Steven Spielberg is undoubtedly one of the more prolific, brilliant filmmakers of our time. The name behind some of the biggest hits in movie-making history, his filmography has become the cinematic gold standard and a comforting celluloid background in the lives of generations of movie goers. 

There’s something about Spielberg’s films that evoke a certain feeling. Of wonder. Of magic. Of soaring adventure. Spielberg is a master at melding mystery and poignancy, suspense and humor, redeeming love and ominous fear, all woven in stories that sweep us up and carry us away. 

So it was with a gleeful heart full of high expectations that this Spielberg fan sat in a theater, filled to the brim with like-minded fans, to watch his latest sci-fi flick, Disclosure Day.  

Disclosure Day is a sci-fi thriller about a whistle-blower, Daniel, (Josh O’Conner) who absconds with precious alien technology and reams of video evidencing a mass cover-up of the existence of aliens. When we’re dropped into the middle of the action – literally – Daniel and his main squeeze Jane are surrounded by corporate goons and an evil overlord (Colin Firth) who want the technology back. Daniel and Jane make the first of many implausible escapes and the chase begins. 

A few hundred miles away, we have Margaret (Emily Blunt) a perky Kansas City weather gal whose latent psychic abilities are awakened suddenly when a bright red cardinal swoops into her apartment. When she starts babbling in a strange, insect-like language on air, the FBI immediately swoops in and her psychic powers tell her to run like hell. 

The movie becomes one chase scene after another, which makes for an exhilarating ride and some seriously suspenseful edge-of-your-seat moments.  It’s got all the feels of a classic good vs. evil story; a likeable hero who goes the distance for the good of mankind and the malevolent character who tries to stop him.. Spielberg even includes philosophical reflections on the ability of mankind to reconcile the existence of non-human intelligence with entrenched religious beliefs. And there is a clear message about the beauty and power of human empathy, and how that trait can serve as a gateway to understanding alien life forms. 

But the aliens themselves? They aren’t present. Sure, they lurk in conversations being had, in the grainy videos Daniel shows his girlfriend, and in the (disappointingly ineffective) CGI animals that appear a few times. But for a movie premised on and plotted around aliens, they’re no-shows. Until the last 20 minutes, anyway. 

The film builds incredible momentum for a promising climax, only to disappoint. The disclosure itself seems quaint and out of touch– a weather reporter showing videos in a local newscast that evidences the existence of aliens. IMO, that presentation would not bring the world to a screeching halt; our current world wouldn’t take the videos at face value. It might start a conversation and a divisive one at that, but that’s about it. Most likely our jaded culture would insist the images presented were deepfakes or A.I.

When an alien finally graces the big screen in Disclosure Day, it simply looks like the dozens of other aliens we’ve seen in sci-fi films; there is nothing new and exciting, nothing special in appearance or manner, to wow about or glom onto. 

Disclosure Day was an entertaining jaunt that never really carried me away. The direction and cinematography were amazing, but there were holes in the story. Gaps left unexplained. Moments when suspending reality for the sake of cinema felt patronizing at best. 

I will forever be a Spielberg fangirl. I am a forever believer in his gifts and his innate ability to pierce the veil between reality and fantasy as he sweeps us away with his magic. I’ll wait with bated breath for the next Spielberg movie to do just that.