I do my best to avoid reading any reviews of a movie before I get a chance to write my own, but the discourse online about Digger‘s mixed (at best) critical reception and poor box office performance have been pretty unavoidable. Having seen it I can say that I’m not too surprised by the low ticket sales, this is very much not a crowd pleaser, but nor is it trying to be. The trailers were somewhat misleading, the satire can be a bit on the nose, and the primary subject being satirized is depressing and infuriating to a degree that can make it hard to laugh at.

The critics’ response thus far has been more unexpected to me however, and I think this film will likely wind up being more positively reassessed in the future. To me, being somewhat obvious doesn’t prevent satire from being effective and while the core topic is distressing, the decision makers who got us here are often all too easy to find comedic. And the hidden twist in the story only makes it more interesting, though it might have landed better if it was revealed later in the story.

Oilman “Digger” Rockwell (Tom Cruise) has just found out that one of his company’s rigs has exploded, cleaving off a massive chunk from an ice shelf and sending it sailing towards northern Europe, where it will cause catastrophic damage. He gathers US President Compson (John Goodman) and his cabinet and, with the help of one of his scientists, Dr. Nirav Ganesh (Riz Ahmed), delivers the news to them. Soon enough, disaster strikes and they are all left scrambling to dodge the worst of the blame as the event continues to spiral further out of control.

Every performance is turned up to 11 as director Alejandro G. Iñárritu lays bare the egotistical, borderline insane stupidity that has been entrenched in power for some time now and the ways these so-called “leaders” have been allowed to bumble the world to the brink of apocalypse. The all-too-plausible, near future Earth on display here is itself not a laughing matter, but thanks to the over-the-top nature of the acting—led by Cruise in peak form—and much of the film itself, it is frequently funnier than you would think, though more likely to induce a knowing smirk than a belly laugh.

That the movie also takes the time to engage in a meta-debate about the value of satire itself, and what is and isn’t safe to poke fun at, only makes Digger more impressive. Stunningly shot by Emmanuel Lubezki, with gorgeous sets and a fittingly odd score by Cosmo Sheldrake, this gleefully odd movie is unlike anything else you’ll see this year. Biting, confrontational, and thought-provoking, the filmmakers take big risks to deliver a message that couldn’t be timelier. If you’re the sort that is willfully trying not to hear it you probably won’t like this that much, but love it or hate it this is one movie you won’t soon forget. Count me among the fans. ★★★★½

Rated R for pervasive language.