures both the admiration for what Iñárritu attempts and the frustration that the pieces don't cohere. It is the kind of reception that can be as useful as a rave for a September release looking to stand out in a crowded fall corridor.
A Comic Disaster of the Self-Made Variety
The official synopsis is spare but pointed: the most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything. That premise places Digger squarely in the tradition of satire where the joke and the horror are the same object. Cruise's character, Digger Rockwell, is not merely a villain in the conventional sense - he is a self-appointed redeemer whose own vanity is the engine of the catastrophe he's racing to outrun.
At 129 minutes, the film has room to stretch its comic muscles, and Iñárritu has assembled a cast built for tonal whiplash. Riz Ahmed plays Ganesh, John Goodman steps in as President Compson, Sandra Hüller appears as Emma, and Michael Stuhlbarg takes the Vice President. Jesse Plemons, Robert John Burke, and Emma D'Arcy round out the ensemble as Kenny, Fitzgerald, and Lena respectively. It's a lineup that reads like a serious drama, which is precisely what makes the comedy classification noteworthy.
The Cruise Factor
For Cruise, Digger represents a sharp pivot. The actor has spent the better part of two decades as the industry's most reliable action anchor, building a brand around practical stunts and unwavering heroism. Here, he's playing a man whose heroism is a performance - a figure whose frantic mission is less about saving anyone than about being seen as the one who saved them. Early viewers seem divided on whether the casting is inspired or whether the star's innate likability works against the satire.
That tension may be the point. Iñárritu has never been shy about using movie-star charisma as raw material, and the "gorgeous misfire" label suggests audiences are wrestling with a film that refuses to let them settle into comfortable admiration. A comedy that makes you uncomfortable is not automatically a failure, but it does make for a difficult marketing pitch.
A Director's Gamble
Iñárritu's career has been defined by grand, physically demanding productions - Birdman, The Revenant, and the immersive Carne y Arena - so a comedy about a delusional savior figure lands as both a natural extension and a departure. The mixed reaction suggests the director's maximalist instincts are on full display. Some early viewers appear to have connected with the film's feverish energy; others found the balance between farce and dread unsteady.
The release date of September 30 places Digger in a slot that has historically rewarded counterprogramming. An adult-skewing comedy with a prestigious director and an A-list lead does not need to win every critic to find an audience - it needs a clear identity. The "brave gorgeous misfire" framing, while not a conventional endorsement, at least gives the film a distinct personality at a moment when many wide releases struggle to be remembered at all.
What remains to be seen is whether general audiences respond to the same qualities that divided early viewers. If the film's defenders are right, Digger could become a conversation piece that builds through word of mouth. If its critics are right, it may be remembered as a fascinating swing that missed. Either way, the early verdict is in: this is not a movie anyone is shrugging at. Digger opens September 30 in U.S. theaters.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
