r/moviecritic • u/Creative_Yogurt5206 • 16h ago
Just came out of Digger- it's a slightly flawed but overall an extremely good movie. Tom Cruise might get the oscar for it.
I'll keep it simple and spoiler free, the movie is around 2 hours long. The first 30 minutes are brilliant, not a second is wasted or dragged on, amazing. Then, there's a reveal, won't spoil what, but it takes you a while to get used to the change, and the next thirty minutes are kind of boring, they could've executed this better, if anyone is in good faith criticizing this movie, I'm sure it's coming from these thirty minutes.
Then, once you reach the midway point of the movie, the film picks itself back again, and is as brilliant as the first 30 minutes, it is here right at the start of the half of the movie where Cruise truly shows you once again how good of an actor he actually is, like there's a long monologue with lots of physical and as well emotionally intense acting from him here that might actually be the scene that gets him nominated or win the oscar... there's a great message without it feeling preachy, the twist is very cleaver once you get used to it, and blends in nicely by the end.
In conclusion, 2 hour movie= great first 30 minutes, boring next 30 minutes, great next 1 hour again, the end.
I will be watching it again, it's everything the trailers promised and more, more movies need to take risks and be original like this. 8/10 for me.
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u/busstamove14 15h ago
I came away with a similar opinion. The acting all around was phenomenal. The first part was very captivating and I was into it. Then the reveal. I had a hard time reengaging. I also thought it felt preachy as good as that scene was.
I'd love to see a cut with the reveal part completely taken out.
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u/gnalon 12h ago edited 9h ago
The movie is extremely clever where after that initial jolt you’re then fixated on trying to discern how ‘real’ the performance is/what character you’re actually seeing (and really another level where Tom Cruise himself is Digger-like) in a given moment and then like 20 minutes later you’re back immersed in the story of Digger, but in that time there was a lot of visual storytelling you missed.
For example, when he’s in his dressing room taking the call there is a display off to the side showing it’s 99 degrees in New York and Level 3 conditions. Or everybody is simultaneously very pale and sweaty.
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u/busstamove14 12h ago
I mean I'm certain that there's things I missed being the first viewing and I'll have more perspective next time I see it. It's hard though when the first 30 minutes I thought this was going to be one of my new favorite movies and then I'm shocked when it takes the turn. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but I hope I appreciate it all more on 2nd viewing.
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u/gnalon 11h ago
It is one of the most insane set/sound design/visual storytelling movies I’ve ever seen, and there’s probably some things you wouldn’t be able to catch unless you’re at home and can pause things (for example I’m very curious what was changed in the rewrites, when those rewrites were almost certainly made at the behest of Digger’s nephew).
Like when you’re made aware that it’s a play you then realize that this play has an orchestra that has gratuitously been throwing in all these ridiculous old-timey comic sound effects (like when Riz Ahmed’s character hits his foot on Digger’s shovel) in what is basically a retelling of the climate Holocaust.
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u/ImmediateSurvey920 15h ago
Read both your takes and now I'm really curious what this reveal is about, sounds like it break the pacing for lot of people. Still gonna catch it in the weekend, Cruise overdue for a proper dramatic role anyway
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u/MRM_philosophy 15h ago
Very interesting idea - to remove the reveal. Have to consider this - thx!
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u/000wintermute000 12h ago
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u/Barbiebeans 7h ago
Bots trolling the movie as they don't want people to see it.
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u/000wintermute000 7h ago
Don’t care if they see it or not. Just facts
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u/Barbiebeans 7h ago
Well - it's made a loss because of the unjustified negative reviews. 'Firewall'.
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u/i_need_about_tree_50 15h ago
I liked it a lot also but my timeline went very different, first 30 mins I couldn't stand (but then later realized that was kind of the point)... next hour it righted itself a bit but was still a bit messy... then the final 45 mins or so it beautifully comes together and makes sense of the mess it originally started as. Ends up feeling like impressionism on film. Starts (close up) a mess of an image/story... then as it goes along (zooms out) the image/story takes shape, comes to life and makes sense.
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u/infant- 10h ago
Yeah I think this is mostly a cas of "deploying the firewall"
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u/PeachesBlooms 6h ago
kinda agree like that middle section really felt like the movie was deploying the firewall before getting back to the good stuff
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u/infant- 4h ago
I think there are a lot of things happening with the firewall: its use by Digger and the president, and its real-life use in the campaign being deployed right now to make a lot of the criticism seem negative, although some of the negative criticism is organic and real, after all, not everybody likes everything and It's a pretty complicated movie.There's also Digger's nephew's use of the more sophisticated firewall to control the narrative, give people a release and a feeling of closure, while he still controls the Digger fortune. And as we can see, 25 years on, nothing has changed; it's actually still unfolding, and it's only gotten worse.
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u/fastballcdm2019 4h ago
I don’t think they’ll give Oscars to roles in movies that bomb. Can anyone think of one?
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u/Rude_Reality_9690 15h ago
I agree that the movie was great- tons of people who haven’t seen it are complaining about the movie to seem cool online but the matter of fact is this was a thoroughly entertaining film (whether for better or worse)- and that’s exactly what movies are about. I joked to a friend that this movie felt like if Ari Aster tried to fix Emilia Perez.
I agree that it took me a bit to settle into the reveal- I was so tuned in building up to it and then really felt taken out for a little bit because I couldn’t tell if I was stupid or if this was actually happening.
