By Bob Garver
Director Steven Spielberg has previously brought us all-time-classic alien films “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Now comes “Disclosure Day,” a film about the decision to let humanity know that they are not alone in the universe. After deeply personal project “The Fabelmans,” this is Spielberg’s return to blockbuster filmmaking. And I do see this movie as a blockbuster, just not much of one.
The film essentially follows six characters: hacker Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) and his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson), TV newswoman Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) and her boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell), organizer of key players Hugo (Colman Domingo), and shady coverup leader Scanlon (Colin Firth). Kellner has flash drives with irrefutable proof of alien life. Margaret suddenly has powers that are not of this world. Hugo has a full-sized replica of Margaret’s childhood home for some reason. Scanlon has alien tech that he’s ironically using against the aliens and their allies. Let the race to expose or bury the truth begin.
Unconvincing CGI animals in the last act aside, Spielberg usually makes good decisions about the way this film looks and sounds (Yes, frequent collaborator John Williams is doing the score), but I don’t agree with which story elements he chooses to emphasize. Instead of exploring the rich potential for how humanity will respond to this mindblowing news about aliens, he focuses on suspense over whether or not the news will come out, which is essentially spoiled by the film’s title. I would have put the disclosure at the beginning of this film and given the bulk of the runtime to the fallout.
Grade: C
“Disclosure Day” is rated PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images and strong language. Its running time is 145 minutes.
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