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.

There’s an argument to be made that Digger is a brilliant movie, but I’m not the one to make it. I found parts of it utterly fascinating, and other parts unrelentingly frustrating.   There’s an argument to be made it’s terrible, but I’m not there either, which is why the all-or-nothing discourse of the times we live in is kind of annoying to me. It’s okay to not hate something. 

Tom Cruise under hours of makeup to make him look like a man his own age is Rockwell, a billionaire cat-owner whose company had an environmental accident (totally foreseen) that is about to cause further damage to the earth and his reputation. With access to the president (John Goodman), and armed with a corporate scientist (Riz Ahmed) that has no trouble throwing him under the bus, the old white men (and the scientist) make plans.

But there’s more to it. 

Look, the movie is weird. There’s no getting around that. But it’s incredibly thought provoking and the acting is pretty great across the board. Yes, Cruise is great, burying his abs and hairline allows him a freedom to be something other than Tom Cruise. And yeah, he nails his big moments, but he also nails the smaller scenes in between the blustering. Best in show notices go to (national treasure) John Goodman and Riz Ahmed, who both unleash in fun ways. Jesse Plemmons has one great moment, and some bad hair, and I wish we had more of him, but his presence is felt. Sandra Huller and Emma Darcy are basically cameos. Michael Stuhlbarg is unrecognizable but steal manages a few laughs.

There were some parts of the movie I found tedious, though, mostly in the editing and pacing. And my AuDHD really struggles with the magical realism of some aspects, but co-writer/director Alejandro G. Inarritu is a visionary. While I may not be totally on board with the vision, I mostly enjoyed the experience and I thoroughly enjoy all the discussions surrounding Digger, maybe even more so than the experience of actually watching it.

Jonathan’s grade – B-