**This review contains spoilers**

I could spend pages and pages of this review just waxing poetic about Steven Spielberg and how much he means to me and movies at large. I already did some of that with my Spielberg Month series on Instagram and I will definitely fall into that multiple times as this goes on. Because as much as this review is about just one of his films, Disclosure Day, the movie is undeniably inextricable from his filmography as a whole, the legacy he’s left on Hollywood, and how we even think of what constitutes a film. The Hollywood Reporter said in their review of Disclosure Day, “No living director better understands the magic of movies.” This is the man who essentially invented the summer blockbuster back in 1975 with Jaws. And, now, 50 years later, at 79 years old, he’s returning to exactly what he does best, to his signature brand of filmmaking, aka spectacle and wonder. All of my reviews are obviously biased; they’re my opinions, after all. But particularly for this one, I just want to say upfront, there was almost no way I wasn’t going to like this movie. I’m just in the bag for Spielberg and, for a movie where he’s referencing his past work and just doing Spielberg things, that’s entirely my shit. Disclosure Day isn’t even close to a perfect movie. It’s the kind of story where as soon as you start to poke holes in it, it falls apart. But blockbusters aren’t always about realism, they’re about fun. And watching this movie in the theater, from scene to scene, I was thoroughly thrilled and entertained: exactly what I want from my summer blockbusters.

Disclosure Day comes from an original story by Steven Spielberg that was fleshed out into a full screenplay by longtime collaborator David Koepp (the two have made Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull together). It’s also significant that this movie is an original. I often bemoan the fact that so much of entertainment these days is made of up sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, spinoffs, etc., etc., so it cannot be overstated how important it is to still have such a venerated director making original movies in 2026. The film presents as sci-fi (it does revolve around aliens), but really plays out as more of a 70s spy thriller. We are dropped immediately into the action when the movie begins (“in media res” if you want to get technical). I absolutely loved this. I was worried there would be a “2 Days Earlier” title card coming or something but nope! The film just takes off running and really takes its time explaining things while you try to figure it out (trust your audience to be smart!). We are introduced to Dr. Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), a former cyber-security expert turned whistleblower for government agency Wardex, who is now on the run from their leader Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) and his crew. His girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) has gotten tangled up in his mess and joins him while he attempts to execute a plan to release the information he stole from Wardex to the whole world. What is this information? A complete archive of America’s footage of alien encounters and the corporation’s top-secret alien research program. The classified data and video files detail a five-decade-long coverup by the government, one that runs so deep even the U.S. president is cut out of the loop. Daniel is radicalized by the footage, including aliens being tortured and experimented on, and believes the world has a right to know the truth. Meanwhile, Kansas City weatherperson Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) suddenly finds herself able to speak any language and develops a sort of telepathic ability without any insight into why this is happening to her. During a news broadcast, she starts making a mysterious clicking sound that no one can understand. Except Daniel. Guided by Wardex’s former Director of Biological Assets, Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), Daniel and Margaret set out to find each other and understand the connection between them.

The marketing for the movie made it seem almost like they were hiding the ball a little bit, like there would be a big reveal or surprise as to the movie’s true nature. But really it’s pretty straightforward. It’s about what it’s about: aliens and disclosing information. This is Spielberg’s first contemporary-set film since 2005’s War of the Worlds (although I guess there’s an argument this is set slightly in the future since World War 3 is right on the verge of breaking out in the background). As a present-day film, it has something to say about our current times. Screenwriter David Koepp told Vulture of the choice, “You always have to ask the ‘Why now?’ question when you make any movie about anything. War of the Worlds was made in 2004, and we were in the thick of Iraq. There’s a really explicit reference about how the son has to write a paper for school about the battle of Algiers and how occupations don’t work. We did the same for Disclosure Day. I always thought the copy line for Disclosure Day could be, ‘You are being lied to.’” So “why now?” for Disclosure Day? We live in an age of misinformation. Between the news, social media, AI, bots, coordinated political campaigns, and our government, it’s hard to know if one “truth” even exists anymore. The secrecy, manipulation and deception of governmental power depicted in the film mirrors our reality in America today and the figurehead for the government, the villain Noah Scanlon, will not only stop at nothing to prevent the truth from getting out, but also fully believes that he’s right in his actions. Interestingly enough, the movie stops to consider… is he? It’s not a question of whether or not the public deserves to know or has a right to the truth. It’s whether or not they can, to borrow a famous line from another movie, handle the truth. Is Scanlon coming from a place of wanting total governmental control or a slightly more compassionate place of wanting to prevent global chaos and breakdown? It’s not really clear. 

