Film Review: Disclosure Day
We Deserve To Know
Introduction
This is a quick review of the newly released film Disclosure Day. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
Plot
Via Letterboxd: If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?
Review
With the country’s 250th anniversary looming, Steven Spielberg was honored with a special MPA America250 Award for his legendary achievements as arguably America’s greatest and most influential filmmaker. When you hear the name Spielberg, you automatically picture him in the director’s chair, but he has also spent decades producing films and television projects. For instance, he served as a producer on last year’s Hamnet, one of my favorite films of 2025 and a Best Picture contender. Whether directing or producing, Spielberg has devoted his life to bringing stories to screens both big and small.
In a way, Spielberg is the grandpapa of big-studio filmmaking in the same way Martin Scorsese is for auteur-driven cinema. That’s not to say Spielberg lacks an auteurist signature of his own, but there’s a reason he was chosen to present Christopher Nolan, the filmmaker I would consider my generation’s Spielberg, with his Oscar. Spielberg has long been known for personally reaching out to directors to congratulate them and offer advice following their successes. Jon M. Chu recalled showing him Wicked and being asked detailed questions about how certain sequences were accomplished. Spielberg was chosen to do a live Q&A with Paul Thomas Anderson after the first DGA screening of One Battle After Another last year. Meanwhile, Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki was brought to tears at the Oscars luncheon when Spielberg told him how much he loved the film, with Yamazaki referring to the legendary filmmaker as a god.
Spielberg has given us great films across virtually every genre. Even the movies of his that I’m not particularly wild about are still impressively crafted. Plenty of his work has landed on my year-end “Best Of” lists. But there are tiers to this. Spielberg has all-time favorites of mine like Jaws and Jurassic Park. He has films firmly in the masterpiece conversation like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. He has movies I think are great, even if they probably don’t make my all-time lists, such as The Fabelmans and Bridge of Spies. He has middling efforts like Ready Player One and The BFG. He has even delivered the occasional dud like 1941. Yet Spielberg’s overall filmography is the kind most filmmakers would kill for, and after a few years away, he’s back in the director’s chair. That is always an exciting prospect.
This time around, Spielberg is returning to the sci-fi spectacle he hasn’t really tackled in a while. His latest film is Disclosure Day, a movie that shifts from speculating about whether there is life out there to asking what happens when humanity discovers there is. And he gets to tell that story with an incredible ensemble that includes Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo, and Wyatt Russell, among others.
When reviewing a Spielberg film at this stage of his career, a few questions naturally come to mind. Is this Spielberg doing what he does best? How does it stack up against the rest of his filmography? Will it be one of those films that leaves a lasting mark on the medium and with audiences? Is it one of the best films of its year? Thankfully, I was privileged enough to attend a press screening of Disclosure Day yesterday evening so I could ask, and hopefully answer, those questions.
The good news is that for much of its runtime, the answer to most of those questions is a reassuring yes. Spielberg does get to show off what he does best at times in this. It stacks up on the better end of his filmography, though I wouldn’t put it next to his all-timers. I’m not sure if it will leave a lasting mark on the medium, but it is a contender to be among my personal favorites by year’s end.
One of the reasons Spielberg has remained relevant across so many decades is that he understands something many filmmakers working with massive budgets and high concepts often forget in that the spectacle only matters if the audience cares about the people experiencing it. It doesn’t matter how impressive the visual effects are or how large the stakes become if there isn’t a human story anchoring everything. It is why films like E.T., Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, and Jurassic Park have endured for generations. Disclosure Day understands this as well.
At its core, this is a science-fiction film about humanity confronting the possibility that we are not alone in the universe, but Spielberg wisely approaches the material through the eyes of people rather than through endless exposition and lore dumps. The film spends much of its first half introducing us to a collection of characters trying to make sense of a world that may be on the verge of the most important discovery in human history. Some are excited. Some are terrified. Some see opportunity. Others see a challenge to everything they believe.
Leading that ensemble is Emily Blunt, who gives what is easily the best performance in the film and may honestly be one of the strongest performances of her career. Blunt has always been an actress capable of bringing emotional complexity to blockbuster material, but Spielberg gives her room to do even more here. There are scenes where she has to communicate wonder, fear, skepticism, hope, and grief all within a matter of minutes, and she pulls it off effortlessly. She’s doing things like speaking different languages and having no control of what her mind knows. If there is an MVP award to hand out for Disclosure Day, it belongs to her.
The supporting cast is strong across the board as well. Josh O’Connor continues his streak of proving he can fit into virtually any genre. Colman Domingo brings his usual gravitas and charisma, while Colin Firth delivers as the main antagonist, Wyatt Russell provides solid support as Blunt’s less than supportive partner, and I personally found Eve Hewson very captivating. Nobody feels miscast. Nobody feels like they are just collecting a paycheck. This is an ensemble that appears fully invested in Spielberg’s vision.
Visually, the film is stunning to look at, but that’s always a given with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.
