Digger Review: Tom Cruise and Alejandro González Iñárritu Deliver a Modern Dr. Strangelove

Published 30 September 2026. Words like "tonight" or "next week" refer to that date.

Digger is my favorite film of the year so far and one of my favorite films of all time. I can totally see why a lot of people hate it, but I love it so much, and I want to explain both points of view: why I think a lot of people hate it, and why I love it and think some of you will like it as well.

Digger is my favorite film of the year so far

I have just fallen in love with this movie, although I wasn't sure at first. My first reaction was to wonder what Tom Cruise and Alejandro González Iñárritu were doing. Then I was like, bravo. It is some of their best work, and both of them have very good resumes, so being some of the best stuff they have ever done is a pretty tall order.

It is, get this, Succession meets White Lotus by way of Wes Anderson. That also makes it unlike anything Cruise or Iñárritu have done before, which makes it even more fascinating. You find yourself wondering what they are doing, and I love it. I'm buying the soundtrack for sure.

Surprise is so central to Digger that audiences were asked not to spoil it

This is a spoiler free review. Surprise is such a big part of Digger that a written blurb went up on the screen before the movie started asking people not to spoil it for anybody. They can ask all they want, but as soon as Digger hits a single screen for the public to see, the social media posts will go up and people will spoil it, because there is just so much to spoil. You have hardly seen any of this movie, which I think is pretty neat, and I hope you can maintain that surprise.

I would strongly recommend seeing it as soon as possible, and either staying off social media until you do or muting the words Digger and Tom Cruise. I don't know if that is going to work, but it's the best you can do. So how can I review a movie that's so hush hush? I'm going to talk about the performances, and I also really want to talk about the meaning of the film. Maybe if I prepare you here, you'll be less offended when you watch it.

As I see it, "it's like a box of bitter pills at the concession stand." Instead of M&M's, it's bitter pills, but perhaps medicine if you like the film. This is what I think the movie is about, and you might feel totally different, because it is very much a work of art: bold, but with a very strong message. Really good art should say something, and this one has a megaphone and isn't afraid to say the cold hard truth.

Digger is the modern Dr. Strangelove

Even if you hate the movie, I think we'll all agree that it is the modern Dr. Strangelove. I can't believe I'm about to go through these talking points. Iñárritu and Cruise are either brave or incredibly stupid to make an entire movie about this, and we'll see which.

Dr. Strangelove came out in 1964 and largely focused on nuclear warfare and the Cold War. Just 62 years later, the world is a whole lot more messed up, and comparing the two films, it was so simple back then. Separation of church and state. If only the founding fathers had thought to also add separation of state and business. Although nobody pays attention to the first rule, so why would they pay attention to the second?

Dr. Strangelove was very popular when it was released, both critically and commercially, and it was nominated for four Academy Awards. It didn't win any, but it did win some very major BAFTAs because Europe didn't mind making fun of America. So why isn't Digger getting the same praise out of the gate? Some of you would argue that Hollywood loves to make fun of America these days. To be honest, though, Dr. Strangelove played to the cheap seats. It preached to the choir: America bad, nuclear war bad, current government bad, military bad. It's all so simple. Digger is more complex than that.

Digger points the finger at the audience and takes shots at both sides

One of the biggest things I've seen is people guessing that maybe this movie is a little political. I would say it's equal opportunity, taking shots at both sides. I think people are used to Hollywood going pretty easy on the left, and of course that's most of the people who have seen this movie so far. But it doesn't go easy on anybody. It's a mean movie.

Digger points the finger at the audience, and this could really come back to bite the filmmakers. Its message is that you allow all of this to happen. You laugh at and dismiss the people currently in power, underestimating them at every turn, and there must be something about them that they have been allowed to amass so much power. This is not a dictatorship. These people didn't seize power. They were given it by voters, by shareholders, by politicians and by consumers.

This movie is firing on all cylinders. It does not let liberals and activists off the hook. It does not let the rest of the world off the hook either and just say it's all America's fault; we're all on this globe together. I think that's going to make a lot of people angry, because that is not what a lot of people want to hear.

Digger's view of art cuts both ways

Wait till you hear what it has to say about art. Here, too, the movie has nuance. This is a movie of grace. On the one hand, art keeps important things in the collective consciousness of society. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. You are supposed to learn history in school, but a lot of people learn it or are exposed to it through art. That is why art is so important, despite what the current government might try to say. Art allows us not just to remember, but to process and learn.

But sometimes art allows people simply to live with something horrible, something we either cannot change or that's too hard or too uncomfortable to change. Art can therefore placate us and make us feel like we're doing something when in reality we're not, so it's literally just performative. "I have never seen such a complex and brilliant exploration of art, its place in society, both good and bad." It's amazing.