Meanwhile, Daniel’s girlfriend Jane also struggles with her own thoughts on the matter. A former novitiate (nun in training), Jane thinks that if humans knew that aliens were real, they would no longer believe in God as a higher power. The movie often comes back to this idea of religion in the face of extraterrestrial life. When her newfound powers are revealed, Margaret begins to be flocked by people who are awed by her. She backs away shouting, “I will not be anyone’s religion!” Her beyond-human abilities automatically cause others to regard her as a god-like figure. Screenwriter, director, and friend of Steven Spielberg, Hal Barwood, said to Vulture of the intersection of these ideas, “Steven doesn’t like to repeat himself, but he has gone back to the UFO story many times. I think that all of us wonder about the nature of reality. In the past, that would manifest itself through religion, but it’s been a long time since religion had a true grip on America. Instead, UFO stories are how we reach for the strange and possibly unknown factors that mix into life. We don’t go into the woods and see angels anymore. But we do see UFOs flying over.” Essentially proving Jane’s point that we no longer believe in God and miracles to explain the inexplicable and, instead, rationalize it as ghosts or aliens. 300 years ago it was witchcraft. Humans are always looking for an answer to the unknown and have tried to find it in different ways. In a time that feels particularly fraught, it can be comforting to imagine God has a plan or that there’s a whole separate, thriving world out there in space. That there is a higher power or a higher purpose when life feels so out of control. And eventually the movie argues that those two ideas can go hand in hand instead of being at odds. When Jane relays her fears to her superior Sister Maura (Elizabeth Marvel), quoting Genesis that humans are God’s supreme creation, the sister replies, “Genesis says we are God’s supreme creation on Earth. Why would God create such a vast universe only for humans to enjoy?” Much of the film is spent contemplating how humankind might react to concrete proof of the existence of aliens, but the movie ultimately decides that, yes, despite compelling arguments to the contrary, the truth not only should, but must, be exposed to the public. How they choose to process the information is up to them.

This disclosure plays out in the final scene of the film as we see people across the globe receive the news with shock, awe, and emotion. A divided world is united in this experience, all glued to various screens watching the news, and the newscaster leading the broadcast live on air says to the public, “You are not alone”, referencing both the fact that we, as human beings, are in this situation together, but also that we are not alone in the universe. Spielberg has always been very “hope core”. He’s a sentimentalist, sometimes to a fault, occasionally accused of being schmaltzy. The ending of Disclosure Day has not only been considered as sentimental to a fault but has also been the hinge point that “ruins the movie” for some viewers. Many feel like this scene, and some of the vibe of the rest of the movie, is too earnest for today’s world, straining credulity. This imagining of everyone coming together seems impossible when everyone has become so jaded and cynical. It’s an outdated way of thinking. But that’s actually kind of why I liked the movie. Because it does feel old fashioned in a way that appeals to my nostalgia. Harkening back to a different era of movies, a former era of Spielberg. Disclosure Day is a movie that is ostensibly about a lot of scary things (like governmental authoritarianism, for one), but the message deep down is empathy. There’s a brief mention earlier in the film from Colman Domingo’s character about how the aliens’ organizing principle is empathy and they taught that to him. I will say that 1) that idea does cross the line over into corny for me, similarly to the ending of Interstellar where love was the answer along. I don’t really love that in a sci-fi movie. And 2) this concept is also never really further explored in the movie beyond this kind of throwaway line of dialogue. That is a criticism of the film I don’t 100% disagree with: that it has too much on its mind and doesn’t zero in enough on one idea to be effective in investigating it, creating some distance between the audience and the themes/characters. But maybe people are also just having a hard time connecting with it because we’ve lost touch with what empathy actually means. Emily Blunt told Vulture, “Steven and I talked at great length about aliens and the effect that they’ve had on him. He’s unafraid of the big question: Are we alone? And he doesn’t have the arrogance to believe that we are. He wanted to create a humanized world to answer these questions, so that it doesn’t feel like harsh, cold sci-fi but something full of awe and wonder.” Spielberg will always default back to awe and wonder. Maybe he’s an optimist and this is how he sees the world (good for him, if so). I personally did not bump on the “realism” of the ending. In fact, the final scene made me surprisingly emotional and gave me full body chills. I guess it makes sense that I’m such a Spielberg fan; his sentimentalism just works on me.

