Steven Spielberg returning to science fiction is, on paper, one of the most exciting cinematic events in years. The director who gave us Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. stepping back into the genre decades later should feel like a landmark moment. Disclosure Day, however, is proof that a promising premise, a strong cast, and a legendary filmmaker are no guarantee of a satisfying film. This is a movie that has all the ingredients and somehow still underseasoned the dish.
The most immediate problem with Disclosure Day is one of identity. It neither builds a compelling mystery, nor delivers the wonder of great sci-fi, nor earns its moments as a thriller. It occupies an uncomfortable middle ground between all three and fully commits to none. At 140 minutes, the film is essentially a prolonged chase movie — and not an especially tense one. We do get flashes of intensity and thrills, but not nearly enough.
David Keopp’s script is certainly ambitious and intriguing, yet frustrating. The stakes are theoretically enormous, but the screenplay is so convoluted and often so hesitant to reveal anything meaningful that you frequently lose your grip on why any of it matters. The film gestures at something profound about first contact and then keeps walking.
The promo materials worked conspicuously hard to conceal the film’s alien elements, and the cast and crew’s notably muted press tour raised eyebrows before release. Having now seen the film, the reason becomes clearer: there isn’t much to shout about on that front. That side of the story is drastically underexplored. Spielberg’s focus stays squarely on the human side and the politics of potential disclosure, which is a defensible creative choice, but it also feels like a significant missed opportunity.
To its credit, Disclosure Day is often a handsome film to watch. The dark visual aesthetic suits the material well, and there is genuinely cool camerawork throughout — Spielberg still commands the frame with authority when he wants to. A handful of sequences demonstrate real technical confidence, and the craft clearly dazzles. The VFX, unfortunately, are mediocre for a production of this ambition. Combined with a shortage of actual action sequences, the film often feels smaller than it should.
The score functions adequately, but it leans heavily into a 1990s orchestral style that feels at odds with what a modern sci-fi film of this scale demands. Something bolder and more contemporary would have served the material far better. Trumpets and Violins work well in this genre, but with a legend like John Williams at the helm, one can’t be faulted for expecting something ambitious or at least fresh.
Emily Blunt is outstanding — grounded, compelling, and doing more with her character than the script arguably deserves. Colin Firth and Eve Hewson are solid in support. But Wyatt Russell and Colman Domingo are genuinely wasted, given little to work with, while Josh O’Connor delivers a flat performance that never finds a register that works.
The script contains some strong dialogue and earns a few genuinely interesting moments exploring morality and religion through a sci-fi lens. But the tone is wildly inconsistent. Disclosure Day too frequently reaches for commercial, crowd-pleasing comedy — silly and light when the story demands weight and depth. It wants to be a summer blockbuster and a thoughtful science fiction film simultaneously, and it fails at the balance. The overuse of close-up shots compounds the feeling of a film that’s trying too hard.
Disclosure Day is by no means a disaster. But for a Spielberg sci-fi event film, mediocre is almost worse. There are flashes of what this could have been — visually, thematically, and in its best performances. But the convoluted script, muddled tone, shallow characters, and a frustrating reluctance to fully embrace its own premise add up to a film that consistently underdelivers. It may be worth seeing once for hardcore Spielberg fans, but I’d suggest tempering your expectations.