Spielberg has always known where to place a camera, but there are several sequences here that remind you why so many directors still study his work. Whether it’s a quiet moment between characters or one of the film’s larger action sequences, the cinematography consistently elevates the material. The movie frequently finds beauty in both the ordinary and the extraordinary, which feels fitting given the story it is trying to tell.
The chase sequences deserve particular praise. Spielberg remains one of the best filmmakers to ever direct action because he understands geography and momentum. You always know where everyone is. You understand the stakes. The scenes build naturally rather than relying on chaotic editing to manufacture excitement. Several of the film’s biggest set pieces had me leaning forward in my seat in a way that reminded me of why Spielberg became the king of the summer blockbuster in the first place.
The film is also packed with references to real-world stories involving alleged extraterrestrial encounters. Some viewers may miss a few of them, but people familiar with UFO folklore and conspiracy culture will likely have a great time spotting the inspirations. Spielberg clearly had fun incorporating decades worth of stories, rumors, and infamous incidents into the narrative.
Another aspect I appreciated was the film’s willingness to engage with questions of faith. Science fiction often explores what humanity would do if we discovered life beyond Earth, but Disclosure Day spends a surprising amount of time considering what such a revelation might mean for people whose worldviews are built around religious belief. The film doesn’t mock faith, nor does it preach. Instead, it treats the subject with genuine curiosity and has some interesting philosophical and theoogical statements. Whether viewers agree with its conclusions will vary, but I appreciated that Spielberg was interested in exploring those questions at all.
And then there is John Williams. I genuinely cannot remember the last time I walked out of a late-career Williams score feeling this energized about it. For years now, it has occasionally felt like the legendary composer was operating on autopilot, delivering competent work without the memorable themes that once defined his career. Not here. This score has life. It has energy. It has moments of awe. It feels like Williams was genuinely inspired by the material, and the film is significantly better because of it.
Unfortunately, Disclosure Day is also another reminder that even Spielberg is not immune to the modern blockbuster’s inability to leave well enough alone. This movie absolutely did not need to be two and a half hours long. There is a tighter, more effective version of this film hiding somewhere inside the finished product. Entire sections could have been trimmed without sacrificing character development or thematic depth, such as a scene involving destroying a phone that criminally went too long. The pacing never completely collapses, but there are stretches where the film feels like it is circling ideas it has already communicated rather than pushing forward.
My bigger issue, however, is philosophical. Without diving into spoiler territory, the film ultimately arrives at a place of profound optimism regarding humanity at the face of such a game-changing discovery. Spielberg has always possessed a hopeful streak, and for many viewers that will likely be one of the film’s greatest strengths. There is something admirable about a filmmaker nearing the end of his career still choosing to believe in our better angels.
I just don’t entirely share that optimism right now. Given the current state of the world, the film’s faith in humanity occasionally felt disconnected from the reality many people are experiencing. That is not necessarily a flaw. In fact, I suspect plenty of viewers will find the movie’s hopeful perspective refreshing and perhaps even moving. But for me personally, some of its emotional conclusions landed with less impact than they probably would have at another point in time.
Then there is the finale. Without spoiling specifics, the climax is certainly ambitious. Spielberg swings for the fences and delivers imagery that is meant to inspire wonder on a massive scale. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Unfortunately, there were moments during the final act where I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was watching a collection of AI-generated TikTok reels stitched together into a feature-length sequence. The imagery becomes so overwhelming and so relentless that it occasionally loses the emotional grounding that made the earlier portions of the film so effective.
Still, even with those reservations, I walked away really liking Disclosure Day. Is it one of Spielberg’s masterpieces? No. Is it on the level of Jaws, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, or Schindler’s List? Not remotely. But is it a good Spielberg film? Absolutely. And a good Spielberg film is the greatest film other directors have made.
At a time when many legendary directors are slowing down, repeating themselves, or struggling to connect with modern audiences, Spielberg remains remarkably capable of delivering entertaining, thoughtful, and emotionally engaging blockbuster filmmaking. Disclosure Day may not rank among the very best work of his career, but it is another reminder that even an imperfect Spielberg film still possesses a sense of craft, wonder, and humanity that many filmmakers spend entire careers trying to achieve. I give it a very solid grade of A-.
“TL;DR”
Pros: Spielberg’s magic touch when it comes to tackling Sci-Fi connecting with real human emotion shines through; Great performances lead by Emily Blunt as MVP; Exciting chase sequences; A lot of references to infamous supposed extraterrestrial contact stories; Touches on aspects of faith while grappling with a would-be discovery that there is life out there; John Williams finally doesn’t mail one of his scores in for the first time in years; Great cinematography
Cons: This movie really shouldn’t be two and a half hours long; The movie ultimately leans into a trust in humanity that doesn’t have much appeal for me at a current time of such chaos in the world (this might be a pro for others out there who actually want to see some of that right now); Finale almost feels like watching a collection of Tik Tok AI reels back-to-back
Grading