While watching Disclosure Day, I was struck by how often certain visuals or ideas reminded me of other Spielberg films. Were these just subconscious motifs the director finds himself coming back to over and over or intentional self-referential Easter eggs? Spielberg himself told Vulture, “Disclosure Day is the summation of a lot of movies I’ve made in the past. This one for me was meant to be a closing statement, so to speak.” I think he meant this in the sense of his multiple past films about aliens, but it also applies to his filmography as a whole. He previously explored the theme of the government preventing the dissemination of information to the public and people fighting against that in 2017’s The Post and posed moral and philosophical questions about governmental power in 2002’s Minority Report. It’s hard to watch any Spielberg movie these days without directly thinking about The Fabelmans, a semi-autobiographical film released in 2022 that is an essential skeleton key for Spielberg’s entire career and psyche. The majority of his movies become clearer when looked at through the lens of The Fabelmans (aka if you want to better understand this filmmaker, watch this beautiful movie). The staggering train-set action sequence in Disclosure Day makes sense in the context of The Fabelmans (I’ve begun my own personal tally of Spielberg movies that include train scenes and, out of the 23 movies I’ve seen, I’ve counted 10 with scenes involving trains) as does the following scene set in the interior of the train car filled with pianos. The Fabelmans also presents the idea of using the art of filmmaking to process your own life, the way the Spielberg character, Sammy Fabelman, does in the movie and the way the real-life Steven Spielberg did while making that very movie. In Disclosure Day, Spielberg employs this through Colman Domingo’s character who builds a movie-set replica of Maragert’s childhood home in order to help her conquer her past trauma. Apparently the best form of therapy is to physically step back into a re-creation of your childhood.

But obviously the closest comp to Disclosure Day is Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg’s 1977 film about UFOs. Some have theorized Disclosure Day might actually be a sequel to Close Encounters, a look at what happened to an abducted child after he was returned to Earth and grew up. The timeline doesn’t really match up there but it does feel intentional that Spielberg designed the Disclosure Day extraterrestrials to closely resemble those from the 1977 film, essentially just the classic, stereotypical image of an alien. The story in Disclosure Day is also in keeping with the way the foreign species operates in Close Encounters, with some humans being specifically chosen for a reason unbeknownst to them or the audience and being called to reconnect with the aliens. In both stories, aliens are representative of an oft-occurring theme in the Spielberg filmography: someone, or something, feeling lonely, feeling like they don’t fit in, and looking for community and a place in the world. In Close Encounters and Disclosure Day, the aliens give the protagonists that purpose. In E.T., Elliot and E.T. become a safe space for each other. Cue the anti-sentimentalist critics again! I love the way it feels like all of Spielberg’s films are in conversation with each other and how each provides a separate and unique insight into his mind, depending on when and where he was in his life when he made it. And I love a director with a distinct artistic vision who leaves identifiable fingerprints on his work. 

When watching a movie by such a skillful filmmaker, I often wonder if I pay more attention to the craft of the filmmaking because I’m more aware of the artist behind the camera or because it’s operating on such a higher level that it jumps out more than in other films. With Spielberg, the artistry is undeniable. He has always been praised for his masterful staging of shots, which remains true in Disclosure Day. You could pause a Spielberg movie at any moment and that still frame would look like a work of art (it’s a fun experiment to test out sometime!). I just couldn’t help but to be in awe of some of the shots: a transition from hail in a weather report to cereal pouring in front of the lens into a bowl, the previously mentioned pulse-pounding train sequence that measures up to any of Spielberg’s best action scenes, a set piece full of physical comedy involving people running into invisible objects. The opening scene of the film where we’re thrown into a professional wrestling match, almost literally because the camera takes the place of the opponent being tossed around and stomped on, is basically just Spielberg showing off (as he should!). There were also all the smaller touches of things he’s always done quite beautifully like his use of light, lens flares, shadows, reflections. Longtime collaborator Janusz Kaminsky’s (this is their 21st film together) cinematography elevates all of this and emphasizes the apathy of the world at large through a cool-toned color palette. Even longer-time collaborator John Williams (this is their 30th film together…if you haven’t watched the John Williams documentary on Disney+ you need to do that immediately. He is such an incredible talent with an unbelievably vast body of work) provides the perfect score, as always. Aside from the score, there’s also a surprising and very funny needle drop that I never would have expected in a Steven Spielberg movie. My only real criticism of the look of the movie is of the animals that appear throughout. The CGI of the animals is distractingly bad; they look fake and out of place. I’ve seen some argue that the look is intentional because they’re not real in the world of the story either, they’re actually the aliens taking on the appearance of animals to put people at ease when they see them, but I still feel mixed on their design.

