One of the big tentpole movies of the 2026 summer has arrived! Brace yourself for a loooong write-up… I’m going to keep my initial review free of spoilers, but I’ll talk about specific plot points towards the end. Don’t worry, I’ll give you adequate warning.

As an 80s kid, I grew up on Steven Spielberg’s films: Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T.; those are films that remain timeless to this day. So, it’s no surprise that Disclosure Day is one of the films I’m most excited about this year. He teamed up again with David Koepp, making this their sixth collaboration. Plus, it’s Spielberg’s 20th time working with cinematographer Janusz Kamiński and an incredible 30th film scored by John Williams, spanning over 50 years of collaboration. Talk about a dream team in a genre that he helped define and pioneer.

Full disclosure: I haven’t watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind all the way through, but I’ve read up on it and caught a few scenes ahead of this one. Disclosure Day feels like a spiritual sequel to that film. In Close Encounters, a blue-collar worker stumbles upon a UFO, which has now been updated to UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), leading him on a quest for answers. This time around, we have two white-collar workers with special abilities tasked with revealing the life-changing truth about alien life that the government has kept under wraps for 70+ years. 

What really surprised me is just how action-packed it turns out to be. It’s almost entirely filled with non-stop chase scenes, kicking off at a wrestling match where cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (Josh O’Connor) is set to make a tense exchange with Wardex Corporation, a covert branch of the U.S. government. He’s supposed to swap a backpack loaded with highly classified, top-secret documents for his girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson), who’s been taken hostage by Wardex. This is where we first encounter the mysterious MacGuffin, a piece of alien technology that reminds me of the Kryptonian crystal from Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The device appears to possess such immense power that it intimidates Warden’s CEO, Noah Scanlon (Colin Firth) when Daniel brandishes it, warning his henchmen not to shoot him.

From then on, we’ve got one chase scene after another. Daniel is akin to Edward Snowden, but instead of involving the NSA, this one has more to do with NASA. While Daniel and Jane hide in a convent (Jane is a former novitiate), Kansas City TV meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Emily Blunt) is getting ready for work. It seems like just another ordinary morning as she banters with her boyfriend Jackson (Wyatt Russell) until a red cardinal unexpectedly flies into her apartment. Out of nowhere, she starts speaking fluent Russian and can even read the thoughts of a cop who pulls her over for speeding. Margaret then falls apart at the seams live on air and starts muttering with a click-clack sound. As that broadcast footage goes viral, Margaret too goes on the run from Scanlon’s men. 

For a good portion of the movie, we see two parallel tales unfold, focusing on Daniel and Margaret, and it’s only a matter of time before they intersect. The enigmatic Hugo Wakefield (Colman Domingo) guides both of them; he’s another defector from Wardex, and he’s overseeing some kind of home construction while he talks to Daniel on the phone. The truth about what he’s building is dramatically unveiled in the third act.

Two decades after his previous film featuring aliens, Spielberg combines two hallmark elements of his blockbuster films: suspenseful conspiracies and the emotional depth found in his earlier classics. As one of the master storytellers of our time, he still imbues this film with that sense of awe of the unknown. In interviews, he has expressed that the essence of Disclosure Day revolves around human empathy… prompting the question, Where has all our empathy gone? This idea is clearly illustrated in the dialogue between Noah and Hugo, where the latter claims that empathy is the key ‘evolutionary advantage’ for humanity’s survival. In such a divided world, empathy and understanding are something we could have more of. It’s a good and important message, yet the dialogue feels so on the nose, similar to the rather clunky exchanges between Daniel and Jane earlier in the film that don’t feel organic.

Apparently, Koepp wrote over 40 drafts of the script based on Spielberg’s own story idea he wrote in 2023. I appreciate that the film dives into some deep theological questions, and to my [pleasant] surprise, the Christians portrayed aren’t shown in a bad light. Daniel is eager to share the truth about aliens with everyone (“The truth belongs to 8 billion people”), but Jane ponders if proving UFOs exist would shake people’s beliefs. Would it mean God doesn’t exist? But Jane’s mentor, a sympathetic nun named Sister Maura (Elizabeth Marvel), doesn’t think alien existence disproves God’s. At one point, she calmly asks, ‘Why would He create such a huge universe, only to keep it for us?’

The best sci-fi movies usually highlight the human experience rather than focusing on the non-human lifeforms. But with a title like this, I was hoping for a deeper exploration of how such an earth-shattering ‘disclosure’ affects humanity, beyond just seeing people standing frozen in front of their TV or smartphone screens watching the big reveal. Considering we are at war and dealing with Iran’s huge nuclear stockpile, the timing feels pretty unsettling. Yet, the WWIII threat and geopolitical context often get overshadowed by all the action scenes with car, train, and fire truck chases, plus those telepathic moments involving the MacGuffin device. The script feels very ethnocentric, heavily centered on American perspectives, even though the existence of aliens clearly has global implications. In today’s world, it’s pretty outdated to assume that the US is the only nation that has had alien encounters.

Without a doubt, the standout aspect of this movie is the formidable Emily Blunt. The British actress gives an Oscar-worthy performance that’s arguably the best of her career. Her character is put through the wringer here, and she’s got the warmth and vulnerability that makes Margaret easy to root for. I know she’s pulled off an American accent before, but here she has to do extensive scenes in several languages: Russian, Korean, and even alien speak. Russell provides the comic relief, with the completely confused Jackson representing all of us; it’s interesting that his mom, Goldie Hawn, starred in Spielberg’s debut feature, The Sugarland Express, back in 1974. 

O’Connor shines as the co-lead next to Blunt, even though his character isn’t as flashy. Still, he hits all the right notes in both the dramatic scenes and the intense action sequences. Domingo brings a warm, soulful energy, making you believe that everything will turn out okay, even in the midst of chaos. Hewson showcases her versatility as an actress, and it’s great to see her take on a significant role in this film.

