NinjaTV: “Digger”

Tom Cruise is saving the world again. Only this time, there’s no Ethan Hunt, no jumping out of planes, and no latest “impossible” mission.

This week saw the release of “Digger” — the new film from Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the director of “Birdman” and “The Revenant”. Cruise takes on one of his most unusual roles in recent years, playing eccentric billionaire Digger Rockwell, who is trying to save humanity from a disaster he helped create himself.

Let’s take a look at why this film is worth your attention.

A Very Different Tom Cruise

In recent years, Cruise has almost completely cemented his status as the face of big-budget action cinema. “Mission: Impossible”, “Top Gun: Maverick”, real-life stunts, and a constant drive to do something even crazier in front of the camera.

In “Digger”, everything is different.

For the role, the actor was noticeably transformed with prosthetic makeup, facial appliances, and a specially designed body suit. Instead of his usual hero, Cruise plays a self-confident and at times completely absurd oil tycoon. His appearance was created by Kazu Hiro, one of Hollywood’s most renowned prosthetic makeup artists.

Cruise himself has described Digger as one of the most unusual roles of his career. The film even features a roughly ten-minute monologue that the actor performed in a single take.

Iñárritu Experiments Again

“Digger” is difficult to fit into a single genre. It blends black comedy, satire, drama, farce, and disaster movie elements.

The story begins with a fairly simple idea: a person with enormous power and wealth creates a global problem and then tries to convince everyone that he is the only one capable of solving it.

For Iñárritu, however, this is more of an opportunity to explore power, the human ego, self-deception, and our ability to justify our own actions. The director has said that he wanted to create a story in which reality and absurdity gradually begin to merge.

So don’t expect a conventional disaster movie.

A Film Shot the Old-Fashioned Way

One of the most interesting details about “Digger” is its cinematography.

The film was shot entirely in VistaVision — a widescreen format that dates back to the 1950s. The crew used an old film camera and specially designed vintage Leica lenses. According to Iñárritu, the format allowed them to create greater depth within the frame and give viewers the freedom to choose where to look.

The cinematography was handled by Emmanuel Lubezki, the director of photography behind “Birdman”, “The Revenant”, and “Gravity”. So even if the film’s satire does not quite work for you, there is still plenty to appreciate in the visuals of “Digger”.

Another Very Strong Cast

Alongside Cruise, the film stars Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons.

“Digger” is not built around a single central character alone: Iñárritu surrounds him with an entire group of characters, each reacting in their own way to the chaos that is approaching.

The film itself was nearly ten years in the making: Cruise was already discussing the project with Iñárritu back in 2017, when the director was still collecting visual references and shaping the story.

Watch “Digger” with Ninja Pizza

We’re sure you’re going to enjoy this new film. And to make your movie night even better, don’t forget to order your favorite Ninja Pizza.