I will happily admit that I am a Tom Cruise fan. I have seen most of his films from Top Gun onwards. He is a better actor than he is given credit, especially when he tries something different. Born on the Fourth of July, Magnolia, Jerry Maguire and Collateral prove that.

His latest film, Digger has not been a success. Financially, it has been not a smash at the box office. Critically, it has divided opinions. Personally, I did not find it funny which is weird because its meant to be a satire. The film is about Digger Rockwell, an oil tycoon who causes an environmental disaster of catastrophic impact.

You cannot help to notice the glee with which this has been reported. Emphasis is placed on how much Warner Brothers will have lost on this movie. Almost every report in print on online zeroes in on the money. I even heard this being reported in a news bulletin last week.

I believe that some sections of the media have been dying to see Tom Cruise to have egg on his face. He is the only major A list Hollywood star who can generate this kind of attention. Some have described him as the last great movie star. It was his insistence that Top Gun Maverick be released in cinemas in 2022, that resulted in it being a huge success. It made over a billion dollars at the box office. Just as we were emerging from lock downs caused by Covid, we just wanted to be entertained on the big screen. Top Gun Maverick, did just that. We all went to see it.


In the past twenty years, the Hollywood products we have consumed have been mainly franchises, sequels, reboots, remakes and prequels. We have had a glut of Superhero movies from Marvel and DC.


Tom Cruise fit perfectly into that landscape with his Mission Impossible franchise. He even performed his own stunts, each one more death defying than the previous one. Not a lot of acting is required in this type of action movie. It’s all about spectacle and excitement.


However, when Cruise steps away from playing Ethan Hunt, we refuse to accept it. Digger’s financial failure is partly due to the cinema going public not wanting to accept him as anything else. Despite a massive publicity campaign, the film has failed to connect, especially as the contains a massive twist.


Maybe, in years to come, in thirty years time, Digger will receive a critical reappraisal. It may gain a cult following. Blade Runner was not a huge success in 1982. Today, it is regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Whatever happens, you cannot fault Tom Cruise for trying to do something away from his movie star persona.