Hot take incoming, and I’m not backing down from it: Tom Cruise might be the most underrated, underappreciated actor in America. Yes, that Tom Cruise. Hear me out.
The guy has the full package. He’s got leading-man looks, a character actor’s willingness to look ridiculous and comedic timing that sneaks up on you. Need proof? Look no further than Les Grossman, the foul-mouthed studio boss he played in Tropic Thunder. Most of the eye-rolling aimed his way, I’d argue, has more to do with his intense devotion to Scientology than anything he does on screen. On that front, I’ll concede the point.
Which makes what comes next sting a little.
A star-studded swing that misses
Digger, from Warner Bros. Pictures, boasts a terrific cast and looks an awful lot like a not-so-subtle bid to land Cruise a 2027 Oscar. Unfortunately, it’s also a deeply off-putting film, and I mean that in both the good way and the bad way.
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu takes a big swing at satire here. Instead of connecting, though, the movie mostly plays like a self-congratulatory exercise in indulgence. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a guy who laughs at his own jokes before he even reaches the punchline.
What could have been
Here’s the frustrating part: Digger had every ingredient it needed to be outstanding. The premise practically begs to be a gleeful, sneering takedown of humanity’s environmental carelessness, its corporate greed and its baffling talent for turning a profit off its own extinction.
So what went wrong? Iñárritu seems to have forgotten that satire is supposed to make you laugh. That’s a big miss when you’ve got Riz Ahmed and John Goodman on the call sheet alongside your leading man. With a different director calling the shots, this trio could have had audiences gasping for air. Instead, the jokes land with a thud more often than a punch.
Meet Digger Rockwell, oil baron extraordinaire
Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a filthy-rich titan of industry with more power than he knows what to do with. He’s the heir to a Texas oil dynasty that first struck black gold back in 1917, and he has spent his life growing that fortune the old-fashioned way: by tearing up the planet and pocketing whatever he finds.
Along the way, Digger has assured the public that his drilling operations are perfectly safe. Spoiler alert: They’re not. And unfortunately for him (and, well, the rest of us), Mother Nature doesn’t read quarterly earnings reports, and she certainly isn’t impressed by them.
Goodman, meanwhile, turns up as President Compson, a commander in chief who looks like he can’t quite believe what he’s hearing. Honestly, same.
Even billionaires have bad mornings
Not everything in Digger’s world runs like a well-oiled machine. In one scene, he wakes up in his sprawling mansion only to discover that his cat has peed on the bed. Again. All the money in the world, and he still can’t stop a house cat from staging a protest on his sheets.
It’s a small, absurd touch, and it’s the kind of detail that makes you wish the whole movie leaned harder into its comic side. A little more of that mischief, and Digger might have had the bite it so clearly wants.
Is the Cruise Oscar push worth the ride?
Here’s the bottom line. The star brings his trademark commitment, and the supporting cast is stacked from top to bottom. But a satire that forgets to be funny is like a stand-up set with no punchlines: All the setup, none of the payoff.
So should you dig into Digger? If you’re there for the performances, you’ll find plenty to admire. Just don’t expect the sharp, side-splitting skewering the premise promises. For an actor this talented, that’s the real shame.
