Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) in 'Digger' Image via Warner Bros. By Conor Sheeran Published Oct 7, 2026, 11:03 PM EDT Conor Sheeran is a Movies and TV features writer for Collider. He has a deep passion for cinema and watches everything from the biggest blockbusters to the smallest indies. While he specializes in movies and television, he has also written about politics, culture, and sports throughout his career. Based in New York City, Conor is also a massive fan of the New York Jets, Mets, and Knicks. He is still waiting for any of those teams to bring home a championship in his lifetime. A member of the National Writers Union and the International Federation of Journalists, Conor is a strong proponent of press freedom and collective action.
Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap For much of his long and storied career, Tom Cruise has played characters who refuse to believe that something cannot be done. Mission: Impossible , which may be his most famous film series, is based on his character Ethan Hunt doing, well, the impossible; he will always find a way to stop the bomb, prevent the war, rescue the hostage, or do whatever he must, no matter the cost. Maverick from the Top Gun films will always complete a mission that no one else thinks can be done. Even when he does play characters who are arrogant or even morally compromised, they are defined by their overwhelming confidence that anything can be done. These roles are what give the star's movies such an allure, and help make them so popular.
Which is what makes his newest starring vehicle, Digger , such an unusual Tom Cruise movie.
In Digger , Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, the world's richest man. His oil companies may have inadvertently triggered the apocalypse, so the job then falls on him to fix the problems facing the planet and save the day. In stark contrast to his other movies, Digger and its director, Alejandro González Iñárritu , have no interest in painting Digger as a hero or in proving him right. Like many capitalists of the day, he believes throwing money, when paired with his influence and bombastic personality, will solve the problem and repair the damage. Instead of turning that determination into another celebration of Cruise-style heroism, Digger exposes its limitations. For the first time in years, Cruise plays a man destined to fail.
Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. Close Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. Image via Warner Bros. While reviews for Digger have been mixed and box office returns even worse, there is an undeniable magnetism to seeing Cruise play so far outside his comfort zone, while buried beneath prosthetics to make him look nearly unrecognizable (something not seen since he played Les Grossman in 2008's Tropic Thunder ). Though it's a sharp turn for anyone looking for a classic Tom Cruise performance, it's refreshing to see him embrace his inner thespian again. One scene in particular, which sees Digger address a room of angry politicians, is where Cruise is at his very best. Dressed as a stereotypical Texan oilman and speaking with a Southern accent, he delivers a monologue that should already place him amo…