Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Digger Review Finds Ambitious Satire Buried Beneath Cleverness
Digger is a movie about a rich oil businessman facing an environmental disaster.
The story then changes and shows that much of what we saw is part of a play rehearsal.
The play makes fun of people who think money can control nature.
The reviewer thinks this is a smart and unusual idea.
However, the movie may try so hard to be clever that it becomes confusing and overly loud.
Tom Cruise is praised for giving an energetic performance.
Riz Ahmed helps make the film funnier and calmer.
The movie looks impressive, but the reviewer feels its ideas are stronger than its characters.
Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger begins as an ecological disaster drama centered on oil magnate Digger Rockwell.
The story later reveals itself as actors rehearsing a play about fossil-fuel greed, environmental collapse and wealth’s perceived power over nature.
The review praises the film’s risks, tonal shifts and serious questions about art’s relationship with reality.
Tom Cruise gives an unstable, theatrical performance, while Riz Ahmed provides restraint and comic relief.
Lavish production design, Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography and Cosmo Sheldrake’s forceful score are praised, though the film’s ideas reportedly exceed its emotional impact.
- Who
- Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and cast members Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg and Sandra Hüller.
- What
- A review of Digger, an ambitious theatrical satire about fossil-fuel greed, environmental collapse and modern political satire.
- Where
- In theatres.
- Why
- The film examines how artists respond to reality when environmental and social crises become difficult to parody.
- Film
- Digger
- Director
- Alejandro G. Iñárritu
- Cast
- Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg and Sandra Hüller
- Setting and premise
- An ecological disaster drama that becomes a rehearsal for a play about fossil-fuel greed and environmental collapse
- Cinematography
- Emmanuel Lubezki
- Music
- Cosmo Sheldrake
- Review rating
- Three stars