Digger Rockwell is a Texas oil tycoon whose drilling breaks an ice shelf in Greenland and threatens millions of people. He tries to stop the disaster while controlling the story and presenting himself as a hero. A scientist, the U.S. president, and Digger’s half-sister become part of the crisis. The loud, strange comedy is later revealed as a play in a damaged future, where the actors and a missing girl face another emergency. The story links oil profits, political power, and dependence on oil to a disaster that floods parts of Europe. Digger defends oil, while other characters challenge his excuses and attempts to shift blame. The president and his advisers laugh about excluding women, making male control another target. Christian prayer and claims of God’s support become tools for selfish leaders, while an apparent food miracle turns out to be a hallucination. The actors also argue about whether making a disaster into comedy helps people face the damage or escape it.
Community feedback
Was our 65% Woke rating accurate?
Loading review details…
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Digger (2026).
Woke representation / casting
Not present. The cast follows the film’s business, government, and science roles.
0%
Woke political dialogue
The climate scientist warns Digger that his drilling has put millions at risk. Digger appears before an international assembly and defends oil as a needed part of modern life. Protesters call the disaster “gen-oil-cide,” and other characters argue over who should face blame. The story returns to oil use, climate damage, and public spin throughout the crisis.
34%
Identity-driven story themes
President Compson jokes that officials should watch their language because women are present. Compson then laughs because there are no women at the meeting, and his officials laugh with him. The scene makes their exclusion of women part of its attack on powerful men and their sense of entitlement.
5%
Western institutional / cultural critique
Digger’s oil drilling breaks a Greenland ice shelf and threatens millions of people. Digger and U.S. leaders shape public blame as the story links oil profits, political power, and dependence on oil to disaster. The play mocks leaders who make themselves look heroic. The president’s circle uses Christian prayer and claims of God’s support to excuse harmful choices, while Digger uses Scripture to dismiss suffering. Another man’s apparent food miracle becomes a hallucination, turning answered prayer into a joke.
68%
Woke character or canon changes
Not present in this title.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
HotAir criticized the film’s climate focus, while Breitbart’s John Nolte called it a climate lecture about evil white oilmen. The Daily Wire called it an environmentalist screed. Christian Toto’s pre-release 61% woke rating reached about 156,000 views on X, according to the supplied X pass. Toto’s Hollywood in Toto review also called the prayer scene an attack on Christians and faith-minded Republicans. Reddit users also called the film leftist and woke.
62%
Creator track record context
Iñárritu has opposed xenophobia and supported more diversity at the Oscars. Berman’s writing and public comments often focus on feminism and gender power. The movie places a woman play director in conflict with an older male actor over the harm his generation caused. Butterworth has called himself apolitical, and Cruise has little public activist record.
50%
Production
Movie · 2017
The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.
Movie · 2024
When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet alongside his estranged teenage daughter, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own…
Movie · 2019
The story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created the iconic big screen pimp character Dolemite in the 1970s.
Movie · 2024
Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair's old tensions resurface against…
Movie · 2022
Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.
Movie · 2025
Tenderly captures a year in the life of a family as the parents navigate their separation. Through both playful and heartfelt moments, the film portrays the bittersweet essence of…
Movie · 2021
In 1961, a 60-year-old taxi driver stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.
Movie · 2019
An unlikely friendship between two neighbors becomes an unexpectedly emotional journey when the younger man is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
