Movie Review: ‘Digger’ October 7, 2026By John Mulderig OSV News Filed Under: Movie & Television Reviews Among the subjects being held up for mockery in the grating black comedy “Digger” (Warner Bros.) is religion. While the film’s scorn might be interpreted as applying only to a hypocritical version of evangelicalism, its treatment of Christianity is so flippant that all viewers of faith will likely be affronted. A convoluted send-up of corporate and political America, the movie features Tom Cruise in a dual role. He plays both Digger Rockwell, the ignorant and heedless head of a global oil company, and Curtis Markson, an actor portraying Rockwell in a fact-based satirical play. As depicted on stage, the carelessness of Rockwell’s conglomerate — persisted in despite the warnings of its own environmental safety officer, Nirav Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) — leads to an ecological disaster. This catastrophe eventually becomes so vast in its implications that the leader of the United States, President Compson (John Goodman), becomes involved. Like his pal, and partner in corruption, Digger, the chief executive is a pasty-faced, maniacal moron whose recent diagnosis with terminal rectal cancer is played for laughs. Until overwhelmed — and deranged — by his own mortality, the president keeps a foolishly pompous clergyman, Rev. Nathaniel Moore (Stephen Wright), on hand to fawn over him. Director and co-writer Alejandro Inárritu seems to want to have it both ways. Thus the script, on which he collaborated with Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone and Sabina Berman, acknowledges that the cast of theater characters on screen is made up of caricatures. Yet, by the time the final credits roll, it’s made clear that the reenactment of the history-alerting incident in which this ensemble is caught up is supposed to carry some real-world moral about power, greed and indifference to the fate of the environment. Beyond shaking their heads at the spectacle, however, it’s anybody’s guess how moviegoers are meant to respond. The film contains a negative portrayal of religion, including a derisive scene of prayer and a fake miracle, a scene of urination, about a dozen uses of profanity, numerous milder oaths, pervasive rough language as well as frequent crude and crass talk. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Read More Movie & Television Reviews Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on the horizon Movie Review: “Forgotten Island” Movie Review: ‘Primetime’ Home viewing roundup: What’s available to stream and what’s on the horizon Movie Review: ‘Heart of the Beast’ Movie Review: ‘Adore Him: He Is Here’ Copyright © 2026 OSV News Print
