The first trailer for Digger has finally arrived, and it’s easily one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the filmmaker behind Birdman and The Revenant, the film stars Tom Cruise alongside John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, and Jesse Plemons. Warner Bros. is clearly treating this as a major awards contender, and if the movie lives up to expectations, this could finally be the role that puts Tom Cruise back in the Oscar conversation. That being said, I’m not sure the trailer itself really sold me.
The biggest thing that stood out was the overall tone. It immediately reminded me of something Yorgos Lanthimos would make, with shades of Poor Things and even Mickey 17. The awkward humor, exaggerated performances, stylized visuals, and political satire all felt very similar to those films. Cruise plays billionaire Digger, who appears to create some kind of global crisis before trying to fix the mess he helped create. It’s an interesting premise, but based on this first trailer alone, I couldn’t help but wonder if the social commentary might end up feeling a little too on the nose. At the same time, this also feels like one of those movies that simply can’t be judged by its marketing. Films from directors like Lanthimos aren’t sold on their trailers—they’re sold on the filmmaker’s reputation—and I think Digger falls into that same category.
More than anything, though, what has me excited is seeing Tom Cruise actually act again. For years, he’s been almost exclusively known for Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, and blockbuster action movies where the focus is on the spectacle. Here, he’s playing an eccentric, foul-mouthed billionaire with a cat, and it looks like he’s really embracing a larger-than-life character instead of another action hero. Whether the movie works or not, it’s refreshing to see him take a genuine acting role again. If the performance is as good as it looks, I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being one of the most talked-about performances of the year and puts him firmly back in the awards conversation.
Visually, the film looks fantastic, which isn’t surprising considering Iñárritu’s track record. He’s more than earned the benefit of the doubt after making films like Birdman and The Revenant, so I’m willing to trust that there’s much more going on here than what the trailer is showing. I also have a feeling Digger is going to be one of the most divisive movies of the year. I can already see audiences splitting right down the middle, with some people loving its weirdness, political satire, and Cruise’s over-the-top performance, while others completely reject it. As for me, I’m somewhere in the middle. The trailer didn’t blow me away, but it definitely made me curious, and I’m far more interested in seeing the finished film than I am in judging it based on two and a half minutes of footage. If nothing else, it’s exciting to see Tom Cruise taking a big creative swing again, and that’s enough to have me looking forward to Digger.