Now, the casting of Colin Firth as the antagonist is, well, interesting. I always think of him as Mr. Darcy (both in Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice and the Bridget Jones franchise). It took me out of the movie a bit when I saw him, but he put in a solid effort with his strangely crafted character. Scanlon doesn’t come across as a real person and makes some pretty confusing decisions. Ultimately, the big twist doesn’t really match the mystery’s initial allure. Perhaps that’s intentional; Spielberg wants viewers to wrestle with the questions that he refrains from providing clear-cut answers.

The film is technically proficient, which isn’t surprising considering the masterful crew behind it. Filmed on 35mm, the visuals have that genuine grainy feel that really grounds the experience. There are some stunning long takes and dynamic camera movements, especially during the thrilling car and train scenes. However, I found there to be a bit too many lens flares for my taste, reminiscent of JJ Abrams’ style. Regarding John Williams’ score, it’s quite subtle, leaning more towards an atmospheric vibe rather than rousing themes. I can’t really hum any of the music, but I enjoyed it while it was playing on screen, and it definitely carries Williams’ signature touch.

My biggest gripe is the CGI, particularly the animals that look weirdly fake to me. It’s been more than 30 years since Jurassic Park was released, and the dinosaurs in that film look way more realistic than the deer in this one. I expected top-notch special effects from a Spielberg film. Watching an alien movie definitely requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. But I find it way more believable that aliens are out there than that an IT guy like Daniel can pull off crazy driving stunts like he’s in a Fast & Furious flick and manage to evade elite security forces every time.

In any case, I had a positive reaction right after I walked out of the theater. But now that I’ve had some time to think, my excitement has faded quite a bit. As I mentioned earlier, I had high hopes for this one because of Spielberg’s track record, and this is his tried-and-true genre.

Overall, it’s a decent movie, but far from great. If I were to rank it among his films, it definitely falls lower on the list. Let’s just say it didn’t leave me in awe like his earlier sci-fi classics such as E.T., Minority Report, and Jurassic Park. Seeing this really makes me appreciate Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival even more. It skillfully pivots from the typical alien story clichés to present a sophisticated, nuanced, deeply emotional, and character-focused narrative. But hey, this is at least eons better than Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. 

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SPOILER ALERT—Proceed with caution

It seems like conspiracy theorists have gone wild online, with a Reddit thread claiming that the U.S. government brought in Spielberg, a trusted celebrity expert on the topic, to help ease the public into what could be a real disclosure day, prepping everyone for the big reveal. I chuckle at the thought, but hey, I suppose it’s clever marketing for the movie.

So the last word uttered on screen is LISTEN. That’s after a giant gray alien who looks like E.T.’s grandpa gets up from his wheelchair and whispers something to Margaret. We’re not privy to what the alien tells her; is Spielberg teasing a sequel? Well, after what I watched here, I’m not sure I’m excited for more of the same, which is an alien conspiracy movie we’ve seen many times before on the big and small screen.

Given how compassionate Hugo is towards these alien creatures, why is he stuck in a box where he can hardly move? It seems like he doesn’t require any breathing device or anything from Earth. It’s strange to see the alien so massive, towering over six feet, while the little green men in the government footage are significantly smaller.

There are some strong Christian themes here, which shouldn’t be surprising as Spielberg has directly explored Judeo-Christian history and the supernatural in the Indiana Jones franchise. In The Last Crusade specifically, Indy literally takes a ‘leap of faith,’ and his dad tells him that believing is the key to unlocking God’s powers. This movie shows a character quoting a Bible verse (Luke 22:42), and Margaret speaking in languages she never learned seems to echo the apostles on the Day of Pentecost. While the faith exploration is merely surface level, at least the movie isn’t hostile toward Christianity.

The MacGuffin device is the most problematic; it’s as if Spielberg has no idea what to do with that. Firstly, I don’t get why Wandex’s folks were so afraid of the device. It doesn’t make sense for it to be some kind of destructive weapon based on how the aliens are characterized here. At one point, Scanlon’s head of security, Casper (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), vanishes out of thin air when he holds the device and then reappears unscathed. There’s no explanation as to why he vanishes and what the point of all of it is if he isn’t even hurt by it. 

In the end, when Margaret takes hold of the device, it falls apart after just a few minutes. It’s odd since she’s one of the ‘chosen pair’ who was meant to use it. It feels like a plot convenience so that Jane can swoop in and save the day with the device to restore power to the TV station. Plus, it’s also convenient that Jane can just stroll past a bunch of security guards to give the device to Margaret without anyone stopping her.

The climax feels stretched out and anticlimactic, with a schmaltzy scene of a news anchor getting teary-eyed while watching clips of little gray men crash-landing on Earth, the default alien design with a huge head and beady eyes. Then comes the most puzzling part: After almost 2.5 hours of relentless chasing, Scanlon suddenly gives up and just sits there, watching Margaret prepare to unveil the secret he was so hellbent to protect. There’s no real reason given for his abrupt change of heart, especially after Casper shouted in frustration, ‘You’re not going to stop them?!’ before he stormed off with the rest of the crew. Perhaps Koepp, too, threw in the towel with that ending after more than 40 drafts and just settled with that ending [shrug].

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So with all that in mind, is Disclosure Day worth seeing? I’d say so if you’re into sci-fi and conspiracy thrillers, but I’d say temper your expectations. One good thing about this is that the 2 hours and 25 minutes actually flew by relatively quickly, so the pacing is pretty good, though it’s unlikely that I’d rewatch it anytime soon. Not interested in seeing a sequel of this, either.