The Newshound

Tom Cruise's oil tycoon satire Digger continues to divide critics after its Royal Film Performance premiere

From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026 · last updated 1 October 2026.

Tom Cruise in heavy prosthetic make-up as a paunchy, white-haired Texan oil baron — a role critics are calling both the biggest risk of his career and his worst-ever film.
Tom Cruise in heavy prosthetic make-up as a paunchy, white-haired Texan oil baron — a role critics are calling both the biggest risk of his career and his worst-ever film.

Tom Cruise is unrecognisable under prosthetics as Digger Rockwell, a balding, pot-bellied Texas oil tycoon at the centre of Alejandro G. Iñárritu's darkly comic ecological disaster satire. The film had its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square last week as the Royal Film Performance, attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Critics are sharply split, with some hailing it as 'thrilling' and 'terrific fun' while others savage it as 'aggressively unfunny' and 'pretentious'.

Cruise, 64, is buried in head-to-toe prosthetics — his most radical physical transformation since 'Tropic Thunder'.

Critical reception is divided, with some reviewers calling it 'a shallow satire insufferably pleased with itself' while others award four out of five stars.

MoreDaily MailBRIAN VINER reviews Tom Cruise's latest film DiggerMashable'Digger' review: Tom Cruise swings big and misses in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's latest - MashableThe Hollywood Reporter‘Digger’ Review: Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu Are a Match Made in Showboating Hell in a Shallow Satire Insufferably Pleased With Itself - The Hollywood Reporter
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