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I wanted to like Digger. The satirical dark comedy, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Oscar winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu, promised a razor-sharp skewering of the bleak state of the modern world. Had it delivered, I would have been on board.
Sadly, this relentlessly unfunny, self-satisfied snoozefest had me literally squirming in my seat. Like a child in the back of the car during a long road trip, I just kept wondering, “Are we there yet?” as I waited for the movie to reach its inevitable destination. Hell, I would have settled for something, anything genuinely interesting happening along the way. It never did.
Instead of the anticipated satirical scalpel, the movie that unfolded before me proved so dull that I checked my watch at least six times before the credits finally rolled. That’s never a good sign.
A Timely But Toothless Tale
Out of respect for the filmmakers’ intended surprises, I’ll keep this review as spoiler-free as possible from here on out.
The film follows Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise), a fossil-fuel tycoon and one of the most powerful men on Earth, as he embarks on a frantic mission to prove himself humanity’s saviour before a disaster unleashed by his company destroys the world as we know it.
Along the way, the movie runs headfirst into many issues we face today: extreme greed, military arrogance, nihilism, and the sycophancy surrounding brain-addled leaders. It’s operating in a target-rich environment, and yet, despite the well-documented talent of those involved, the script ultimately lets everyone down.
Digger somehow fails to find anything engaging to say about a single one of these issues. Almost every line is the most obvious thing that can be said in that moment, and with the exception of the first twist from left field, every “surprise” is one you’ll see coming a mile away.
Committed Actors, Wasted
All of that said, the cast members work hard with what they’re given and deliver consistently strong performances. It just doesn’t add up to much.
Tom Cruise is clearly trying his darndest to finally secure that long-elusive Oscar. The 64-year-old remains a very capable actor (more so than those who’ve only seen him in his action-star mould might expect), and here, he fully commits to the bit, donning an impressive array of unflattering prosthetics to bring the repugnant Digger to life. But as energetic as his performance is, it amounts to little. I honestly think he’d be more likely to receive that esteemed gold statue for another Mission: Impossible sequel than this mess.
As always, Riz Ahmed remains highly watchable. He delivers a cocktail of frustrated intensity and desperate vulnerability as Doctor Ganesh, an environmental adviser trying to inject some truth into the whirlwind of spin the powers that be have kicked up around him. Sadly, he, too, is ultimately undermined by lacklustre writing.
Much the same applies to John Goodman’s President Compson, as well. With a telling red tie in place, he brings a similar intensity, mugging for the camera like his life depends on it. But where the aim was surely to trigger uproarious laughter, the effect on the audience is one of exhaustion. Then again, when satire relies on exaggeration, the dire state of the character’s real-life counterparts (Goodman feels like an amalgam of the two most recent American presidents) makes the satirist’s task almost impossible.
The rest of Digger’s formidable cast includes Emma D’Arcy, Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Burn Gorman, and more, and they’re clearly having a fantastic time. I just wish the same could be said for those of us on the other side of the screen.
Enter the Grey-Zone
Perhaps the film’s stunted writing could have been papered over if it were at least visually arresting. But no. Despite genuinely impressive set and costume design, Iñárritu and company have opted to realise the movie using a palette so desaturated as to appear almost grey.
As a fitting visual representation of the script, it’s bold. There’s always plenty going on on screen, yet painfully little of it is particularly captivating. In fact, it’s worse. Like the bizarre animatronic cat Diigger cradles for much of the runtime (a strange inclusion that ultimately makes sense once the film plays its hand), I’d go so far as to say the film’s look is off-putting. That could be intentional, given the subject matter, but it made the experience even more unbearable.
It’s just one more of many bizarre choices you’ll have to wrangle with if you decide to sit through Digger’s exhausting 128 minutes.
Final Verdict
Digger feels like a cross between Stanley Kubrick’s Doctor Strangelove and Iñárritu’s own Birdman, yet it proves nowhere near as interesting as either. In a better timeline, I could see myself comparing it favourably to 2017’s The Death of Stalin as I feel they could have made a compelling double feature. As it stands, Digger offers none of the bite or guttural laughs of that film. Cruise will have to find his Oscar elsewhere.
On the plus side, at least ol’ Digger was wearing a nice watch. But unless you’re the world’s largest Vacheron Constantin fan, you can safely give this one a miss.
★★☆☆☆
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