Influencers are praising the movie "Digger" as a masterpiece despite its poor reception from critics and low box office performance. One influencer filmed himself hyperventilating after watching the film, while another host of an online movie show with 578K TikTok followers predicted it would be one of the most important films of the 21st century and that Tom Cruise will win his first Oscar for acting in it. Other influencers echoed similar over-the-top praise, suggesting elements like immediate filming after viewing and predictions of Oscar nominations are common themes in their reviews.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
After “Digger” was savaged by critics — and bombed at the box-office — the over-the-top “reviews” by influencers online now seem even more unhinged.
asserted
reviews → savage → influencers
I was struck scrolling Instagram this week by one influencer who filmed himself allegedly walking home after seeing “Digger” and practically hyperventilating, covering his mouth and gasping for air between squeals of delight, asking himself “What did I just see?” and hyperbolically proclaiming the movie beyond a masterpiece.
uncertain
I → strike → masterpiece
He’s not alone.
asserted
He → ’ → ?
One host of the online movie show “Raiders of the Lost Podcast” — which has 578.3K followers on TikTok, and landed “Digger” star Tom Cruise as a guest — said directly to camera in a post after seeing an advanced screening of the movie: “These are my predictions… I think ‘Digger’ will go down as probably the most important film of the 21st century.
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Digger → have → century
[And] Tom will finally win his first Oscar for acting.”
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Tom → win → acting
He went on to say of the film, “It was mind-blowing.
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It → go → film
And Alejandro González Iñárritu has got to be a wizard… it just boggles the mind.
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it → get → mind
It comes out in a couple weeks, and I’m just very grateful to have seen the film…
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I → come → film
You’re in for a ride, I’m gonna see it again at the premiere, but…
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I → ’re → premiere
‘Digger’ is just wholly unique and on a different stratosphere when it comes to production design, acting, stunts, wardrobe, it’s just phenomenal…
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it → come → design
Just get ready everybody, let’s f–kin’ go.”
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’s → get → ?
As a reminder, films of the 21st century include: “There Will Be Blood,” “Parasite,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “No Country for Old Men,” but we digress…
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we → include → Men
Perhaps if “Digger” hadn’t been such a box office and critical dud, the bizarrely over-the-top influencer reactions wouldn’t stick out as such sore thumbs.
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reactions → stick → thumbs
One commenter soberly reacted to the “Raiders of the Lost Podcast” host’s take by posting, “I genuinely believe you love this movie, but it’s a little unclear what’s a paid promo with you guys these days.
uncertain
what → react → guys
It’s not your fault, though rules around journalism are gone.”
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rules → ’ → journalism
Other influencer takes on “Digger” said, “I just got done watching this movie, I just got out of the theater…
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I → say → theater
Tom Cruise should be nominated for an Oscar…
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Cruise → nominate → Oscar
he’s that damn great in this, it’s one of the best performances of his career,” as well as, “I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll start with this…
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I → ’ → this
I’m in a movie promotion with the Tom Cruise!” and “Tom Cruise did a phenomenal job…
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Cruise → ’m → job
I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets an award for this.”
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he → get → this
Many of the influencer raves seem to have elements in common: the word “masterpiece,” an intro that says they just saw the movie or just left the theater (and immediately had to jump on camera?) and predictions that Cruise will obviously get an Oscar.
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Cruise → seem → Oscar
But as a host of the Academy Awards podcast, “Mike, Mike, and Oscar,” points out in his own Instagram clip: “‘Digger’ has been promoted through every corner of the film internet over the past week.
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Digger → point → week
And Tom Cruise has had FaceTime with seemingly every influencer available.
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influencer → have → FaceTime
A purposeful muddying of the waters by [Warner Bros.] which ends up helping… nobody.”
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which → end → nobody
Adds the clip: “What good is this doing the studios where the critics see the movie — the paid professionals — and they pan it.
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they → add → it
But if you go online and look up the movie itself, well it’s the ‘greatest thing you’ve ever seen.’
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you → go → movie
I literally have seen influencers say, ‘It’s the best movie of all time,’ ‘It’s the most important movie of all time,’ ‘It’s the best movie of the year,’ ‘Tom Cruise is definitely winning best actor.’
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Cruise → see → actor
We study the Academy 24/7, if he does it’ll be the first type of movie to bomb this badly at the box office to have an Oscar acting winner.”
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it → study → winner
We previously reported on a highly controlled event on the Warner Bros. lot this year to unveil the film’s trailer — where scads of influencers were invited to see the preview and pose for pics (provided by the studio, no phones allowed) with Cruise.
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phones → report → Cruise
No doubt many of the influencers who (proverbially or literally?) signed on to be along for the ride are now the ones calling the movie, which opened to $8 million, the best of this century.
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which → sign → century
Said another movie influencer in their post, “I feel like what ‘Digger’ does so brilliantly is that it brings everyone together.”
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it → say → everyone
But did it?
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it → do → ?
The Aporia
