{"rewrite":{"id":"r_e567664329c0c8be9d5ef692","clusterId":"c_803f171d9b9f23e8e2390248","slug":"ken-watanabe-praises-tom-cruise-s-digger-ahead-of-japan-opening","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Ken Watanabe Praises Tom Cruise's DIGGER Ahead Of Japan Opening","summary":"Ken Watanabe has released a comment on DIGGER, the Tom Cruise film directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu that opens in Japan on October 9. Watanabe, who saw it early, wrote that he traded blows with the film for 129 minutes with no guard up and was completely knocked out. The film opened in the U.S. on October 2, and Cruise and Inarritu are due in Japan from October 5 to 7.","whyItMatters":"Watanabe's comment arrives in the same window as a promotional video built from the film's sharply divided overseas reviews, which puts a known Cruise collaborator in front of Japanese audiences before Cruise and Inarritu land in the country.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe two have worked together since The Last Samurai in 2003, and Watanabe watched the film before its Japanese release. His comment is a short one: Tom got me. Trading blows for 129 minutes with no guard up, I was completely knocked out. You\u0026#39;re amazing, Tom!!\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCruise has described the role as one he needed 40 years to be able to play. A new spot video cuts between opposing reactions, including masterpiece and unpleasant, greatest and bewildering, closing on the line that the same film looks different to each viewer. Cruise and Inarritu are in Japan from October 5 to 7.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"DIGGER opens in Japan on October 9, a week after its U.S. debut. Ken Watanabe saw it early, and his praise puts the film's Japanese rollout in front of the people who will actually decide whether Cruise's awards-season run holds.","twitterPost":"DIGGER hits Japan October 9, a week after the U.S. Ken Watanabe saw it early and his praise now fronts that rollout.","threadsPost":"DIGGER opens in Japan on October 9, seven days after its U.S. launch. Ken Watanabe saw it early and his praise lands before Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Inarritu arrive for the promotional window from October 5 to 7. The Japan rollout is carrying the film's awards-season case.","newsletterBlurb":"Ken Watanabe has released a comment on DIGGER, the Tom Cruise and Alejandro G. Inarritu film opening in Japan on October 9. Watanabe, who has worked with Cruise since The Last Samurai in 2003, said the film knocked him out completely across its 129 minutes. Cruise and Inarritu are scheduled to visit Japan from October 5 to 7.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Cinema Today\",\"url\":\"https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0157248\",\"title\":\"Ken Watanabe: \\\"You're amazing, Tom!!\\\" Praises longtime ally Tom Cruise's 'DIGGER'\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4241,"outputTokens":606,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1791193471,"createdAt":"2026-10-05T09:40:09.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-05T09:43:24.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T09:43:24.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_803f171d9b9f23e8e2390248","canonicalTitle":"渡辺謙「凄いぜトム!!」盟友トム・クルーズ『DIGGER／ディガー』を絶賛！","representativeArticleId":"a_f861d6af1f73becf94a66048","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Digger\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Ken Watanabe\",\"Tom Cruise\",\"Alejandro G. Iñárritu\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"other\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-05T03:19:35.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-05T03:19:35.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T09:43:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Cinema Today","url":"https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0157248","title":"渡辺謙「凄いぜトム!!」盟友トム・クルーズ『DIGGER／ディガー』を絶賛！"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Digger"],"studios":[],"people":["Ken Watanabe","Tom Cruise","Alejandro G. Iñárritu"],"type":"news","domain":"other","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}