Cruise was fantastic, I think this is one of the best performances he’s ever done. I also think once settled into the movie, the off-kilter sets and music and fake realism of everything (even the cat), really really came together to make this into something special.
There was a minute in the middle where I thought I couldn’t rewatch this, but that was brief and i am really looking forward to another go at it.
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u/maporita 14h ago
At the beginning I thought it had a Wes Anderson tone, especially the sets and the dialogue, and I just said OK let's go with that. After the reveal it all clicked into place. I enjoyed the movie and I think it could become a classic.
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u/Ok-Zone-1430 15h ago
I'm looking forward to seeing it, and I'm also looking forward to not hearing the ad for it on every single break on podcasts.
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u/MRM_philosophy 15h ago
Felt the trailers did a disservice to the overall film - misleading and even weirder.
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u/gnalon 11h ago
One big thing this movie is satirizing is how contemporary satire of figures like Trump/Musk is severely watered down by focusing on their aesthetic/decorum rather than their actual genocidal policies.
The production of Fossil Fools we see Is completely different from the original, and the biggest change would be a huge emphasis on the tacky opulence Digger surrounded himself with and playing up how rude and vulgar everyone was.
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u/taway9925881 9h ago
Just watched it. Loved it. Tom Cruise blows everyone out of the water. I'd be shocked if he doesn't get an Oscar and all other awards for this. But hell , the academy and all other cliques have been known to stick together and choose some other shit.
Donald Trump is amazing as John Goodman. Kegsbreath was just itching to drop some freedoms. J D Vance did good with what he's ordered. Riz Ahmed shows us that "The night of" was not a fluke and he dazzles as Dr Ganesh Thrunberg.
Only Hüller seems to have missed out of scenery chewing. Wake up people. Or we all go down to Level 4. Hell, I'd say we already in Level 4.
And critics, fuck you.
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u/Ok-Adhesiveness-4935 15h ago
I saw what he was doing in the trailer. We're calling that acting?
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u/No-Shake-2007 15h ago
To me the genius of the movie is that the construction and structure of the movie justify or creates the reason for that absurdity and “acting” you’re speaking of..
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u/JC2535 14h ago
I was intrigued by the trailer and thought it was going to be a Wes Anderson/ Coen Bros type of movie and it delivered that vibe.
Then it threw me a curve ball. It got a little darker…
Then it doubled down on the Coen Bros vibe.
Then as it wrapped up, all the threads started to come together and the ending was a wow moment.
Now I have to see it again because it unfolded so many different realities that I know it’ll show me some clues that I missed.
And if you have heard it’s got some political themes, I can tell you that every political position is fully represented in this movie- it really does give time and space for every perspective.
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u/Nevvermind183 15h ago
He’s definitely not going to get the Oscar, I doubt he even gets nominated. When a movie gets such horrible reviews typically they don’t get no nominations either.
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u/Nevvermind183 14h ago
Why am I getting down voted? This is what experts in the industry are saying, pundits are saying that he is out of Oscar contention at this point.
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u/InterviewOk8013 13h ago
This movie is better than you’d think. The twist people say is taking them out is completely necessary to the point of the film. Otherwise it would be too feel good and we needed the sucker punch. I don’t want to spoil, but the moral lesson of the movie doesn’t work as just a single story. We needed to see the true aftermath.
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u/gnalon 12h ago
It also brings to mind that recent Christopher Nolan interview where the internet has created a branch of film critics who think that identifying a trope in a movie means that the writing is lazy and bad.
This movie employs a trope seen in works as varied as Hamlet, Frankenstein, Alice in Wonderland, The Princess Bride, and Super Mario Brothers 3.
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u/honeyfirms 15h ago
I actually like the sound of a movie that takes a big swing even if the middle doesn’t completely work
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u/gnalon 12h ago
I watched it a second time and the middle has so much stuff that sets up for the reveal at the end that you miss because it’s more in visual details while that initial jolt disorients you and has you focused on whether Curtis is going to have another breakdown, the tension there must be on set where they’re trying to make a whimsical satire and the lead is going full self-serious method actor, how much of the performance you see is the actor themselves as opposed to the character, etc.
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u/thepatriot74 11h ago
What's it all about ? All I got from trailer glimpses is that somebody digs for something and there are some old B-actors and TC is trying to blend in wearing some sort of hideous makeup. Oh, and the director is some pretentious dude with a Spanish name. Might watch it on hulu or something, if I am bored. Just another flick trying hard for Oscars, those are usually insufferable.
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u/safetydance 10h ago
Same Director who did Birdman and the Revenant. Can’t really say much without giving away the entire movie, but Digger Rockwell (Tom Cruise) is an oil man whose company causes a global environmental calamity that he is now tasked with trying to solve. John Goodman plays the President.
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u/thepatriot74 7h ago
In other words, lots of pretentious BS coupled with stale acting. No wonder the box office is not responding well, hoi polloi already get a daily dose of that from all sides on TV and internet. Pass.
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u/safetydance 6h ago
You seem to have made up your mind you won’t like a piece of art before consuming it. Check it out, you might love it and think it’s a masterpiece. Worst case scenario, you can participate in the discourse as an informed commenter.
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u/Unable-Main4172 15h ago
No way a movie this polarizing which is also a box office bomb wins any Oscars