Digger opened at 41% on Rotten Tomatoes, and one critic compared Tom Cruise's Oscar hopeful to the worst SNL sketch

Here we go again: Tom Cruise in an awards-bait drama, only this time it’s taking a bit of a critical hammering. Digger, Cruise’s latest gamble and a proper left turn from his usual safe bets, is fighting an uphill battle after a rather messy start on Rotten Tomatoes. And yes, it’s the all-star affair with Alejandro G. Iñárritu in the director’s chair – so expectations, not exactly low, to put it mildly.

‘Digger’ hit Rotten Tomatoes with an initially dire 41% Tomatometer score, before clawing its way up to 53% based on 87 critic reviews.

Different for Cruise, Rough for Reviews

With Cruise playing Digger Rockwell (yes, really), we’re miles away from Top Gun or Mission: Impossible. This time, Cruise is supposed to be channelling ‘the most powerful man in the world’ on a manic quest to redeem himself after unleashing a calamity. Shouty, satirical, apparently a bit dark – all the sort of dramatic weight the Academy usually drools over. Trouble is, critics aren’t buying what Warner Bros. are selling.

The buzz was sky-high before the debut – big campaign, serious Oscar push, and yet the initial reviews were, well, almost comically brutal.

• Launched with a 41% Rotten Tomatoes score, which isn’t just ‘mixed’ – it’s classic stinker territory for an Oscar hopeful.
• Current score now at 53%, but according to Rotten Tomatoes that’s still very much mediocre, and it’s holding at 87 reviews. For comparison, Cruise’s blockbusters usually end up somewhere north of 80%.
• On TMDB, fans have been slightly kinder: 8.1 out of 10. Still, perception’s ruled by the headlines, so the negative press is sticking.

Read more: Critics are tipping an Oscar for Digger — just not for Tom Cruise

Critics Go for the Jugular

The worst part for the awards team is the tone most reviewers have taken. Jonathan Sim from ComingSoon.net only gave it a 5 out of 10 and singled out the ‘twist’ that apparently derails any remaining sense of stakes. Over at The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw didn’t hold back, branding it the ‘most disappointing film of the year’ and accusing it of being self-congratulatory. Globe and Mail’s Barry Hertz absolutely savaged it, calling it ‘the most banal variety of idiot: loud, ugly and forever oblivious to its own shortcomings’. Clarisse Loughrey at The Independent was equally baffled by its existential pointlessness, making you wonder why anyone involved even bothered.

Yet somehow the prize for the most vicious analogy goes to The Wrap’s William Bibbiani, who compared it to giving an entire film budget to the absolute worst skit on Saturday Night Live. That’s not the kind of endorsement you stick on a poster.

Release, Reality, Ramifications

To further twist the knife, all of this comes before the film has even opened in the States. Digger only lands in US cinemas on 2 October 2026, meaning Cruise and co have months of damage control – or defiance – ahead if they want to salvage those Oscar dreams.

Read more: Warner Bros. has answered the bad reviews for Tom Cruise's Digger with a three-word ad