Steven Spielberg returns to the world of aliens and science fiction with Disclosure Day, his first feature film since 2022’s The Fabelmans. Spielberg clearly has a passion for the extraterrestrial, having previously made such classics as E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the 2005 remake of War of the Worlds. Will this movie fit into the pantheon of those films? Let’s find out.
Disclosure Day tosses you into the deep end from the moment the film arrives and introduces us to Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity analyst who is seemingly very deep over his head. What’s going on and why clandestine agents are after him are a bit of a mystery at first, but (not a spoiler due to the nature of the movie) deals with a secret that could upend the very fabric of humanity’s beliefs. At the same time, the movie tells a parallel story of Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), a meteorologist who ends up having some sort of bizarre incident on live television, making various clicking sounds. What’s going on here and how it ties to the bigger story I’ll keep under wraps, but needless to say Maraget is very freaked out and confused. Throw in Colin Firth as Noah, the head of a shady corporation, and Coleman Domingo as Hugo, the man operating in the shadows, and you have a pretty top-tier cast who are dishing out great performances, especially as the film goes on and the stakes are elevated.
Being a Spielberg movie, Disclosure Day is masterfully directed. He’s a legend for a reason after all. His understanding of staging is arguably the best in the industry, with every shot feeling dynamic and reactive, even when there’s stillness within said shot. He once again teamed up with Janusz Kamiński to be his cinematographer, his partner ever since Schindler’s List, and the pair continue to deliver the goods in terms of shot composition and flow. Spielberg also reunites with John Williams to compose the film, who, surprise, surprise, dishes out another great score full of brass and strings.
Spielberg also brought on David Koepp to write the screenplay, and this is where things do fall apart a bit, unfortunately. Koepp is a bit of an oddity when it comes to scriptwriting. He’s credited with hits such as Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, the first Mission: Impossible film with Tom Cruise, the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man film, and 2025’s Black Bag. But he’s also written The Mummy with Tom Cruise, the last two Indiana Jones films, and Inferno with Tom Hanks. So, a really uneven track record, and while Disclosure Day definitely isn’t bad, it’s not great either. I found myself uninterested in the characters (despite the great acting).
The film also suffers from show, don’t tell syndrome and often ushers the characters from scene to scene without logical reasons or explanations. The script seems hellbent on simply getting the characters from A to B to C, even if it doesn’t make too much sense, or if the characters come across as uninteresting. I did find the intrigue around the conspiracy to be far more engaging than the characters themselves, but since the characters are driving the plot, I found myself disinterested in them. But it asks some interesting questions, especially when it comes to humanity, faith, and acceptance. The film also ends right when it really gets good. I really would’ve wanted the end to be the end of act two, and witness what could have come next. We’re left wondering, but I can’t help but think that’s where the more interesting stories could’ve been told.
Also, for whatever reason, Spielberg’s struggle with digital effects continues in Disclosure Day, with some very questionable CGI on creatures throughout the film. I feel ever since Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spielberg just hasn’t been able to get CGI down very well. With a movie like this, I can’t help but wonder if classic animatornics could have been a better alternative, especially in one key scene.
In the end, Disclosure Day is a fine movie, but it’s not a great movie. My biggest takeaway was that I didn’t like that I didn’t love this movie, as it features Spielberg talking about one of his favourite subjects, with a great cast and interesting conspiracy. I should have loved this movie, but thanks to an inconsistent script, the film ends up being just okay.
