Critics once panned Blade Runner too: del Toro and Cuarón come to Digger’s defence
Two directors you’ll recognise have leapt to Digger’s defence after those divisive box office debuts — backing Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
If you were expecting Digger to be the year's unstoppable box office juggernaut simply because it's got Tom Cruise front and centre and Alejandro G. Iñárritu behind the camera, you're in for a bit of a shock. This dark satirical comedy has managed to split just about everyone—critics, general punters, even the Twitterati—since its release. It's already got a growing reputation, but possibly not the one the studio was after.
Digger opened to lukewarm box office figures despite widespread anticipation and one of the year's starriest creative teams.
Heavy Hitters Weigh In
Despite the scattered reviews and everyone scratching their heads over the film's rather impenetrable trailers, some of the most respected directors in the game have now waded in, convinced Digger's not getting a fair shake. Notably, both Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón have turned the tables on the backlash, suggesting it might be everyone else who’s missed the point.
Del Toro, never one to shy away from a passionate online defence, has gone all in on X (that's still Twitter to most of us). He's filling his timeline with rave takes from fans and critics alike. On Friday, he made his stance perfectly clear:
Funny, I go into the platform and without even scrolling down, these are popping at the top of my timeline… So… I will just keep posting them. Tune in or drop out-
That’s not all. When a movie podcast listed a few ‘masterpieces’ that’d been torn to shreds by reviewers back in the day, Del Toro chimed in—bringing up films like The Big Lebowski, King of Comedy, and even the much-maligned The Counselor—basically saying: look how things change with time.
Cuarón's Reminders From Movie History
Alfonso Cuarón, meanwhile, is playing the long game—he’s been shining a light on once-misunderstood classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner. He's retweeting those ‘then vs now’ timelines to point out how critical darlings aren’t always recognised straight out of the gate. His argument’s simple: today's flop might just be tomorrow’s beloved cult classic.
It's not clear if all this A-list championing will do much to put bums on seats, though. Maybe the word of mouth will grow, or maybe Digger will have to wait for its redemption arc when everyone’s catching up on Blu-ray. Either way, the film's triggered one hell of a debate.