Movie Review: ‘Disclosure Day’

Tweet
Review by James Lindorf

If you found out we were not alone in the universe, would you feel proven right, question everything you thought you knew, be elated, or would it frighten you? That is the question at the heart of “Disclosure Day,” Steven Spielberg’s return to alien-centric feature films for the first time since 2005’s “War of the Worlds.” In the summer of 2023, Steven Spielberg spent two months writing an outline inspired by The New York Times story “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program.” In 2024, it was announced that the screenplay would be written by David Koepp, whose previous collaborations with Spielberg include “Jurassic Park,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and “War of the Worlds.” Combined, those earlier films earned more than three billion dollars worldwide, which must give Universal Pictures high hopes for “Disclosure Day” when it arrives in theaters everywhere on June 12th.

Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) is a cybersecurity specialist turned whistleblower racing across the country, stealing cars and dodging bullets to get the most consequential information in human history into the right hands. Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is a Kansas City TV meteorologist with dreams of sitting at the anchor desk. One day, her biggest concern is whether she should move to a bigger market, and the next, she becomes the unlikely center of a massive government conspiracy. To complete his mission and get the files to Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo), Kellner will need Margaret’s help. Standing in their way is Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth), the powerful head of the Wardex Corporation, who believes the world is not ready for what the government has kept under wraps for nearly eight decades. The supporting cast includes Eve Hewson as Daniel’s girlfriend Jane, Wyatt Russell as Margaret’s boyfriend Jackson, and Elizabeth Marvel as Sister Maura.

Spielberg is not really making a science fiction film here. “Disclosure Day” is a thriller that borders on an action film with science-fiction elements, and at its core, it is almost a fantasy. The technology on display is so advanced it might as well be magical, and Margaret gradually emerges as something closer to a superpowered being than an ordinary journalist. What Spielberg is genuinely interested in is our relationship with each other. The alien disclosure premise functions like the shark in “Jaws,” as a vehicle for exploring something far more human. Here, he offers a vision of something that could unite us in an age of profound division, while centering empathy and shared humanity as the only reasonable response to the realization that we are not alone. He also engages seriously with religion, exploring how the most faithful might respond to life beyond our world, and working to remind us that, even if we believe we were created in God’s image, that does not make others worthy of our fear or scorn.

The political undertones are present but far from heavy-handed. Wardex represents the conservative impulse to hoard information and power, and to distrust the general public. Hugo and Daniel represent the progressive belief that sharing knowledge makes everyone better. Whether you read those dynamics through a political lens will depend on how closely you follow the current state of the world. Still, Spielberg is careful to frame it as a human question rather than a partisan one. Less careful is Koepp’s handling of certain threads he introduces and abandons. Jane develops what appears to be a stigmata-esque injury that seems to signal she is being called toward some meaningful sacrifice, and then the film moves on. Jackson largely disappears. These dropped threads are the cost of a film that runs a little long and cannot quite decide whose story it is telling.

While the story has noticeable weaknesses, the cast is great and led by a fantastic Emily Blunt, who serves as the audience’s entry point into something enormous and carries that weight with remarkable consistency. Her one stumble comes in her biggest moment. After an intense bit of action, Margaret is losing control, but Blunt remains visibly and firmly in control of the performance. It is a rare scene where you see the actress rather than the character. O’Connor is very good as well, and his frantic energy and obvious devotion to Jane are endearing and more emotionally consistent than Blunt’s larger role demands. However, in a moment of inconsistency, when the film pivots to become Margaret’s story, it requires Kellner to make a confusing decision. He has worked so hard for days to protect the stolen information, only to surrender it because the script needed to bring the two characters together. Domingo is captivating as Hugo, but the character is more of an overseer than a person. You never learn anything about him beyond his belief in disclosure and the message of empathy. Firth commands the screen even though he spends a large portion of his screen time being menacing in one chair or another. Oddly, Scanlon and his team of commandos, while trigger-happy, are also borderline nonviolent with the aim of a Stormtrooper. They seem reluctant to go as far as we would all assume people protecting their own power, wealth, and their perceived safety of the planet would do in the real world.

John Williams provides a fantastic score that lifts nearly every scene, even if it lacks the instantly memorable theme that has defined his greatest work. Less successful is the CGI, which is frequently and distractingly bad for a film of this budget and ambition. How a production with these resources did not hire an animal wrangler for a single day is a genuine mystery. There is even a moment involving CGI animals, CGI snow, and a fully digital little girl, even though a child actor, practical snow, and real animals were all entirely achievable options. Someone chose not to bother, and it shows.

“Disclosure Day” is for everyone, though its ideas may go over the heads of younger children. Then again, kids are often the best of us when it comes to accepting people different from themselves, so perhaps they will understand it better than most. While CGI skeptics are warned, this is a film designed for theaters, where Williams’ score and Spielberg’s remarkable visual command of a large canvas thrive. As bordering on nonsensical as the story can be when you stop to ask why these characters and why this approach, the push to make empathy, knowledge, and humanity the center of our civilization is a beautiful message and one worth sitting with. “Disclosure Day” earns a 4 out of 5.

Release Date (Theaters): June 12th, 2026
Runtime: 2h 25m
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
PG-13 (Some Bloody Images|Action/Violence|Strong Language)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: David Koepp
Producer: Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures
Rating