The cast of Disclosure Day is made up of a few key players. And the majority of them are Brits playing American as seems to always be the case these days. They were all pretty good (even though a few accents did slip through… Eve Hewson, I love you, but I’m looking at you). The biggest headline coming out of the movie has been praise for Emily Blunt, with some calling this her best performance to date. She has so much to do in the film, speaking multiple languages, executing action sequences, and playing the full spectrum of emotion. We’re right there with her and we’re invested in her journey. Balancing out her rollercoaster of emotions is Josh O’Connor. He’s consistently good in everything and plays slightly more of the straight man to Blunt’s high emotion. His performance isn’t that showy as he doesn’t have a big character arc to portray, but he brings an honesty and soulfulness that make the audience inherently trust him, a necessary factor for a protagonist. I really liked these two together but did bump slightly on the fact that I believe they’re supposed to be the same age in the movie. Blunt is only seven years older than O’Connor in real life, but she’s been around for so much longer she reads older on screen. Colin Firth is effective playing against type as a villain but he and Colman Domingo struggle to make a large impact with underdeveloped characters. Neither are given clear motivations beyond just being good or bad. 

Disclosure Day is not a perfect movie. It’s not a five-star masterpiece. It’s not a top Spielberg or the best he’s ever been. There are some shaggy edges, some loose ends, the storytelling doesn’t always add up, and the script isn’t the strongest. But it is a return to form of his classic blockbusters after years of detouring into other genres (in films I’ve personally also enjoyed). No, it doesn’t reach the heights of his classics from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but I thought it was fun and entertaining and it kept me hooked. Some of the online response to the movie, though, has been actually baffling. I’ve seen people saying it’s the worst movie they’ve ever seen. I hope for humanity that those people are just trying to be edgy and contrarian. Even if you don’t like the movie, there is still an artistry to it that you have to appreciate. Unless you’ve seen five movies ever in your lifetime, there is no possible way this is the worst movie you’ve ever seen and I am so sick of everyone’s opinions being either love or hate. Not even love or hate, more like “this is the best thing ever” or “this is the worst thing ever” with no inbetween. It’s okay to think something is just fine or good or that you liked some parts but not others. Why are we so afraid of nuance? Why does everything have to be a hot take or full-throated opinion? It’s genuinely annoying and concerning. Some have argued that if Disclosure Day wasn’t a Spielberg movie, like if another director’s name was on it, people wouldn’t think it was good. I think that’s a dumb argument. It’s like the line from The Social Network, “If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.” It is a Spielberg movie and could only be a Spielberg movie and who cares if that’s why people like it? The things I like about it are things only Spielberg could’ve done. This one is for the Spielberg heads and he just keeps doing what he does best. I cried multiple times during this movie and it wasn’t even sad! It was Emily Blunt’s performance that got to me as well as the newscaster at the end of the movie (played by Courtney Grace who I thought was amazing). Something about it was just moving and powerful for reasons I can’t explain. And, thanks to Letterboxd, it turns out I’m not the only one who felt like this! In an opinion piece for Salon, writer Coleman Spilde wrote, “Spielberg’s belief has always been that the movie must communicate with the audience through some kind of grand spectacle. That’s how you open their hearts and lower their walls: You dazzle them. When we’re sitting in a dark theater with our snack and drink of choice, that’s when we’re most receptive. If we can become a kid again — our most honest, impressionable, open-hearted self — in that theater seat, we’ll believe anything is possible. If it can happen in a movie, it can happen in life.” That is the magical, nostalgic, ineffable power of Steven Spielberg: he creates the exact feeling that reminds me why I love movies and why I fell in love with them in the first place. I hope he keeps making them forever.

2026 Count: 45 movies, 27 seasons of television, 1 special