Digger Review

Was there a moment, right as the stupid Cinemark rewards commercial was kicking in, that I thought maybe Tom Cruise had flown too close to the sun and I was about to watch Icasus come crashing back to earth? Absolutely. Movies are never a certainty, even for Tom Cruise (see Rockstar). But it took me about sixty seconds, and one look at that god awful cat, and I knew there's no way the movie mayor was going to let me down. 

Digger is the story of Digger, a man of great wealth and means, who also has a penchant for pushing things to the brink. And then just keeps on pushing (this could be said many times throughout the movie, so let' get it over with now…hmm, is there any megalomaniac billionaires in our timeline that this sounds like? Probably). Now, to tell you anything else about Digger or his story would ruin the abrupt right turn the movie makes fairly early on in the proceedings. And I want you to enjoy that turn just as much as I did. 

Suffice to say, the cast of super star actors around TC in this brought their a plus game. Everyone's going to have their camp of who they think should get the best supporting nod. Riz Ahmed does a lot of amazing work playing opposite of Cruise's Digger character. John Goodman hasn't been this over the top (in the best way) since his stint with the Cohen Brothers in the 90's. Jesse Plemmons, wow. What a shocker he crushes it. Saundra Hueller is equally as amazing. 

Alright, to the heart of the thing. Does Digger's story work? And I'm here to tell you, yes. A resounding yes it does. Is it perfect? No, I mean, the third level plot, while giving Digger a little extra depth, didn't really do much to the overall proceedings. Otherwise, I was sitting up in my chair the rest of the movie having no idea where we were headed next. 

The comparisons to Dr. Strangelove, while a little lazy, are fair. For me, I thought more of art directors like Jordorowsky or Fellini when I think of how Alejandro Inarritu approached the story. That being said, this was never a story for American audiences. I'm sorry, I just don't think the average movie goer in America would care to understand any of the nuances the movie is speaking on. It's way easier just to watch a man in pajamas swing from a web. And I get it for them. But I yearn for something more. Something with a little heft to it. Something that tries and god dammit, Digger freaking tries. More power to him for that.