I also think Digger is trying to illustrate the way the world works: how government and business and art are all intertwined, all part of the same living, breathing thing, and far more complicated than a lot of people would like it to be. I always say art is a business. If you're the sort of person who gets angry when we talk about how much money a movie makes, or that the Oscar doesn't simply go to the best film, you are not going to like this movie. That doesn't mean you shouldn't see it, though. And here's a kicker: I think another theory the movie has is that the rich simply evolve and just keep on winning.

Tom Cruise was born to play his role in Digger

Tom Cruise was born to play this role. In fact, if he had said no, I don't think the movie could have been made. Imagine Les Grossman taken seriously. I'm not saying applauded or portrayed as a good guy, but not laughed at and totally dismissed either, instead acknowledging that he is a powerful movie producer and asking how and why that happened.

Would anyone say Tom Cruise is an artist? I think most people would not. I think he's too businesslike. He produces all of his own movies and he's very hands on. A lot of times actors take a producing credit just to have some say in things without really producing the movie, but we all know Tom Cruise runs his sets. So I think people, even in Hollywood, think of Tom Cruise more as a product, a very valuable product, like the oil his character here supplies.

That allows Cruise to truly understand his character, not just to laugh at him and turn him into a caricature, but to make him a real, nuanced person. Does his character do horrible, terrible, selfish things? Yes, he does. That doesn't mean he's not a brilliant businessman, wildly charismatic, with very impressive street smarts. The script is absolutely incredible, and Cruise has an amazing monologue. If this movie weren't so mean, I think he probably would win best actor. It sits in a sea of great scenes, and if you like it, I think it would be great to keep rewatching. I only saw the character, even though I knew Tom Cruise was right beneath the surface.

Riz Ahmed and John Goodman lead an incredible supporting cast

Cruise is backed up by an incredible supporting cast. Riz Ahmed and John Goodman are the main supporting actors, and they are both incredible, giving what I think is some of the best work each has done. Both made me laugh out loud several times. Ahmed has two scenes where he's drunk that reveal he's not just a very talented dramatic actor. He's been funny before, but he's really funny here. He's a great comedic actor.

Jesse Plemons, what a role. He always delivers, and this is another great one. I hope nobody spoils it for you. The background is full of my favorite character actors, too: Burn Gorman from The Offer; Pip Torrens, who is my favorite character on a new show that started on October 1; and Michael Stuhlbarg, always so good.

The casting of Digger's actresses shows how its world dismisses women

There are some great actresses in this cast. There's an actress we've seen in the trailers, and I didn't know Emma D'Arcy was in this until I saw them on the red carpet. I think their casting is brilliant, because the female characters here are so dismissed, so unimportant to this world, that it really hits home what these guys are missing. They don't realize the gems in their midst. Are you ignoring these actresses?

This is another very scary reflection of what's happening in real life. The press is not a big part of the film; that's the one thing it kind of leaves out, and I think women still have a lot of power there. But we are losing ground in a lot of other areas, business and government, and even to some degree, you know, I don't know. It's still hard to get a woman nominated for best director, and while a few women have managed to break through, they still aren't, for the most part, as aggressive as their male counterparts. Almost every woman who has won the best directing Oscar has kind of disappeared, although Chloé Zhao kind of came back a little bit.

Donna Langley at Universal is very low key. We all know about Amy Pascal, but that's because people like me are like, "There's Amy Pascal. I wish you'd get out there more." Women have lost significant ground recently, and I think it's terrifying to watch a movie that says you might lose all of it. That's really scary stuff.

Iñárritu's take on Wes Anderson deserves Oscar attention

Filmmaking wise, Digger is stunning. This is just an absolutely beautiful film. Sometimes there are museum exhibits about movies, and you could have one about this movie that would have a lot to say. It's like a world you want to be in. This really is Iñárritu's take on Wes Anderson's work, and it's really cool to see, with the incredible attention to detail and the stilted, highly effective comedic moments. I'm talking Anderson's best work, like The Grand Budapest Hotel. The layers within layers are just astounding.

While it's jarring at first, I urge you to give Iñárritu the benefit of the doubt. Let it wash over you. Just as the movie is saying not to dismiss things that have happened and the people who've done them, but to consider why and how, don't just dismiss Iñárritu's choices. Think about why he's making them, and you'll better understand what he's truly doing. Then you can decide how you want to react. Don't have a knee jerk reaction to it.

I think this should be nominated for best picture, best actor for Tom Cruise, best screenplay and best production design. Even if you hate this movie, I think you'll feel it should not only be nominated for best production design but win it. So avoid all spoilers, see it in theaters as soon as possible, and really give it a chance before you decide how you feel. "It's art, but it's also a mirror and a very unforgiving one." It's up to you to decide whether or not it's honest. I absolutely loved it.

Are Iñárritu and Cruise brave or foolish for making an entire movie that points the finger at its own audience?