The vast majority of film critics lean to the Left. Hard. And, sadly, many don't try to hide it.
That's fine if you're reviewing movies for Mother Jones or Salon. Most critics in question work in allegedly neutral news outlets.
As if.
It's why any pro-choice movie has a decided advantage at Rotten Tomatoes, and a film defending life will likely get skewered. It's undeniable.
- Michael Moore? Auteur!
- Dinesh D'Souza? Monster!
- Daily Wire original? Don't ask!
Yet sometimes a film is so bad that even its liberal bona fides offer little protection from the critical class. Which brings us to "Digger."
Tom Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a Southern oil tycoon whose drilling station sparks an ecological disaster. That gets the attention of the U.S. president (John Goodman), who must find a way to thwart a renegade glacier or, at the very least, spin the news cycle to avoid blame for the pending catastrophe.
It's a broad comic satire with climate change alarmism in its DNA. What's not to love, if you're one of the hundreds of left-leaning film critics who worship at the Al Gore altar?
Plenty, as it turns out.
The Boston Globe gave "Digger" zero stars (out of four).
Cruise gets to grandstand and overact in downright embarrassing ways, chewing the scenery with impunity.
Remember, Cruise has never won an Oscar. Teaming with Oscar-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu ("The Revenant") was supposed to fix that.
Gulp. Better luck next time, Maverick.
RogerEbert.com's critic captures the high hopes many had for the project.
It's excruciatingly painful that this languid, self-satisfied film doesn’t work.
The Globe & Mail may have delivered the nastiest uppercut.
All these preening, obnoxiously self-satisfied moments, and so many more, add up to a movie so convinced of its own brilliance that it cannot see it is in fact the most banal variety of idiot: loud, ugly and forever oblivious to its own shortcomings.
Even New York Magazine, which faintly praised the film, did so in a fashion that will probably scare away the undecided moviegoer.
It’s like being trapped inside a tuba for two hours -- and I don’t just mean the over-insistent score by Cosmo Sheldrake. Everything is an underline. Every line a shout, every glance a grimace. It’s all expectoration, no breath.
A few news outlets dug the movie, but they're in the distinct minority.
The film's insane budget — north of $125 million — matters because the box office projections put the opening at roughly $12 million, at best.
Word of mouth should bury "Digger" in short order.
It's surprising, on paper, since some climate change screeds snag endless praise. And, if they aren't universally adored, they often rally, come Oscar season. Radical enviro-director Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up" (2021) managed a measly 56 percent "rotten" rating at Rotten Tomatoes but earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.
The better-reviewed "An Inconvenient Truth" from 2006 won Best Documentary honors.
Will "Digger" belly flop in theaters but rebound via the Oscars race? One thing's for sure. Cruise won't be suiting up as Digger for a sequel. And, chances are, he'll still be looking for his first Oscar trophy come next year.
