Jaws. Jurassic Park. E.T. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. At almost 80 years old, there’s a good chance director Steven Spielberg will never make movies quite that good again. However, he comes very, very close with his latest film, Disclosure Day, a new, original story that asks the questions “What if aliens were real?” and “If they were, what would happen when the world found out?”
Disclosure Day is pure Spielberg. It’s a densely layered narrative filled with intense set pieces, brilliant performances, things you’ve never seen before, things you’ll never see again, and enough heart to tie it all together. There are scenes in it that rival some of Spielberg’s best in terms of wonder and ingenuity, and there are also some issues that hold it back ever so slightly from being a full-blown masterpiece. Nevertheless, we still think—even though there is lots of very, very strong competition—it’s Spielberg’s best film in over 20 years. He’s back on the summer blockbuster trail that he himself blazed, and we’re all better off for it. I left the theater as if on a cloud, floating away thanks to the power of cinema.
Written by David Koepp from a story by Spielberg, Disclosure Day centers around two characters. First, there’s Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor), a cybersecurity expert who steals some highly classified data from his employer, Wardex. Data that, pretty early on in the film, we learn proves that aliens exist, and Daniel plans to let the world know about it. Then there’s Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt), a Kansas City weatherperson who has her whole life turned upside-down in an instant. Each character is crucial to the story Spielberg is telling and he very selectively, and very expertly, bounces between the two as their paths slowly begin to intersect.
Daniel with his files – Universal
At the start, Disclosure Day spends a bit more time with Daniel because his story helps set the stakes. Carrying a backpack full of data, Daniel and his girlfriend, Jane (Eve Hewson), find themselves hunted by Wardex and its leader, Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth). These scenes unfold with the style and smarts of a cat-and-mouse chase film as Daniel and Jane run and Wardex uses its considerable and often terrifying resources to continue the hunt. Meanwhile, Margaret’s story begins as a larger, broader mystery. After an odd encounter with a bird, she finds herself with a growing, uncontrollable ability to read people. It freaks her boyfriend, Jackson (Wyatt Russell), out majorly, especially when that intuition starts to tell her to find Daniel.
Acting as almost a middle point between Daniel and Margaret is Hugo (Colman Domingo). Hugo is also a former Wardex employee who helped Daniel steal the data, and he’s planning… something. We don’t know exactly what it is, but he is ever so slightly guiding Daniel and Margaret to a place where fate, or something else, can take over. Rewatches of the film make his character even better as you see how early Spielberg seeds some of the big reveals.
And so Disclosure Day, at its simplest, is about two strangers who have a connection that somehow has to do with aliens. With each step in their journeys, those stories slowly start to come together and provide more and more details about what the heck is actually going on. What is in the data Daniel stole? What is happening to Margaret? And what is their connection? And if the movie were only this basic, two-hander sci-fi mystery, it would already be great.
But this is Steven Spielberg, and Disclosure Day quickly becomes so much more. Much of that is thanks to Margaret, who almost instantly enters the pantheon of all-time great Spielberg characters along the likes of Quint, Ian Malcolm, Rufio, and Marion Ravenwood. Without spoiling too much, Margaret becomes increasingly more aware of her powers and uses them to achieve very simple, very wonderful things. Again, I want to say so much more, but I won’t spoil it.
Blunt shines as Margaret – Universal
Margaret’s magnificence is mostly possible because Blunt gives the performance of her career to make it happen. We watch Margaret as she’s first scared and confused about what’s happening to her, only to then gain confidence and eventually create some of those perfect, magic, Steven Spielberg moments we’re talking about. Scenes that sneak up on you, steal your heart, and stay with you forever. Part of that is Koepp, part of that is Spielberg, but most of it is Blunt.
Those scenes and others work so well because, along the way, Spielberg builds character and mystery in tandem. The more we learn about Daniel and Margaret, the more we also learn about what’s happening to them and the truth about the world. And that truth is uniquely fascinating because Spielberg tiptoes on the line between new ideas and ones we’re familiar with.
Every film ever made about aliens has informed our ideas of them. They’re good, they’re bad, they talk, they fly, etc. We all have general ideas in our heads. For Disclosure Day, Spielberg basically mixes everything you know (or think you know) about aliens and delivers a greatest hits of iconography. He then adds his own original flavors and world-building on top of that. Things happen with these characters you’ve never seen in a sci-fi movie, as well as some things you’ve seen a lot. And, in both instances, Spielberg is very careful in the choice, either to wow you or make you feel at ease. We’re supposed to feel some level of familiarity along with the mystery because it makes everything more believable and therefore more relatable.
When Daniel and Margaret come together – Universal
That’s also because Spielberg weaves in this beyond-fascinating subplot about the world around Daniel and Margaret’s journey. Every scene or two, we hear a little aside or see a news story on TV that makes it seem as if the world is about to explode around them. This creates a subtle, powerful tension and reverence for the story we’re watching. World War III could be coming, but this story, with these people, is the answer. This is what’s important.
What feels maybe a little less important to Spielberg are some of the CGI creatures in the film. Again, the trailers reveal that animals play a crucial role here, and the film explains why that is. And while the effects are good, they’re never quite perfect, and you can’t help but be pulled out of the story for a few seconds. Thankfully, Spielberg usually follows that with some kind of wow moment, sucking us back in. Plus, the ultimate reveal almost makes the quality of the effects plausible, in a way. But, nevertheless, it’s a tiny issue.
In the larger scheme of things, though, a few not-so-great effects don’t hurt the film in any significant way. What matters is that Steven Spielberg puts the audience in the palm of his hand and takes us on an emotionally charged ride filled with mystery, excitement, spectacle, and meaning. Disclosure Day is a film made and filled with love. Maybe even too much love. It’s overwhelmingly sincere and hopeful in a way that feels at odds with today’s cynical, brutal world. But that’s the point. We’re supposed to watch the film and feel like the world can be a better place. And it doesn’t hurt if that world is accompanied by another beautiful score by the iconic John Williams.
Simply put, Disclosure Day is incredible. It’s Steven Spielberg at the peak of his modern powers, creating another unforgettable film that will stand the test of time and keep us enthralled for generations. We can’t wait to watch it again, and again, and again.
Disclosure Day opens June 12.
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