It might not be a musical, but a new Tom Cruise movie is always something to look forward to. Digger lands in cinemas next week and while we might not know exactly what it’s about, we do now know whether it’s any good or not.
The dark comedy sees Cruise play the most powerful man in the world as he embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s saviour, before the disaster that he created destroys everything.
Digger held its world premiere tonight in London as this year’s Royal Film Performance, with Prince William and Kate Middleton among those in attendance. We don’t yet know what they thought of it, but critics in attendance have now taken to social media to share their first reactions.
And if the initial impressions are anything to go by, it seems that Alejandro G Iñárritu’s satirical epic may prove divisive in the coming weeks, with reviews ranging from the wildly positive to the extremely negative.
Warner Bros.
Related: Tom Cruise breaks silence on fan theory that Digger is really a musical
“Digger RIPS! Iñárritu creates powder keg cinema, exploding in blistering heat & dazzling fireworks,” wrote Courtney Howard of Variety on X. “A masterfully compelling, electric & audaciously assured satirical farce. Tom Cruise gives a brilliant, boldly invigorated, tour de force performance. Riz Ahmed, a standout!”
Her Variety colleague Clayton Davis was less enthusiastic, however, writing: “Digger is not what people are expecting — and how audiences react may be the ultimate test of Tom Cruise’s star power. I respect the swing and what Alejandro González Iñárritu is going for.”
Critic Mike Ryan called Digger “kind of generally unpleasant”, but wasn’t entirely down on the movie, adding: “Tom Cruise, as you probably expect, is *going for it* in Digger, which makes me want to like it. Though I find some plot choices baffling. There are very interesting moments in a meta, Cruise’s career way, but Maverick did them better.”
Next Best Picture’s Matt Neglia was decidedly less impressed, though they did say that it was Cruise’s “most dynamic and interesting role in years”. They criticised the “imbalanced” narrative, and said the film was “less of a bang and more of a hollow misfire”.
Other first reactions saw Digger be called everything from “brave and gorgeous”, “unpredictable” and “brilliant” to “often unfunny and flat”, “a mess” and “unintentionally bad”.
Warner Bros.
Related: Digger’s excellent trailer reveals Tom Cruise as you’ve never seen him before
Directed by Iñárritu, who also co-wrote the movie, Digger also stars Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma D’Arcy, Burn Gorman and Jesse Plemons among its stacked cast.
We already know what’s next on Cruise’s calendar as it was confirmed last month that the long-awaited Days of Thunder sequel is finally happening, with Anne Hathaway joining Cruise in his latest legacy sequel.
Digger is released in cinemas on 2 October.
Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.
The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of Dolly Parton’s life, is here. Buy Dolly in newsagents or online.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.